There were 64 competitors in Nelson Curling Club's 2014 Open Cash Spiel this weekend, and almost all of them walked away with part of the $10,000 purse. Nelson teams came in sixth, ninth and tenth-place finishes.
"We've had great local support from the businesses in town," said Nelson Curling Club's Nando Salviulo, who said the tournament was a huge success. “We couldn’t have done it without them. They really stepped up this year.”
Out-of-town competitors commented on how efficiently the event was run and asked them not to tinker with the current format for the upcoming Kootenay Inter-regional Zone Playdowns on December 5 to 7.
Salviulo considers the overwhelmingly positive feedback a “feather in the curling centre and organizers’ cap.”
With 16 rinks going, they saw teams from Kelowna, Kimberley, Castlegar, Cranbrook, Vernon and Creston descend on Nelson to try out the arena, which will host the upcoming regional showdowns in two weeks. Salviulo said it was a great opportunity for Nelson players to "warm up" for the next competition.
"They're using this spiel to gear up for the highly competitive play down," he said.
The winners from that competition will move on to provincial championships and the right to represent BC at the Tim Horton Brier.
The winner of the tournament was Castlegar’s Skip Myron Nichol, along with his teammates Barry Marsh (third), Garry Beaudry (second) and Rob Babiarz. They took home $1800.
The top performing Nelson team was lead by skipper Fred Thomson, with teammates Roger May (third), Brent Pihowich (second) and lead Brad Patridge.
Salviulo’s team came in ninth. His team consisted of Dave Parker (third), Bud Edgar (second) and lead Tim Chale.
Jill Winter’s team came in tenth. Her team consisted of Kristina Little (third), Marlo Tedesco (second) and lead Marcie Stefiuk.
“They gave the opposition a good competitive game. Most of the games were down to the last rock, and they were playing some high calibre teams,” said Salviulo.
Salviulo said the Nelson Curling Club now has grown to 14 teams, with the mixed league proving to be particularly popular.
“If we could grow it to 20 teams we could bring tourist dollars to Nelson and spread it around that way,” he said.
For more information and full results visit nelsoncurling.com.
