The Dominion Curling Club Championship got underway Thursday afternoon and wraps up on Sunday at the Montague Curling Club, with the men’s and women’s club champions from six of the seven PEI curling clubs taking part. Five rinks remain undefeated after Thursday play.

After opening day action in the men’s section, defending champion Donald Clarey of Montague and Crapaud’s Alan Inman foursome are 2-0, while the remaining four rinks sit at 0-1. Clarey won his opener 5-1 over Daryl MacDonald from Alberton’s Western Community club, and doubled Blair Jay and his Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club rink 6-3 in the evening draw, stealing 3 points in the 4th end en route to the victory. Inman stole a single in the second, and followed up a three point fifth end with a steal of another 3 in the sixth in an 8-2 win over Charlottetown’s Pat Birtwistle in the afternoon, and stole four points in the sixth end on the way to an 8-3 win over Cornwall’s Bob Fowler rink in the evening. Clarey and Inman will face each other in the 6 pm Friday draw.

In the women’s section, Crapaud’s Marie Ford rink, who were runners-up last year to the Lorianne Davies rink from Cornwall in a 9-1 final, beat the defending champions by a 7-1 score in the opening draw, following a fifth end single with a steal of two in the sixth. The other opening day games saw the Gail Greene rink of Montague rally for a deuce in the final frame to edge Nola Murphy and her Silver Fox team 6-5, and Rushell MacDonald and her Western team shade Cathy MacDougall and her Charlottetown rink 8-7.

Round robin play continues on Friday and Saturday with draws at 10 am, and 2 and 6 pm. Tiebreakers, if needed, go Sunday at 10 am, with the semi-finals following at 2 pm and the finals taking place at 6 pm. If there are no men’s and no women’s tiebreakers, the semis and the finals will advance to 10 am and 2 pm, respectively.

The winning rinks will advance to the national The Dominion, November 19-24 at the Scarboro Golf and Country Club in Scarborough Ont.