The Gibsons Curling Club hosted some of the top female curlers in the Lower Mainland last weekend.
Gibsons hosted this year's second chance provincial qualifier. The provincial Scott Tournament of Hearts is slated later in the month in Maple Ridge and the event last weekend in Gibsons was a last chance for teams to qualify.
A total of seven teams from the Lower Mainland and the Island took part in the modified double-knockout event.
The Craig team from Vancouver Island won both the A and B events and captured the championship with an 8-7 win over the Mallet foursome from the Royal City Curling Club in New Westminster.
"The Craig team alternated their personnel throughout the weekend and played very consistently," said event organizer Betty Masson. "All the games were tight with some going into an extra end. On Saturday, most teams played three games of at least 10 ends, so it was a pretty grueling schedule."
Masson said the final game was well played and came down to the last rock.
"Mallet's rock came down a bit wide of the mark and failed to raise her front rock onto the button, where she needed to be to tie the game for the extra end," Masson added. "The Craig team did not lose all weekend."
Local curler Chris Younghusband acted as head official, and ice technician Ron Corman kept the ice in perfect condition, despite the cold weather.
"This prestigious event was enjoyed by many of the local curlers," Masson said. "We had some great curlers here and the calibre of play was very high."
The next major event at the Gibsons Curling Club is the 2004 RCMP Playdowns set for Jan. 16 to 18, followed by the annual club mixed bonspiel at the curling club Jan. 23 to 25.
