The Cornwall Curling Club in Cornwall PEI will be hosting the Canadian Open Stick Curling Championship, from April 1-4 2013. This event is limited to 48 two-person teams. Entry fee is $120, and guarantees five games in a pay-for-win format, plus a banquet. Eight teams will qualify for the championship round, and there will be a consolation event as well.

Entry Deadline: March 1, 2013
Send team roster with cheque payable to:
2013 PEI-National Stick
780 Route 225
North Wiltshire, PE C0A 1Y0

Accommodations are available at the Rodd Royalty Hotel. Visit www.roddroyalty.com or call 1-800-565-RODD to book.

For more information on the event, contact Shirley Lank at (902) 621-0258 or email lankshire.farms@pei.sympatico.ca

Click for event poster

This is a reminder that, as is our custom, there is no curling on the evening of Oct. 31 – Hallowe’en, so the first league night for the Ladder League will be next week.

I have also been informed that we are getting a 15th team, skipped by Jack Ferguson (still waiting for the roster), so that will mean that we will go with seven week rounds, with one team sitting out each night (unless we get one more team!).

The team that was added last week, skipped by Mathieu Boudreau, are fairly new to the game, and want to be in the B pool, so I am using my drawmaster’s discretion, and promoting a “wild card” entry to the A pool.  After weighing the possibilities, I have decided to give the wild card entry to the Paul Neima rink, who got off to a slow start in their Qualifier game against the Paul Durant rink, but came back to lose by a narrow margin. The promotion is also based on their performance last year, where they won the A pool twice and were runner-up a third time.

Note that there are still serveral teams short a player. Please be sure you have your player in place by next week.

Here are the pools, based on Qualifier Night results. Pool A will have 8 teams and Pool B 7 for the first round.

A Pool:

Bob MacWilliams, John Berry, Roy Coffin, Jim Farquharson.

David Younker, Kelly Lynn Younker, Ann Younker, TBA

Gord Peters, Hank Kamphuis, Gerald Dykerman, Pat MacInnis

Rick Doiron, Derek Gallant, Wade Cudmore, Ted van Lunen

Ray Biagé, Rebecca Rolfe, Derek MacEwen, Barb Duncan-Biagé

Paul Durant, Allan Acorn, Jamie Ballem, TBA

Mark MacDonald, Brad Gardiner, Steve De Wolfe, Wayne Goodwin (drew the bye on Qualifier Night)

Paul Neima, Kevin Arsenault, Mike Lafontaine, Dwayne McNeill (wild card entry)

Pool B

Lew Black, Terry MacLeod, Hans Wicki, Hans Anderegg

Greg Groves, Donald Weeks, Winston Taylor, Marjorie Matthews

Leigh Farrar, Kelley Arnold, James Power, Karen Power

Kelly Watts, Cathy Handren, Lisa Arsenault, Paula Ling

Karen Currie, Val Acorn, Mark Perry, Leonard Gotell

Mathieu Boudreau, Stephen DeGrace, Peter DeGrace, TBA

Jack Ferguson, TBA, TBA, TBA

Will be in Monday Guardian and in Draws section.

Cornwall Save Easy Monday Night Mixed

Oct 29, 2012

6:30 PM

Ice 1

Gordie Matthews, Brian Trainor, Vicki Hamilton, Barb  Arsenault VS

Ray Biagé, Russell Boyle, Carol Carragher, Donnie  Godfrey

Ice 2

Greg Groves, Angus Davies, Shelley Murphy, Stephanie  O’Keefe  VS Lew Black, Bob Murphy,  Debby Sigsworth, Marjorie Matthews

Ice 3

Melody Beck, Leonard Gotell, Steve Montgomery, Colleen  MacDonald VS

Lorianne Davies, Brad Gardiner, Lynda Turnbull, Dick  MacKinnon

Ice 4

Eric LeBlanc, Donald Weeks, Eldric MacDonald, Paula  Ling   VS  Bob Fowler, Karen Montgomery, Krista  Affleck, Ankul Despande

Cornwall Commercial League

Oct 29, 2012

8:30 PM

Ice 1

Rustico Resort vs Young @ Company

Ice 2

Ken Dykstra vs BernMac

Ice 3

KJL Meats vs The  Dutch

We received a late entry today for the Wednesday evening Ladder League, the rink of  returning members Mathieu Boudreau and Stephen DeGrace, new member Peter DeGrace, and a player to be named later. This makes an even 14 teams. The team has expressed an interest in being in the B pool, so we may have to make a swap or two after tonight’s Qualifier round. We will always have 8 teams in one pool and 6 in the other to eliminate any byes, as opposed to 7 and 7 (I supposed we could always have crossovers, but it gets complicated!)

