A handful of top international curling teams will descend on Abbotsford from today (Friday) to Sunday to face off against some of the best teams in B.C. at the Abbotsford Curling Club’s Classic Cash Spiel.
“This weekend’s Abbotsford Curling Classic Cash Spiel will bring together some of the best B.C. and international curling the Lower Mainland will see all season,” ACC manager Kent Bird stated.
“Most of the teams that competed to represent B.C. at last year’s 2017 Tim Hortons Brier and Scotties Tournament of Hearts will be competing at this Abbotsford event.”
This tournament will showcase 16 men’s teams from across the province, including defending the national junior championship team Tardi from Surrey and Langley, and provincial championship runnerup Team Joanisse from Maple Ridge, who has twice represented B.C. at the national championship Brier – along with 13 of B.C.’s top women’s curling teams.
Teams competing on the men’s side, from B.C., are: Chris Baier, Neil Dangerfield, Jason Montgomery, and Glen Jackson from Victoria; Jeff Guignard and Stephen Schneider from Vancouver; Dean Joanisse from Abbotsford, but curling out of Maple Ridge; Tyler Tardi from Langley; Brent Pierce from New Westminster; Cody Tanaka from Richmond; Sean Geall from Kelowna; and Mark Longworth from Vernon.
They will face Soohyuk Kim (Korea), Yusuke Morozumi (Japan), and Stefan Staehli (Switzerland).
On the women’s side, B.C. teams competing are: Carry Brown and Karla Thompson from Kamloops; Shelia Cowan and Kayte Gyles from Cloverdale; Sarah Daniels from Delta; Holly Donaldson and Dailene Pewarchuk from Victoria; Diane Gushulak from New Westminster; Kelly Shimizu from Richmond; Sarah Wark from Chilliwack; Kim Slattery from Vernon; and Kesa Van Osch from Nanaimo.
They will face Chelsea Duncan from Whitehorse, Yukon; Satsuki Fujisawa from Japan; and Viktoria Moiseeva from St. Petersburg, Russia.
The tournament’s first draw takes place today at 8 a.m., and continues through to the tournament championship draws Sunday afternoon.
“This exciting event is open to the public and free to attend. We encourage the Lower Mainland’s curling community to come out and see this great exhibition of B.C.’s finest curling,” Bird said.
“Curling fans are also welcome to stick around Sunday for the Grey Cup and our chili and wings cook-off.”
For more information, visit abbotsfordcurling.com.