It is said football is a game of inches. But it has nothing on curling. Relegated to its first loss Thursday by a several-times re-measured shot, the defending provincial men’s champion Victoria Curling Club rink rebounded with an extra-ends victory on Friday night in the sa国际传媒 championships at the Archie Browning Sports Centre.
“It’s a long week and anything can happen with a roller-coaster of emotions,” said VCC skip Catlin Schneider.
“You just simply move on to the next end, or the next game.”
Which is exactly what the Schneider rink did Friday night in outlasting Cameron de Jong of Victoria, the former sa国际传媒 junior men’s champion and sa国际传媒 mixed champion, who is skipping a team of curlers from Richmond, Vernon and Penticton.
“It’s been stressful but we have played to the bitter end every game,” said de Jong. “Now we regroup and go through the C qualifier. You just have to keep your body going through this, but it’s also a mental thing.”
De Jong was playing the 2022-champion Brent Pierce rink from Royal City in the tie-breaker round late Friday night. The winner advanced to the playoff round today while the loser went home.
Schneider, meanwhile, advanced to today’s A-final against the combined Jeff Richard Vernon and Royal city rink, which is a rematch against the beneficiary of the close measurement on Thursday. “That shifted us into a different journey. But we are confident of our ability to win it when it matters,” said Schneider, who replaced Jacques Gauthier this year as the skip of the VCC holders.
On the women’s side, Clancy Grandy of Vancouver moved to 7-0 heading into the weekend playoff rounds. If they are feeling any pressure, now that it’s crunch time in the playoffs, this unflappable foursome isn’t showing it.
“It’s what we came here to play for. We take every game as it comes. That’s just our personality and who we are,” said Grandy. The approach doesn’t differ for the playoff rounds.
“We’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing, stick together, and make our shots,” said Grandy.
“Round-robin or playoffs — it’s all the same at the end of the day to us — and we do not change anything. We keep communicating and staying calm. All the training we do is paying off. We trust in all the work and preparation we have put in.”
Playoff rounds today are at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. The championship games are Sunday with the women’s at 9 a.m. and men’s at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at the door or through Eventbrite.
The sa国际传媒 men’s champion will advance to the Brier national championship March 1-10 in Regina and the provincial women’s champion to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts nationals Feb. 16-25 in Calgary.
