It not only came down to the last rock, but they had to measure to determine the winner, as the Kim Aylward rink from the host Silver Fox Curling Club in Summerside, trailing 5-2 after six ends this afternoon, scored a triple in end seven and stole a single in the final end to edge the Shelley Ebbett team from the Cornwall Curling Club by a 6-5 score to win the PEI Senior Women’s title, and a trip to the 2019 Everest Canadian Senior Curling Championships, Mar. 23-28 at the new Chilliwack Curling Centre in Chilliwack BC.
Winning team (L-R): Donna Whelan, Debbie Caissy, Shelley MacFadyen, Kim Aylward, Curl PEI Past President Andrew Robinson
Aylward, who had a 6-2 win-loss record in the modified triple knockout event, advanced to the final against Ebbett by eliminating defending champion Shirley Berry and her Cornwall rink with a 9-5 victory in the morning semi-final. Each of the three teams involved in the championship round had won one triple knockout section, but Ebbett had received a bye to the final game by virtue of playing in all three qualifier games.
Finalist team (L-R): Colleen Soltermann, Kim Pippy, Paulette Richard, Shelley Ebbett
Other members of the Pat Aylward-coached winning team are third Debbie Caissy, second stone Shelley MacFadyen, and lead Donna Whelan. Rounding out the Ebbett finalist team are third stone Kim Pippy, second Paulette Richard, and lead Colleen Soltermann.
On Monday morning, the Philip Gorveatt rink from the Charlottetown Curling Complex and the Montague Curling Rink won the Senior Men’s title, after edging the Dale Cannon team from the host Silver Fox Curling Club in Summerside by a 4-3 score in a closely-fought game, with neither team taking more than a single point in an end. The Gorveatt rink, which includes third Kevin Champion, second stone Larry Richards, and lead Mike Dillon, had won two of the three sections of the modified triple knockout draw, giving them two chances to win the championship, but the second game was not needed.
Six men’s and six women’s teams took part in this provincial championship, with men’s and women’s divisions for curlers age 50 and over.