Stratton hosts regional Bantam curling playdowns

The Northwestern Ontario Region 1 and 2 boys’ and girls’ Bantam playdowns were hosted by the Stratton curling club this past weekend.
Although a few games had been played earlier in the day, the official opening ceremonies were held Friday at 7 p.m.
Morley Reeve Gary Gamsby welcomed the curlers to Stratton. He thanked the planning committee and rec society for their hard work in bringing this event together, and also talked about Stratton’s rich curling history.
“A club surviving in such a small town is rare,” Reeve Gamsby said.
“This club has produced many excellent curlers through its very strong junior program,” he continued. “These curlers have gone on to compete at high levels in high school, junior, men’s, women’s, and seniors’ divisions.
“Your event here this weekend will only serve to make our curling heritage richer,” Reeve Gamsby concluded. “Enjoy the curling, the hospitality, and the friendships that you experience during this event.
“May your weekend be filled with good curling and good sportsmanship. Above all, have fun!”
Veteran Stratton curler Sandra Williams then threw the ceremonial first rock, which, under the experienced guidance of skip John Smits, was drawn to the button.
The boys’ side of the competition, featuring six teams, was dominated by the Fort William rink skipped by Brennan Wark.
They were not all easy victories but, as coach Don Main said of Wark, “He is not affected by pressure.”
In the end, Fort William won all five of its games to earn a berth at the provincial Bantam playdowns, which will be held in Fort Frances next weekend (Feb. 15-17).
The battle to determine the second provincial berth was not as easy.
As Stratton parent Bud McQuaker put it, “There was one strong team and one a bit weaker than the rest, but the other four were very evenly matched.
“The games were close.”
Saturday evening saw the two Stratton rinks playing each other. When asked who he thought would win, Team McQuaker’s third Cody Ossachuk replied, “It could go either way.”
“We’ve played this game every night this past week. Sometimes we win and sometimes they win,” he reasoned.
In a well-played game, Team McQuaker emerged victorious over Team Johnson by a score of 6-4.
At the end of Saturday’s play, Fort William led the pack with a 4-0 record while the Keffer foursome from Fort Frances was in second place at 3-1.
Maury Nielson, coach of the Johnson rink, looked at the schedule and speculated that if the McQuaker rink was to win against Sioux Lookout’s Team Ransom, and if Johnson was to beat Keffer, there would need to be a tie-breaker between Keffer and McQuaker to determine who would take the second provincial berth.
Well, McQuaker won their morning game while Johnson beat Keffer in the noon match-up to force the tie-breaker.
“It always feels good when you are able to help out members of your club,” skip Matthew Johnson said after his rink’s win over Keffer.
The tie-breaker was tied for most of the game, with the McQuaker rink pulling ahead by one point in the last end to snag the final berth.
Keffer ended up in third place at 3-2 and Johnson in fourth (2-3), followed by Ransom and Szajewski (Kenora) tied for last at 1-4.
< *c>Girls’ action
Meanwhile, four girls’ teams played two games with each opponent, with Port Arthur’s Team Jones winning all six of its games.
The Keffer rink (Fort Frances) finished with a 4-2 record to nail down the second berth to the provincials in Fort Frances next weekend, followed by Port Arthur’s Westlund team (2-4) and Stratton’s Haw (0-6).
Team Haw did not win any games, but they certainly won the hearts of the other curlers, as well as the hometown crowd and visiting parents. The team of 12-year-olds only had been practising for the past three weeks.
But they clearly were enjoying themselves in spite of having to struggle to get on the scoreboard.
As skip Jessica Haw said after a 13-0 loss on Saturday afternoon, “The other teams have been really good to us and that helps.”
“The girls wanted to compete and be a part of the event,” noted longtime Stratton curler Terry Lee. “They had no expectations so they just had a good time.
“If they are interested and stick together, they could go a long ways.”
“There are memories being created that are about so much more than winning or losing,” stressed event organizer Jackie McCormick.
“These girls had never played an eight-ender before.
“I really hope that they stay together and get hooked on curling,” McCormick added. “They have so much potential. They seem really keen and with great family and community support, they will go far.
“If they get into the open league and maybe play together in high school, I can see them going away to school together and competing at higher levels.”
“Don’t ever quit!” Sioux Lookout coach Chris Ransom advised the Grade 7 team.
Coach Candy Teeple was very proud of her team. “There was a big difference in them from Friday to Sunday,” she noted. “They are way more competent in delivering and in calling their shots.
“Most importantly, they had fun all weekend. Everyone is impressed with how well they held themselves up. Everyone has been so kind and encouraging.
“I think they have caught the [curling] bug,” Teeple added.
This event was Teeple’s “last hoorah” as president of the Stratton Recreation Society. After four years, she gave notice she would be stepping down at the Feb. 4 annual meeting.
“This has been a perfect way to go out,” she said.
“We have had nothing but good comments and positive feedback on the event,” Teeple added. “I am impressed with how the whole community came together to pull this off.
“Everyone has been so kind and helpful.”
The participants were equally impressed with the hospitality they received.
“The smaller clubs do the best job,” said Fort William coach Don Main.
“The organizers are doing a great job of hosting,” agreed Brian Keffer, father of the skips of the two Fort Frances rinks. “They are looking after the players. They have healthy snacks for the kids.
“This is a good event,” he enthused.
Stratton skip Matthew Johnson summed up the regional playdowns by saying, “I met some new people and had a great time.”