The curling season came to and end like a granite rock right on the nose. But if there isn’t to be any more curling for awhile, the enthusiasts at the Quesnel Curling Centre (QCC) weren’t going to go out with an early handshake. This was St. Patrick’s Day weekend, so the costumes were donned and the last bonspiel was played.
Nineteen teams signed up for the tournament. The A-event was won by the rink of skip Dave Plant (who is also the QCC manager), second Ralph Givens, third Dean Rubisch and lead Keith Belcort. They got past the Dave Henderson rink by a final score of 8-3.
“A couple of teams came down from Prince George. One was the boys’ team representing the zone at the BC Winter Games next week; they participated to get in some good practice before the Games, and the other team was their parents and coaches watching and playing at the same time,” said Plant, who was pleased with the registration level.
“We’re getting past what we’ve been through with COVID, and we’re getting our numbers back,” he said. “People are feeling comfortable, the routines are setting in again, so it was good.”
Well, not everyone was entirely comfortable. One of the final acts was some sporting vandalism. A number of participants tried a barefoot curling challenge just to see how it felt. Yup, it was cold.
“They tried to draw to the button,” said Plant. “Carly Backer was the winner, coming 13 inches from the pin. She said it was a little bit of a struggle because you push off, slide really good at first, but then you just stop.”
The bare feet is uncomfortable for the curler, but it’s murder on the pebbling of the ice. No curling rink manager would allow such damage on a regular basis, but “we’re turning the compressor off tomorrow,” said Plant, meaning Monday March 20 was truly the end of the road for QCC activities.
At least, the winter activities. Once the ice is out, a provincial indoor archery competition is coming to Quesnel, there is talk of shoulder-season pickle ball, and after some roofing (this year) and flooring (pending) repairs are done, Plant feels confident the QCC can become a year-round hive of activity.
Curling will resume approximately 30 weeks from now.
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Read more: Quesnel curling club finishes season with St. Patrick’s bonspiel