Teams battle the brooms in curling championships

April 2, 2013 · 0 Comments

By Shellee Morning

The King Curling Club’s remaining leagues’ playoff championships came to their conclusions in traditional curling fashion – down to last rock excitement.
The final week of curling generated end after end of excitement as teams battled the brooms and rocked the house for division titles.
In the Monday night men’s league the championship title was not only for the league division, but the winners will represent the club in next year’s Dominion Club Championships.
The main event featured 7th rank Team Belcher versus Team LaPlante ranked 2nd; both experienced and capable of performing under pressure. Skip Bob Belcher guided his team of Doug Groombridge vice, John Hakner 2nd, and Dave Swackhammer as lead to snag the first end with a steal of one. But Team LaPlante, who consisted of Peter Kamstra vice, Dan Steenhoek 2nd, and Dave Barber as lead, rebounded and answered with a count of 3. In the 3rd, Skip Jody LaPlante executed an impressive angle chip for a steal of 1 and initiated a slight bit of comfort for a 4-1 lead. Team Belcher had other plans, as the foursome collected in the 5th, 6th, and 7th ends spreading the gap to 6-3. Swackhammer played both his stones with precision hits removing any LaPlante stones in the house. Vice Groombridge followed with a sweet hit and roll behind cover while Hakner peeled any possible guard’s en route to rock elimination in the 8th.
Skip Belcher commends the composure held by his team for the 9-4 win and looks forward to representing the King Club with pride next fall during the Dominion Championships.
Men’s league consolation winners were the “young bucks” also known as Team Gerrits. Skip Tim Gerrits, along with Andrew Welch vice, Colin Gerrits as 2nd and Shane Steenhoek playing lead, quietly took control of the game by the 4th end after Welch made two immense shots; a hit and stick shot through a tight port followed by a perfect guard eventually setting up for a steal.
Shane Steenhoek charted a brilliant come-around in the 5th for shot stone and Colin Gerrits effectively played two tap backs to sit shot stone authorizing another steal in the 6th for a commanding 8-1 lead. The Young-bucks ended the clinic for an 8-3 win.

Wednesday Night Social Showdown

After an exceptional first 3 ends, skip Chris Welch and his squad of Mario Parete, Mike “Blister” O’Hara, and new curler Melody Duggan took a controlling 4-0 lead in the Wednesday Social League championship game.
The showdown was not at all over for skip Fraser MacDonald as his team of Jack and J.C. Cooke and Colin Gerrits (spare) who regained their focus and masterfully climbed back, taking 2 in the 4th, and a single in the 5th bringing the score within one.
Due to the complicated scenarios and deep thinking on every end, time was slowly running out for both teams. Team MacDonald carried their momentum into the 6th and final end by placing many rocks in the house adding supreme pressure to their opponent. Skip Chris down to his final rock was left with a customary draw against 2 in favor of the opposition.
Pressure was felt rink wide as the skipper took a deep breath and released his rock. All eyes were on the narrow port to wait and see if the stone made it through successfully then to have enough weight to reach the counting spot. The nail-biting shot rock rested so close to MacDonald’s, a measure was needed to determine the outcome. Welch claimed the 5-3 win in a great final where all players played unbelievably well and shook hands to end their season of pride and leadership.
Team George Gerrits claimed the consolation league winners, but it was the tie-breaker game for 3rd place between Teams Robinson and Brodhurst that everyone was talking about.
The tight contest that took the full 2 hours to play left both teams still undetermined as to who would be the winner. The lights literally went off down at ice level and the undecided competition carried upstairs where the 3rd place winner was resolved by a deck of cards.
Team Brodhurst can proudly say that they “played well with the cards they were dealt with” for the 3rd place finish.

Sympathy Extended

The King Curling Club lost one of its respected members this past week after a lengthy illness. Fred Bullen, a former long-time Schomberg Curling Club and recent King Curling Club member, passed away peacefully on March 28. King Curling members and board of directors offer their sincere condolences to all of the Bullen families. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.