Both the Mark MacDonald rink, who drew the bye, and the Boudreau team are invited to the 8:30 draw tonight if they so choose, to practice and/or play an exhibition game against each other.

They’re still working on the master draw for the KFC  Tuesday night Competitive League, as it had to be redone due to another team being added.

In the meantime, here’s the draw for this week:

The Cornwall Curling Club’s opening spiel will be a Hallowe’en fun spiel on Saturday, October 27th. It is a single entry spiel with a cost of $15 per person. Teams will play two four-end games. Start time is 4 pm with food between the first and second draws. Prizes will be awarded based on team points accumulated in games, for costumes, and off-ice games. A sign-up sheet is posted in the club. We’re hoping this will be a great start to the curling season!

To get you in the Hallowe’en spirit, here are some scenes from previous Hallowe’en spiels!

The Wednesday Evening Ladder League kicks off with Qualifier Night on Wednesday October 24.  I will draw teams at random to play other teams, with the winning teams going to the A pool for the first round, which begins the following week, and the losing teams going to the B. Weekly draw will be on the web page for the Ladder League on CornwallCurling.com, and in the Wednesday Guardian.

If  there is an odd number of teams, the odd team out will have the bye and be placed in the A pool for the first round. Byes will alternate each round between A and B pools. At the end of the season, the A and B pool winners from each round will receive prizes (generally Gift Certificates). Sponsors for the first round are: Howard Johnson Dutch Inn (A pool), and Griffin’s Service Centre (B Pool).

Here are the team rosters I have received to-date. Please email me your corrections and updates. Note that teams are requested to have four players. There are also some names listed of people looking for teams. We have 13 teams at present, and would like an even number to eliminate byes, so more teams are welcome! If we have an uneven number of teams, the round will be a full round robin for the pool with fewer players, and a partial round robin for the other pool, as we have to end them at the same time. We will factor in number of games scheduled as part of the placement formula after each round. Teams receive 3 points per game for a win, 1 for a loss, and 0 for a loss by default. Team scores are used for tiebreaking after head to head records are considered. We will alternate 6:30 and 8:30 time slots between the two pools each week.

1-Ray Biagé,  Rebecca Rolfe, Derek MacEwen, Barb Duncan-Biagé

2-Paul Durant, Allan Acorn, Jamie Ballem, TBA

3-Lew Black, Terry MacLeod, Hans Wicki, Hans Anderegg

4-Paul Neima, Kevin Arsenault, Mike Lafontaine, Dwayne McNeill

5-Karen Currie, Val Acorn, Mark Perry, Leonard Gotell

6-Gord Peters, Hank Kamphuis, Gerald Dykerman, Pat MacInnis

7-Bob MacWilliams, John Berry, Roy Coffin, Jim Farquharson

8-Greg Groves, Donald Weeks, Winston Taylor, TBA

9-Rick Doiron, Derek Gallant, Wade Cudmore, Ted van Lunen

10-Mark MacDonald, Brad Gardiner, Steve DeWolfe, TBA

11-Kelly Watts, Cathy Handren, Lisa Arsenault, Paula Ling

12-David Younker, Kelly Lynn Younker, Ann Younker, TBA

13-Leigh Farrar, Tara Nogler, James Power, Karen Power

Players looking for teams: Roddy MacLean 566-4482, Marjorie Matthews 566-3716, Wayne Goodwin 566-4699.

Please email me any ideas you may have to make the league even better this year!

– Derek MacEwen, Wednesday night drawmaster
derek@derekmacewen.com

Here’s a shot taken this morning of our new ice, and some of the daytime curlers who got to play on it!

Looks like everything is on track to have our ice in tiptop shape by the first of the week. Our year-old state of the art ice plant and Jet Ice system are performing admirably, as were today’s highly skilled ice painters, who were busy painting in the circles in our houses. A few lines, a few more floods, and it’s time to start the Game of Stones!

Click to view photos from today

Please note that, contrary to information in the mailout  to current members, which we  republished on this site,  the  8 pm draw on Thursday nights will be single entry mixed for the time being. The Dominion league is not being offered at this time, but may be offered later in the season.

