Vernon hosts national curling championships, public invited to watch some of the game’s best

They are classified as seniors, but they really aren’t that old.

The top 50-and-older curlers in Canada will be in Vernon Dec. 3 to 9 for the Everest Canadian Senior Curling Championships at the Vernon Curling Club.

Mark Longworth, the event’s co-chair and a noted curler himself, said most of the competitors are in the 50 to 60 year old range.

“Wes Craig of B.C. is a master [curler]. He’s over 60. He would be one of the older competitors here,” Longworth told Vernon Matters.

The event, which is sponsored by Everest, a funeral concierge service, features 14 women’s and 14 men’s teams vying for national championships.

Longworth said some of the teams are arriving Thursday, with most arriving Friday and Saturday morning.

“The first draw is at 4 p.m. on Sunday. The teams will practice on Sunday morning. The opening ceremonies are at 6:30 p.m. and we have an evening draw at 8 o’ clock.”

Longworth said teams to watch on the men’s side include Paul Flemming of Nova Scotia and Bruce Korte of Saskatchewan, while Wes Craig of [Duncan] B.C. also has a strong team.

“It’s a pretty even field for the top 7 or 8 teams on both sides.”

In the women’s event, Longworth said it is wide open, with Nancy Martin from Saskatchewan and B.C.’s Diane Gushulak (New Westminster) two of the teams to watch.

Longworth, who is chairing the event along with curling club manager and expert ice maker Dave Merklinger, said the seven-day spectacle will have a strong impact on the local economy.

“We think it will be over a million dollars at the end of it because we’re going to have 120 participants and coaches plus a lot of family and friends coming into town, so that economic impact in itself is with the hotels and meals, and for a full week,” Longworth remarked.

About 75 volunteers are helping to stage the event which is hosted by the Vernon Curling Club, Tourism Vernon and the Sport & Culture Society of the North Okanagan.

The host hotel is the Premier Best Western on Anderson Way.

“Just about all the teams will be staying there and some of their friends and spouses as well.”

The public is welcome to come watch the event.

“We’re expecting to have a fairly good crowd,” Longworth said. “There is some excellent curlers here. There are purple hearts (provincial champs) on the men’s side and Scotty hearts on the ladies side, a lot of competitors that played at national championships before, so the quality of curling will be excellent.”

Passes are $75 for the week, $20 per day, or $10 per draw.

There will be three draws a day Monday to Friday at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The championship games will be on Saturday, Dec. 9 with the semi finals at 8:30 a.m. for the men and women. The men’s final will be at 12 p.m. alongside the bronze medal game. The ladies championship will be Saturday afternoon at 3:30, with the bronze medal match at the same time.

Games will be live streamed on the Curling Canada Plus app as well as the TSN Plus app, both subscription services.

Randy Ferby, who was recently inducted into the Curling Hall of Fame, will provide commentary the TSN Plus app and he will be joined by either Jennifer Jones or Brent Laing.

Al Cameron will be calling games on Curling Canada Plus with either Mary Anne Arsenault of Lake Country or Jim Cotter of Vernon.

It will be Vernon’s third time hosting the Everest Canadian Senior Women’s Championship and second time hosting the Everest Canadian Senior Men’s Championship.

Vernon also played host to the 2008 World Women’s Curling Championship, with Jennifer Jones’ Canadian team winning gold, as well as the 1992 Canadian Junior Men’s and Women’s Championships, when Quebec’s Michel Ferland and Saskatchewan’s Amber Holland claimed the men’s and women’s titles respectively.

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