Middleton youth curlers excel at Earl Mackinnon Classic
On the weekend Middleton Curling Club was hosting the Provincial Club Mixed and adult teams were competing out on the ice, four teams of MCC student curlers were also in a weekend bonspiel.
The Earl Mackinnon Classic is organized each year by the Glooscap Curling Club out of Kentville, although this year they expanded to use some ice in Berwick as well.
The Classic honours Earl Mackinnon who spent many years supporting youth curling in the Kentville area, and eight years ago was begun as a way of celebrating and remembering his dedication.
With four teams from Middleton participating using two curling clubs, and youth co-ordinator Dawn Spidle curling in the club mix herself, then driving up and down the Valley to be with her teams, there was nearly as much road time as ice time.
In the under-12 division, Team Roop (Sam Roop, Chaya Diggins, Ben Macfayden and Lauren Tattersall) won all four of their games, and ended up in the fourway tie for first place and entry to the final game against Glooscap.
They had drawn to the button in case of tie-breakers and so made their way to the final. Their closing game was very close, with rocks requiring measuring to determine scoring and going into the final end with a tie. It came right down to the last rock with Glooscap winning in a nail-biting finish.
Team Sawler (Cole Sawler, Matthew Newman, Adam Newman and Bryce Smith) also won all four of their qualifying games, and played in the A consolation final against a team from Lakeshore. They played extremely well and emerged the victors to win the consolation game.
Also in under-12 was the Bezanson team with Tess Bezanson, Wyatt Boyd, Will Crouse, and Olivia Elliot who won three of their four qualifying games and were pleased with the way they had played under pressure.
MCC had one under-14 team in the event, skipped by Jayden Phinney, who competed hard, making multiple draws to the button, tap-backs and takeouts, forcing the competition to make more difficult game-saving shots. She was well-supported by Brooke Thomas in her first tournament appearance as mate, and George Beers and Jake Waldner, throwing great set-up shots.
Despite their great play, this game was decided by an extra end to break a tie, and a measurement to determine the winner of their second game put them out of contention. But displaying great sportsmanship and club spirit, teams stayed to cheer on other Middleton games. The future of curling at MCC is looking bright!
Chase the Ace continues Friday nights and coming up next on the ice – The Valentine Spiel. A oneday funspiel that gives everyone an excuse to dress up, and have fun with a day of curling lunch, and prizes.
Check out www.middletoncurlingclub.com