Our landlord, The Town of Cornwall, is very excited to bring back the popular Cornwall Cornfest!!

Click here for the full schedule of events.

CBC Mainstreet with Karen Mair will be broadcasting live from here at the Cornwall Civic Centre (upstairs from the curling club) on Friday Oct. 5 from 4-6 pm. Friday events at the Civic Centre include Zumba ($4) from 12:30-1:15 pm,  Corny Games with the kids from 3:30-5:30 pm,  a corn boil ($1 a cob) from 4-6 pm, a corn shucking competition with local celebrities, along with a local chef corn dish competition, from 4:30 to 6, and a dance for grades 3-6 from 6-8 pm. Come on out for a Corny time!

Congratulations to Cornwall Curling Club members Kris Currie, Shirley Berry, and Paul Durant, along with curler Ted MacFadyen, for winning their respective club championship divisions at Countryview Golf Course, one of our sponsors. It’ll soon be time to trade those golf clubs for curling brooms!

Curling gets underway at the Cornwall Curling Club in a little over a month! Here are the dates for this season’s startup:

Congratulations to our club members who won medals in the sport of bocce at the Canada 55+ Games, which wrapped up on Sept. 1 in Sydney Cape Breton. PEI finished 8th overall with 9 gold, 11 silver, and 8 bronze medals.

Club members Gloria Clarke and Elaine Hughes took gold in the 55+ bocce doubles, while Ernie Stavert and Diane Farquharson brought home the silver.  All four of them teamed up to win another silver, in the 55+ bocce fours.

There were Island medals in curling, too, with Silver Fox members Don Duffenais (skip), Paul Matheson, Jim Evans, and Ralph Yeo winning bronze in the 55+ men’s, and Western’s Leslie Hardy (skip), Audrey Callaghan, Walter Callaghan, and Kathy Johnson winning the 65+ mixed bronze.

Eleven provinces and territories took part in the four day event, with Alberta coming first overall, with 113 medals, including 64 gold.

On behalf of Ron’s family I would like to say thanks for the kindness and support of the members of the Cornwall Curling Club. I truly appreciate the efforts of the many members who expressed condolences, attended visiting hours or  the funeral, made donations in Ron’s memory, dropped off food, sent cards or on-line expressions of support. I feel very fortunate to enjoy the support of the many thoughtful people who have become friends because of my employment at the Club.

– Bev McCormick

(By Nigel Armstrong)
CORNWALL – The town has been asked to shell out $38,850 for Entire Mechanical Contractors to install air conditioning in the newly-constructed and already finished Civic Centre which is attached to the curling club.

Despite the investment of $2 million from three levels of government through the Building Canada Fund to construct the new civic centre, the end result is a meeting space that has echoing acoustics that hurt the ears and is a sweltering sauna in the summer, a recent meeting of town council was told.

“How soon, Mr. Mayor, can they put it in,” said Councillor Irene Dawson, laughing, about the air conditioning.

She was told ASAP.

“We just spent millions of dollars on the Civic Centre,” said Coun. Marlene Hunt.

“You can’t hear yourself talk in it the acoustics are so bad and there is no air conditioning. I’m just shocked that we have to put out more money because we have to have air conditioning.

Click for full story in The Guardian.

Longtime Club member Jessie MacPhail and her husband Neil are celebrating 50 years of marriage. In honour of their special occasion, Steven, Penzie, and families invited you to an open house on Saturday June 30 from 2-5 pm here at the Cornwall Civic Centre. Best wishes only.

Congratulations to Club member Danny Kneabone on his first hole in one, on number two at Countryview!

Here are the tee times for Saturday’s golf tournament at Countryview Golf Club, route 19 in Fairview. The weather forecast for Saturday is perfect for golfing – sun/cloud and 19 degrees.  We are still taking entries if you would like to join in the fun of this best ball tournament. Contact Karen at the Countryview Pro Shop (karen@countryviewgolf.com or 675-2800) if you would like to participate.
Prize presentation and barbeque will follow the golf. See you there!

