Bottcher wins Hat Charity Classic
Edmonton team wins men’s side, Saskatchewanbased team wins women’s side
The Hat Charity Classic has become a tournament many curling pros look forward to each year.
This year’s men’s side winner, Brendan Bottcher, and the rest of his Edmonton-based team were crowned champions of the tournament for the first time Monday, as they beat Jamie King’s team in the finals.
“It was a really good game,” said Bottcher. “Both of us actually came through the C side, so we played a lot of games this weekend. Some of ours were a little bit shorter, and that helped. That gave us a little bit of help I think in the final.”
Bottcher and his teammates, Karrick Martin, Brad Thiessen and Darren Moulding, were able to get out ahead early with a 2-0 after the first end.
King’s team struck back in the second end with a single, but Bottcher’s side quickly struck back with three more of their own.
After five ends the score was 5-2, and after three more points in the sixth frame, it was over. Bottcher says the team remained confident even through they fell to the C bracket.
“We were playing well, even in the couple of losses we had,” he said. “We controlled both of those games early. We found ourselves in the C and had to keep trying to play well, and we finally got a couple of breaks to go our way and we got on a bit of a roll.”
Bottcher says one of the keys to the championship victory was the team’s ability to put up points when it mattered.
“We made a couple great hit-and-rolls early,” he said. “Winning here, getting on a roll here is a big part of getting to where we want to be.”
Candace Chisholm and her team won the ladies side of the Hat Charity Classic Monday, beating Penny Barker’s team.
“I think we saw a lot of good curling this weekend,” said Medicine Hat Curling Club manager Vicki Sjolie. “I think we’ve had a really good tournament. We’ve heard a lot of good things from the teams, and overall we’re happy with how it all went.”
Sjolie says the tournament raised around $5,000 for charity, and that this amount is close to what they always raise.