The Dianne Gauthier rink from the Royal City Curling Club beat the Juanita Wannamaker foursome of Gibsons to win the annual women's bonspiel at the Gibsons Curling Club last weekend.
The game didn't start out well for the Gibsons women (Wannamaker, skip; Elaine Tattrie, third; Nadine Lowden, second; Trudy Baba, lead) as Gauthier stole three in the first. Wannamaker scored one in two, with Gauthier getting one in three and stealing another single in four to take a 5-1 lead.
Wannamaker came back with a deuce in the fifth and stole a single in the sixth to cut the score to 5-4, but Gauthier scored another three in the seventh to seal the game.
Marnie Jepsen, also from Royal City, finished in third spot.
The format for the bonspiel featured 11 teams of women and eight men's teams. The teams did not compete against each other, but the men's teams made it possible to host the event.
"This is our first time doing this although we have talked about it for a few years," said Wannamaker. "[Club manager] Jared [Wannamaker] decided he was going to make sure that the women got to have a spiel so he organized the local men to do a team draft for teams so it wasn't just another men's spiel. Their first draft they were not allowed to pick anyone they curled with this year."
The men's final was won by the team of Ed Hill, Kevin Redly, John O'Brian and John McKinnon over fellow Gibsons rink Bryan Fitchell, Jom Fitzsimmons, Rob VanBemmel and Brian Hache.
The game went back and forth and was very close.
Fitchell had an opportunity to steal for the tie in the eighth, but his guard curled too much and Hill had to make a hit and stick on his final rock as the Fitchell team had another rock in the house. Hill made the hit and stick and won the game.
"The guys all enjoyed the draft team idea and hoped that the women would include them in their spiel again next year," said Wannamaker. "The women had a scavenger hunt Friday night and Saturday that sent them all over Gibsons having their photos taken in various places. There was a team from the North Shore Winter Club featuring two sisters and their daughters with one mom and daughter flying in from Edmonton in a snow storm to have their annual curling bonspiel. Next year the other two will go to Alberta for a spiel. Lots of fun was had by all."