11:00am Tom Dunn, Danielle Girard, Helen Smith, Dave Hunt

11:05am Lester Callbeck, Merril Cronin, Allison Talbot, Eric LeBlanc

11:10am Carl Currie, Barb Arsenault, Bill Talbot, Paul Neima

11:15am Bill Hope, Lew Black, Elaine Hughes, Ray Biage

11:20am Jamie Ballem, Sandy Hope, Jean Anderson, Bernie Field

11:25am Gord Peters, Derek MacEwen, Lynda Turnbull, Dan Hughes

11:30am Kris Currie, Tony Turnbull, Pat MacArdle, Bob MacWilliams

11:35am Donald Weeks, Arleen Harris, Rob Young, Carol Sweetapple

11:40am Paul Daurant, Sherri Boutiler, Darlene Kneabone, Vern Chowan

11:45am Danny Young, Sue Doiron, Len Gotell, Rebecca Rolfe

11:50am Rick Doiron, Tracy MacDonald, Angus Davies, Brenda Campbell

11:55am Danny Kneabone, Carlene Peters, George Younker, Shelley Ebbett

12:00pm Bob Fowler, Kevin Arsenault, Paula Ling, Merrill Simpson

It was a great night for the Team PEI Special Olympics curlers, who curl out of the Cornwall and Charlottetown clubs and won the ADL/Sport PEI “Team of the Year” honours at the annual awards ceremony, which took place tonight in Charlottetown, following the PEI Curling Association’s Annual General Meeting. The team, which is skipped by Greg St. John, and includes Phillip Chugg, John Anthony Laybolt, Monique Gauthier and Chris MacPherson, with head coach Dick St. John, assistant coach Ann Doucette, and team manager Paula Gauthier, won gold at the Special Olympics National Winter Games in February in St. Albert, Alberta. They were against some tough competition for tonight’s honours, namely the three-time PEI junior women’s champion Sarah Fullerton rink, and the Suzanne Birt team, winners of the Curl Atlantic Championship, and third place finishers at the International Bernese Ladies Cup in Switzerland.

Photo (L-R): Ann Doucette (Asst. Coach), John Anthony Laybolt, David Docherty (representing sponsor ADL), Chris MacPherson, Greg St. John, Monique Gauthier, Dick St. John (Head Coach). Missing from photo: Phillip Chugg

Other winners tonight were World Youth Olympics bronze medallist Emily Gray for Junior Female Athlete of the Year, Atlantic University champ, CIS/CCA All Canadian second team member, and PEI Curling Association executive member Connor MacPhee,

Photo (L-R): Connor MacPhee, David Docherty (ADL)

Senior (Adult) Female Athlete of the Year Rebecca Jean MacDonald, who played third for both the PEI Women’s and Mixed championship teams this season, and Brett Gallant, who won the Senior (Adult) Athlete of the Year award, after a great season, finishing as runner-up in the PEI men’s championship, winning a World Curling Tour event in Quebec, and capturing the Atlantic Curling Tour championship. He also competed in the Player’ Championship Grand Slam event in Summerside, playing on the Brad Gushue rink, and plans to join that team next season in St. John’s.

Also in the winners’ circle tonight was Brett’s father, Peter Gallant, as Coach of the Year, after a busy season coaching the Suzanne Birt rink to a win in the inaugural Curl Atlantic Championship, and a third place finish at the  International Bernese Ladies Cup in Bern, Switzerland. He also coached the Mike Gaudet rink at the Brier, and the Alex Matters team, which includes his son Chris, to a provincial Junior title. Amanda Bulger and Cornwall’s Derek MacEwen were co-winners of the Administrator of the Year awards, for Bulger’s work updating website scores at many provincial championships and cashspiels, and MacEwen’s volunteer work at the Cornwall Curling Club, where he has been the webmaster and content provider for the club website for the past 12 years, and runs one of the leagues.

Photo (L-R): Derek MacEwen. David Docherty (sponsor ADL), Amanda Bulger

The Official of the Year award went to Charlottetown’s Kay Atkinson, a long-time curling head official, who also helps mentor new officials.

At the awards ceremonies, Sport PEI’s Nick Murray congratulated Amalgamated Dairies Ltd. for over twenty years of sponsoring annual awards for many sports. Cornwall’s Sean Ledgerwood served as Master of Ceremonies for the event.

Click to view photos of the other award winners.

The finalists have been selected for curling’s 2011-2012 ADL/Sport PEI Amateur Sport Awards, with the winners to be announced at a ceremony following the PEI Curling Association’s Annual General Meeting, which begins at 5:30 pm on Wednesday May 30 at the Charlottetown Curling Club.

