They came, they curled, and they had quite the party.
Gibsons Legion Branch 109 and the Gibsons Curling Club played host to the 2003 Provincial Regular Legion curling playdowns last week.
A total of 11 teams took part in the event, which started Thursday night and wrapped up with the championship final on Sunday. Teams came from across the province for the event. The 11 teams were broken down into two pools and played a round robin with the top four teams making it into the playoffs.
In the playoffs, the Sunshine Coast foursome of Ron Corman, Ed Hill, Brad Zalys, Darren Kopeck and fifth player Norm Masson lost in the semifinal to a team from New Westminster, while in the other semifinal, Salmon Arm defeated a squad from Peace Arch.
The team from Salmon Arm won the championship game and will now represent the province at the Dominion Finals in Lancaster, NB, in March.
In between the curling, the Legion hosted a social night on Wednesday and a banquet on Friday night featuring a wonderful dinner and auction.
Zone commander and Gibsons Legion member Larry Boyd said the event was a great success.
"The curling was great and I think everyone had a lot of fun," Boyd said. "Everyone I talked to said they enjoyed the hospitality. A lot of people volunteered their time to put on this event and I would like to offer them my thanks. I think this was a good event for the whole community."
Boyd said the Legion had originally applied to host the senior Legion provincials, but after organizers said a site for the seniors event had already been awarded, they suggested Gibsons take a shot at the other Legion event.
"We thought maybe if this event went well, we could host the seniors maybe next year," Boyd said. "Because of this, interest was so high, more curlers asked to be involved. I think next year we'll have to have a playoff at the club to select our representative. "That's a great thing for the Legion, and it's great for curling."
