Future looks bright as Junior curlers take over Nelson club
By The Nelson Daily Sports
The future of curling in the West Kootenay was on display at the Nelson Curling Club this past weekend as 11 teams from throughout the zone competed in the annual Junior Bonspiel.
Teams from Trail, Rossland, Castlegar and host Nelson played four-end games in two divisions, the Junior division for new curlers and the Intermediate division for more experienced players.
The Junior division was won by the Thatcher team from Rossland, followed by the Mailey and Helgesen teams from Trail.
In the Intermediate division, top honors for the day went to the Watt rink from Castlegar, with Rossland’s Watson rink and Trail’s Sergis rink finishing second and third in the division, respectively.
Coaches Garry Meadows and Russ Holitzki organized the event.
Meadows and Holitzki have spearheaded the Junior league this season, coaching 20 young curlers to master increasingly difficult skills as part of the Curl BC Skills Awards Challenge.
Several curlers have achieved their Red (Novice) and Blue (Junior) awards this season. They will continue to work toward the intermediate Bronze and Silver awards and the advanced Gold award when curling starts up again in October.
The Junior league is open to novice and experienced curlers aged 10 and up, and is hoping to attract new members in the fall.
“A couple more teams would be great,” said Meadows. “Then we could get some fun competitions happening in the league.”
The Nelson Curling Centre also offers a Little Rockers program for younger kids.
The Nelson Curling Centre is very grateful to all the local businesses who supported the Junior Bonspiel by donating prizes and food, and to the volunteers who helped out behind the scenes.