Here are the finalists for each category, with a brief description of their accomplishments related to the 2011-2012 curling season:

Junior Female Athlete of the Year – Sarah Fullerton, Emily Gray, Aleya Quilty

Sarah Fullerton, who curls out of the Charlottetown and Cornwall clubs, and was competing in her last year of junior eligibility, skipped her junior team to a third consecutive provincial Junior title, going on to finish with a 6-6 record at the nationals. She also won the provincial Junior Mixed title, and also entered the provincial women’s championship for the first time, skipping her team to a third place finish.  She also competed in the OVCA Junior Superspiel in Ottawa, represented UPEI at the Atlantic University Curling Championships in Cornwall, won the Fall Fling Junior Cashspiel in Summerside, and received a Joyce Myers Trust Fund scholarship from Curl Atlantic. In February, it was announced that she would be joining the Suzanne Birt rink for the 2012-2013 season.

O’Leary’s Emily Gray was chosen in April to compete on Team Canada at the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Austria in January, where her team took home a bronze medal in the Mixed competition. Active in social media, she wrote a blog highlighting her experiences for the Canadian Curling Association’s website, and also provided instant updates via Twitter.  Leading up to the Games, she attended high performance training camps in Edmonton, Halifax, and BC, finished as runner-up at the OVCA Junior Superspiel in Ottawa, and competed in the Sun Life Financial Junior Cashspiel in Manitoba. Back on the Island, her team finished in the runner-up position at the provincial 20 and Under championships, and she also found the time to help out at junior curling camps, both on the ice and in the classroom.

Cornwall’s Aleya Quilty, despite having to play two months of the season with her hand in a cast, finished as runner-up in both the provincial 17 and Under and 20 and Under championships, and played in the junior mixed provincials, where she received the Fair Play award. Aleya, who is working on completing her competition coaching certification, also coached a junior team and a team of 8 and 9 year olds, helped out twice a week with the Cornwall Curling Club’s junior program, instructed at curling camps across the Island, and volunteered at the Players’ Championship in Summerside.

Junior Male Athlete of the Year  – Andrew Cameron, Matthew MacLean, Connor MacPhee

Andrew Cameron of Charlottetown curled on three separate rinks during the season, winning his first provincial Junior championship, along with the Sackville Junior Cashspiel, and their division of the Charlottetown Curling Club Super League with skip Alex Matters, taking the provincial 15 and Under title with skip Tyler Smith, and, with skip Christopher Gallant, narrowly missing their chance to repeat as provincial Junior Mixed champs, losing to the Sarah Fullerton rink in the final.

Matthew MacLean from the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary, skipped his team to a first place finish at the provincial 17 and Under championships, advancing to the Atlantic Under 18  championship where the team went undefeated into the final, losing in an extra end to the Nova Scotia team. The MacLean rink won the Codiac Junior Cashspiel in Moncton, finished as runners-up in the Fall Fling junior spiel in Summerside, and came third at the provincial 20 and Under championships, losing a tiebreaker to eventual winner Alex Matters.

Connor MacPhee of Cornwall had a very busy curling season, winning the Atlantic University Curling Championship with skip Brett Gallant, and finishing with a 3-4 win-loss record at the nationals, where he earned second team All-Canadian honours. Playing with skip Sam Ramsay, he finished second at the provincial Junior championships, won the Junior Fall Fling in Summerside, was a quarter-finalist at the Codiac Junior Spiel in Moncton, and played in the OVCA SuperSpiel in Ottawa. He also won the provincial Junior Mixed title with skip Sarah Fullerton. Off the ice, Connor brought a junior voice to the PEI Curling Association, serving on the executive as second vice president.

Senior (Adult) Female Athlete of the Year– Suzanne Birt, Rebecca Jean MacDonald, Heather MacRae

Suzanne Birt, the two-time Canadian Junior, 2001 world Junior and six-time PEI women’s champion skip, curls out of the Charlottetown Curling Club, and had a great 2011-2012 season both nationally and internationally, beginning in September, where her team won the inaugural Curl Atlantic Championship in Sackville New Brunswick, with the top prize of a berth in the International Bernese Ladies Cup in Berne, Switzerland. At the Cup in January, the Birt rink made an impressive showing, finishing in third place, after Michelle Jaeggi of Switzerland, and Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones.  The Birt rink were also in the money with runner-up finishes at three major Canadian cashspiels – the Southwestern Ontario Women’s Charity Classic in London Ontario, and the Lady Monctonian and the Hub City Shootout, both in Moncton.

