The Gibsons Curling Club (GCC) Men’s Bonspiel was the largest in recent history as 32 teams from all over B.C. – and one team from Alberta – took to the ice over the weekend of Jan. 15 to 17.
“We’re pretty happy with the way the bonspiel went,” GCC president Kate Barratt said. “I think everybody had a good time. It was really a high level of competition and it was one of the largest crowds we’ve had in recent years.”
Team Meyer won first place in the A division. The team was put together with two Coasters, Matt Chalmers and Brad Zalys, who curl out of GCC, paired alongside skipper Cal Fister from Golden Ears Curling Club in Maple Ridge, and Barry Meyer from Royal City Curling Club in New Westminster.
Chalmers – who hails from Roberts Creek – said he owes the victory to a team of extremely talented players.
“It was great. I was put together with three players I’d never met before so I was a bit nervous at first, but we gelled together really well and won all five games,” Chalmers said.
Team Meyer went up against the defending champion from last year, Jared Wannamaker and his team. It was a close game between the Meyer and Wannamaker teams right through the semi-finals and up until the very end, but the Meyer team came out ahead and took the trophy.
“It was really, really good competition,” Barratt said. “Everybody seemed to have come out to curl. Sometimes it’s a little bit more party, but there were a lot of very keen curling teams this year.”
The bonspiel wasn’t exactly a no-party zone – beer from Persephone was on tap in the upstairs bar and the Billy Hill Pickers performed live on Saturday night.
“It was really good. I think everybody had a really good time and the games got quite exciting at the end,” Barratt said.
More information about the curling club can be found on their website at www.gibsonscurlingclub.com
