Nelson's Garry Beaudry double qualifies for curling provincials
By The Nelson Daily Sports
Don’t blame Garry Beaudry for being a little greedy.
The Nelson curler likes the sport so much he’s decided to attend two provincial championships — Senior Men’s and Masters 60-plus — this season.
“It has been really satisfying to win both provincial berths this year,” Beaudry told The Nelson Daily.
“My father George Beaudry won both the Canadian Seniors (1974) and Canadian Masters (1987) Championships. I know he’d be proud that I’m following in his footsteps.”
Beaudry added the Masters 60-plus-zone title to his accomplishments by defeating Al Tholl of Creston 8-3 in the final.
Beaudry, third Don Bedard, second Gerry Foster and lead Tom Bassett opened the Zone Playdowns by doubling Dave Ralston of Creston 6-3.
However, there was a hiccup in game two as Beaudry lost a tight 3-2 contest to two time and current B.C. Masters champ Ralph Will of Fernie 3-2.
The Beaudry rink represents the zone at the Masters Championships in Abbotsford March 8-13.
Before the Masters, Beaudry joins forces with Myron Nichol as the Kootenay rep as the BC Senior Men’s Championships February 15-20 in Richmond.
Beaudry plays second on the Nichol rink that includes Bill van Yzerloo at third and Richard Faunt at lead.
After losing the first game to Tom Shypitka of Cranbrook, the Nichol rink reeled off four consecutive wins to capture the Kootenay zone berth in Grand Forks.
“This is the same team that we took to the provincials last year except we had Barry Marsh (Nelson) at lead,” Beaudry said.
Two chances to win a provincial title.
But first things first — play well and advance into the playoffs is the goal of both teams.
“I think the goals are to first make the playoffs, then win the provincials,” Beaudry said.
“I’m looking forward to both competitions . . . which should be a lot of fun.”
EXTRA END: Time is closing in on the 2016 Canadian Direct Insurance BC Men’s Curling Championship in Nelson. This year’s Championship, which will be televised on Sportsnet, takes place at Nelson Curling Centre from February 10-14. For ticket information, and to find out more about the event, visit http://cdimens2016.curlbc.ca/. . . . Visit http://www.playdowns.com to view past scores and to follow the scores and standings from the championship event.