Rebecca Jean MacDonald, also from the Charlottetown Curling Club, won her seventh provincial women’s curling championship in the 2011-2012 season, playing third for Kim Dolan. She also played third on the Robert Campbell rink, who won the provincial Mixed title. The team will now advance to the Canadian Mixed in Montreal in November, where they hope to capture their second national mixed title, having won the event two years ago.

Heather MacRae is a volunteer who helps out wherever and whenever she can at the Crapaud Community Curling Club, where she has been a member for many years. On the ice, her rink, skipped by Marie Ford, has been the runner-up two years in a row at the provincial The Dominion Curling Club Championship,, losing 4-3 in a close final this year to the Nola Murphy rink from the Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club in Summerside.

Senior (Adult) Male Athlete of the Year –Brian Ellis, Brett Gallant, Larry Richards

One of the most devoted members and sponsors at the Crapaud Community Curling Club, Brian Ellis is an avid curler, taking part in all club events, and a dedicated volunteer, helping out around the club as much as possible.

Skip Brett Gallant of Charlottetown, a former Canadian Junior champion, had yet another busy year, representing PEI at the Canadian Mixed, finishing with an 8-5 win-loss record, and coming second at the Curl Atlantic Championship in Sackville NB. He skipped his team to a first place finish at the Casino de Charlevoix World Curling Tour event in Clermont Quebec, won the Atlantic University Curling Championship, and finished with a 3-4 record at the national CIS/CCA championships. He was runner-up to Mike Gaudet at the PEI men’s championship, and capped off the year by playing with Newfoundland and Labrador’s Brad Gushue rink at the season-ending Players’ Championship in Summerside. Following the event, Gushue announced that he has invited Gallat to join his team for the upcoming season.

Montague’s Larry Richards, playing with skip Donald Clarey, had a very busy season, which included a second place finish at the PEI The Dominion Curling Club Championships, and a trip to the PEI men’s championship, where they were the only team to record a win against the event-winning Mike Gaudet rink. As last year’s The Dominion winners, they travelled to Richmond BC to compete in the national event, finishing with a 2-4 record. They also went to Halifax to compete in the Molson Mayflower cashspiel, where they advanced to the money round, losing out in the quarter-finals. Skipping his own rink, Richards finished as runner-up to two-time Canadian Mixed champ Robert Campbell at the PEI Mixed, and won the B Division at the Sweep into Montague spiel. In addition to curling, Richards was also the club representative on the PEICA Board of Directors, and Club Manager and Ice Maker for theMontague Curling Club. Larry also, volunteered many hours at the Players’ Championship in Summerside as part of the ice crew, who had a very short time to get the curling ice installed following a rock concert, and, by all reports, did an excellent job.

Coach of the Year – Peter Gallant, Angela Hodgson, Paul Smith

Peter Gallant, a former Canadian Mixed and nine-time provincial men’s champion, is certainly no stranger to curling, and he is now imparting his knowledge and expertise to a new generation of curlers, as coach. In the 2011-2012 season, he coached the Suzanne Birt women’s team, and the Alex Matters junior squad throughout the season , and also coached the Mike Gaudet rink at the 2012 Brier. Under his guidance, the junior team, which includes his son Chris, won the provincials and advanced to the nationals in Ontario. One of the front end team members commented “it’s not just Peter showing us the proper way to slide and tips on the release, it’s the strategy part that he shares with Chris and Alex on the back end that has made us successful.” After the Gaudet rink defeated the team skipped by Gallant’s other son, Brett, in the provincial final, he agreed to coach Team Gaudet at the Brier in Saskatoon.  He coached the Birt rink to a huge win at the Curl Atlantic Championship in Sackville New Brunswick, which provided them with an invitation to the International Bernese Ladies Cup in Bern, Switzerland, where they had an impressive third place finish.

Angela Hodgson coached the Sarah Fullerton rink to their third consecutive provincial Junior championship, and at the nationals, where they finished with a 6-6 record. She won the Asham coaching award at the PEI juniors, as well as the coaching Fair Play award at the nationals. The team says that she acts not only as a coach, but a “wonderful mentor” to the team members. She also coached the Holland College men’s team at the Canadian College Invitational championships, where they finished with a 3-4 record, and coached the Fullerton team to a first place finish at the Fall Fling junior cashspiel in Summerside. She also completed her first term on the PEI Curling Association executive, serving as Vice President.

