The Gibsons Curling club hosted Special Olympics curling teams from Langley, the Sunshine Coast and Powell River for a mini bonspiel at the Gibsons curling rink on Saturday, Nov. 5.
A few seasoned veteran curlers with the Special Olympics were out on Saturday – skip Michael Brooks, lead Bruce Stuart and second Shelley McCuaig, who has been curling for seven years. This group has attended the Abbotsford curling bonspiel for the past six years, so it was exciting for them to at last be hosting a curling bonspiel locally.
Four of the athletes from the Sunshine Coast had never curled in a bonspiel before – Olivia Wensel, Lisa Wortley, Josh Leskie and Paul Davis. Wensel is a Grade 12 student from Elphinstone. Wortley, Leskie and Davis all hail from Sechelt.
The Sunshine Coast B team was skipped by Dustin Archer, lead Amber Maher, second Jordan McCourt and third Amanda Boghean. This team had fantastic spirit and was excited to be competing with other athletes.
Team C was skipped by Coco Vito who has been curling for the past three years and is a recent grad from Elphinstone. The coaching team in attendance included George Proudfoot, Peter Metcalfe, Dave Sandness and John Stewart.
Visiting coach Susan Story – head coach of Powell River – has been coaching for six years, and Deb Kovacs – head coach for Langley – has curled for 20 plus years. The Langley team was excited to be at the bonspiel and they enjoyed the ferry ride to Gibsons.
A special thank you to the curling club for presenting the visiting curlers with Gibsons Curling Club pins. Lunch was a highlight for all the curlers, with food provided by the local Starbucks and Subway. A special thank you to Jeanne Hage and Sherri Archer for their help with serving the food.
Denise Brooks presented local coordinator Pat Stuart with a bouquet of flowers for organizing the event. Both Langley and Powell River have invited the curlers to a rematch bonspiel at their respective clubs.
