MIDDLETON - They came, they curled and they left - with the Provincial Club Mixed Championship. Arnold Burnard’s team with Shelley MacDougall, Greg Gollan and Monica Driscoll ended the three-day event with the winning trophy.
But the three club teams from Middleton fought hard against the challenge, and the final game for the championship was the sixth game that the Bill Eaton team had played in three days, and on the Sunday they played three back-to-back games, starting at 8:30 in the morning and finishing the final just after 6:00 p.m.
Bill’s team figured that they spent about 22 hours on the ice over the three-day weekend – perhaps a club record!
In the final, Cody Spidle’s team was also playing for the consolation division and lost out to the Glooscap team of Conrad MacEachern with Caeleigh Maclean, Will Haggerty, and Kim Garby.
By Middleton Curling Club standards it was an unusual championship, as past years have been marked by storms – sometimes a series of storms – that have left visiting clubs stranded in Middleton and being delivered to the club by snow-plowing equipment.
This year the Friday start had no inclement weather in sight, so the teams played on time and spectators dropped by easily to watch games in progress. Icemakers Ernie Killen and Allen Morris seemed to spend every waking moment at the club, because with championships the ice has to be fully resurfaced between every game.
In smaller clubs many members have to multi-task, so at one point Allen Morris was entering the scores in real time on the live curling website, had just finished ice-making, and when a team photo had to be taken, was also the photographer. Curlers from larger clubs are often astounded by how much MCC provides with only their volunteers.
Friday night, the Chase the Ace went on side by side with the curling, an enthusiastic crowd and the Ace staying in the deck.
There were five draws on Saturday, and the team from CFB Halifax pleased fans with a skip who changed his Norwegian-style curling gear for the second day of play, making a bold fashion statement on the ice. It was a long day, and team Eaton played their second and third games. Little did they know that on Sunday they would play three back-to-back games in a championship game that went right down to last rocks.
Overall - an exciting weekend, with a great mix of tied games, extra ends, thrilling comebacks and breath-taking shots. And off the ice, all the teams enjoyed each other’s company and the hospitality of the club.
Next up, the MCC Big Breakfast on Saturday, Jan. 27.
For all news about upcoming events at MCC check www.middletoncurlingclub.com
Karen Sotvedt is a member of the Middleton Curling Club.