Paul Smith had a very successful year coaching the Veronica Smith junior team from the Cornwall Curling Club, helping them with their many achievements, including making the final in the Fall Fling, and finishing in the top four in the Spring Thaw, both in Summerside. He also coached them to a provincial 17 and Under title, and a second place finish at the Atlantic Under 18. Smith has been coaching the team for seven seasons, allowing them to achieve the goals they set out at the beginning of the season, encouraging them throughout the year. He was on the ice with them two nights a week practicing, and took stats at their weekly league games, to point out possible areas of improvement. He was also present at every tournament they entered. The Veronica Smith team feel they have benefited greatly from his hard work and dedication.

Official of the Year– Kay Atkinson, Cliff Poirier, Kevin Smith/Phyllis Stretch

Kay Atkinson of Charlottetown is a respected and extremely knowledgeable official. This past season she was involved in many PEICA events as head official, and mentoring umpires who were obtaining the hours necessary for their certification.

Summerside’s Cliff Poirier spent several months in the south during this past curling season, yet he still made quite an impact on the PEI curling world. Before leaving, he trained new umpires and started the process to review the list of qualified umpires on PEI. After returning, he jumped right in as Head Umpire at many of the Provincial events that were left and became the local Organizer of Officials at the Players’ Championship in Summerside, where he recruited volunteers, assigned their schedules, attended local organizing committee meetings, and basically “lived” at Credit Union Place the week of the event.  He continues to stay in tune with what is new and/or changing around the country in terms of the curling rules and continues to help keep the PEICA and its members up-to-date.

Phyllis Stretch and Kevin Smith officiated at the provincial events held at the Crapaud Community Curling Club throughout the year, providing advice and guidance to the curlers, and ensuring that the games went smoothly, and were officiated properly.

Volunteer of the Year: Amanda Bulger, Derek MacEwen, Phyllis Stretch

Amanda Bulger, from Summerside, is a regular volunteer at provincial curling championships and cashspiels on PEI, where she updates the live-scoring website. She is known for being focused, quick, and taking her job seriously. Although Amanda will sit and chat and let those around her know all the current events in the curling world (she is very knowledgeable in this area) she also watches each ice every game and doesn’t miss a thing, knowing that there are many curling fans out there who want to know the results, but can’t get to the club. If the equipment or the program is not working properly Amanda figures out a way to get the scores out. At one point this season during the PEI Men’s Tankard, the Live Curling site was not working properly, and instead of waiting for it to work, she posted the scores on social media sites to help spread the word. Amanda also volunteered at the Players’ Championship in Summerside, putting the scores up on the scoreboard at the end of the ice sheets. Overall, Amanda is a great asset to have at any and all events.

Derek MacEwen has been a volunteer at the Cornwall Curling Club for many years, in many capacities, serving on the Board of Directors, and as its President at one point. His longest volunteering duty, however, has been the club website, CornwallCurling.com, which he originally setup in 2000, and continues to update to this day. The attractive, informative, and up-to-date site provides the club with a valuable promotional tool to attract new members, get ice rentals, especially on short notice when there are cancellations, and provide members with the latest information on draws, bonspiels and other club activities. Club members, some of whom live many miles from the club and may only curl once a week, know they can always get the latest information on club events from the website, or from its Twitter, Facebook, RSS, and email feeds. Information sent to him for posting is added almost instantly, with never a complaint. Derek is proactive in getting information for the website, scouring the bulletin boards at the Club, and the newspaper for information concerning the club, and is glad to help others reword their material so that it delivers exactly the right message. He is also excellent at spotting mistakes on information going out on the website, and in newspapers, and has from time to time saved the club the embarrassment of sending out incorrect information. He also takes pictures at many events of both the curling and off-ice activities, along with pictures of the winning teams, and posts them to the website so that everyone can see what it is like to curl at the club. For many years he has also served as drawmaster for the Wednesday night Ladder League, which is always well-organized. Because he is so efficient and reliable, the Board of Directors feels his work is often taken for granted, and have nominated him for Volunteer of the Year to reinforce their appreciation.

Phyllis Stretch has served as the Junior Program Co-coordinator for the past six years for the Crapaud Community Curling Club, and has been the mainstay in keeping the junior Program alive and growing in Crapaud.  She has given very generously of her time and assists in virtually all aspects of the club operation – she is one of several key people who oversaw all of the recent renovations to the club, and has served as a Board member and looked ater expenditure approval for the past six years. She has provided excellent assistance and cooperation for numerous Junior Camps and events and virtually all other activities at the club.  She has completed Club Coach Youth, and Introduction to Competitive Coach training and has recently completed her Level 1 Official’s certification.

