On Feb. 17 at the Gibsons Curling Club, two Sunshine Coast teams, the Penguins and the Polar Bears, and two Vancouver teams, the Panthers and the Dragons, came together to battle it out at the Special Olympics Region 5 Curling Bonspiel Qualifier.
The qualifier is held every four years as part of the selection process for moving forward to provincial winter games.
The 2019 Special Olympic BC Winter Games will take place in Vernon, Feb. 21 to 23.
Twenty athletes came out for the event, highlighting the meaning of dedication, perseverance and sportsmanship. Six games were played.
The Penguins, skipped by Bruce Stuart, came first, winning all three of their games. The Polar Bears, skipped by Dustin Archer, came second, winning two out of three games. The Dragons, skipped by Kevin Khuu, came third, and the Panthers, skipped by Nico Groenvelt, came fourth.
Everyone had a great day and it was nice to see some local spectators cheering on our teams.
Thanks to the volunteer curling coaches who make events like these possible: Bill Climie, George Proudfoot and Dave Sandness from the Sunshine Coast and Josh Pollock, Craig Dixon and Stephen Leong from Vancouver, as well as Pat Stuart, local coordinator for Special Olympics, partnering with Subway, who kindly donated cookies and gave a generous discount on sandwiches. Also attending was Grace Gardner as acting Medic.
The Gibsons Curling Rink is an amazing facility to get to play in and we would like to acknowledge Peter Beynon, the icemaker, for the pristine games area, and president Kate Barrett for helping with the logistics.
Rock on!
– Submitted by Grace Gardner
