Co-ed Senior Curling in Abbotsford

For the first time at the 2012 Canadian Senior Curling Championships presented by Raymond James, the curling fans assembled at the Abbotsford Recreation Centre saw games played by both genders. Last year’s national senior champions were both in action. Heidi Hanlon’s women’s team from The Thistle-St. Andrews C. C. in Saint John, NB got caught in a juggernaut performance by Team Ontario skipped by Nancy Harrison, falling by a 9-5 count. The current men’s senior champion (Team Robertson) from the Neepawa C.C. in Manitoba were on the short side of the score versus another Ontario team, this time from the north losing 6-5 to the Gordon team from the Sudbury C. C. Both teams Hanlon & Robertson will wear the Maple Leaf in a few weeks in Copenhagen, Denmark at the 2012 World Senior Curling Championships as the winner of the Canadian title represents Canada at the world event in the following year. This year’s winners will be Teams Canada one year from now at a site to be named on or about Mar. 28 by the World Curling Federation. In other women’s action the team from the Saville Sports Centre in Edmonton, AB skipped by a former world champion, Cathy King, bested the ladies from Newfoundland & Labrador out of The Re/Max Centre in St. John’s skipped by Cathy Cunningham by 6-5 score. The third women’s tilt saw the Nova Scotians from the Mayflower C.C. in Halifax skipped by Nancy Delahunt but with last stones being delivered by one of the icons of women’s curling in Canada, Colleen Jones, decisively dispense the team from Quebec under the guidance of Odette Trudel by a score of 8-5. On the men’s side, the lads from the Buckingham C.C. in Quebec finally put it together victimizing another former Canadian Senior Champion from Saskatchewan, Eugene Hritzuk, by a final tally of 9-3. The final men’s game was a win by the foursome from the Charlottetown C.C. over their hosts from Prince George by a 9-5 count in nine ends. It was not a good afternoon for former national senior champions, once again demonstrating the strength of field for senior curling in Canada! For those of you who would like to see the action on your computer, a group of industrious junior curlers from the Abbotsford C.C. are “livestreaming” one game for each afternoon draw. You can log on to the web site by going to www.canadianseniors2012.com to see a link to the livestream site. These young curlers are doing an excellent job. It’s worth logging on! Play resumes this evening with three women’s and three men’s games. For end by end results, visit www.curling.ca/championships/seniors/scores-and-standings Results of games already played, visit www.curling.ca/championships/seniors/scores-and-standings/draw-by-draw-reports Host Committee web site, visit www.canadianseniors2012.com