Team of the Year – Team Birt, Team Fullerton, Team PEI (Special Olympics)

Team Birt, with skip Suzanne Birt, third Shelly Bradley, second Robyn MacPhee, lead Leslie MacDougall, and coach Peter Gallant, had a big season on the Atlantic, national and international fronts, winning the first Curl Atlantic Championship in Sackville NB, which included a berth in the World Curling Tour’s International Bernese Ladies Cup in Switzerland, where the team had an impressive third place finish in the 32 team world-level event. Team Birt also competed in the Southwestern Ontario Women’s Charity Cashspiel in London Ontario, finishing in second place in a 16-team field of top rinks from Canada and Scotland. They also recorded a third place finish at the Rodd Curling Classic in Charlottetown, which includes Atlantic Canada’s best teams, and finished the season as the top team in Atlantic Canada on the Canadian Team Ranking system, and in 23^rd place for the entire country.

Team Fullerton, which includes skip Sarah Fullerton, third Michelle McQuaid, second Sara MacRae, and lead Hillary Thompson, with coach Angela Hodgson, capped off their Junior careers by winning their third straight provincial Junior women’s championship. They also entered the Scotties provincial women’s championship, making an impressive debut with a third place finish, and won the Fall Fling junior cashspiel. The team also finds time to balance academic work with their busy curling schedule, with two members of the team on the Deans List at university.

Team PEI (Special Olympics) is skipped by Greg St. John, and includes Phillip Chugg, John Anthony Laybolt, Monique Gauthier and Chris MacPherson, with head coach Dick St. John, assistant coach Ann Doucette, and team manager Paula Gauthier.  In February 2011, the team, who curl out of both the Charlottetown and Cornwall curling clubs, won the right to represent PEI at the Special Olympics National Winter Games the following February in St. Albert, Alberta. In the intervening year the team went through a rigorous training, including weekly conditioning beginning in June, which including a warmup and stretch, a 45 minute walk, 15 minutes of strength training, followed by a cool down and a curling review. The athletes were also given pedometers to track their daily steps, and undertook a nutrition program based on the Canada Food Guide.  In the fall, the team practiced once a week at the Charlottetown Curling Club, and played as a team in Cornwall’s Sunday evening league. As well,  the athletes participated in an eight session mental preparation program with sports psychologist Tara Costello, developed training goals, took part in team building actiivities, played in a club bonspiel, and played the Summerside Special Olympics team. All this hard work paid off, as the team came home from the Games with a gold medal, and, perhaps more importantly, grew as individuals and as a team through the experience.  Following their gold medal performance, the team continued to practice and play at the Charlottetown and Cornwall clubs, participated in a Special Olympics PEI-organized bonspiel of Special Olympic athletes from the three Maritime provinces, and travelled to Moncton for a similar bonspiel. The team would like to thank their coaches and manager, the staff of Special Olympics PEI, and the parents who drove the athletes to their events and fundraised significant amounts of money.

The Capital One Junior Draw to the Button contest was held Saturday, on Global TV,  during the Player’s Championship in Summerside, with junior representatives from Island curling clubs taking part. After the preliminaries, it was narrowed down to four finalists – Sabrina Smith from Cornwall, Lauren Moerike from Charlottetown, Marshall Smallman from O’Leary’s Maple Leaf club, and Brooks Roche from Montague.

Sabrina Smith, (Photo from Global TV)

The curlers had practiced on a different sheet than the one used for the finals, and found the ice much heavier than that which they had practiced on. The first three curlers’ rocks all fell short of the hog line, with the fourth curler, Roche, putting his stone short of the rings, but well inside the hog line, to win the event, and the prize of $1000 to the winning curler, and $10,000 for the winning club.

Brooks Roche from the Montague Curling Club poses with mascot “Slider” and  the Capital One Junior Draw to the Button trophy (Photo credit: Grand Slam of Curling)

Roche told Cheryl Bernard on Global TV that his immediate plans for the money were to take the team to dinner, while Montague club manager Larry Richards told her that the club would use their portion to purchase a Jet Ice system.

There are lots of Cornwall Club members attending the great curling at the Players’ Championship in Summerside this week. Tonight I noticed Hank and Gerald and Mitch and Chris and Roy and Angus, Lorianne, and Tyler, and Lynda and Karen and Tom and Lester and Paulette and Jim, just to name a few, along with this team (not sure who the new recruits are in the back row,  though!)