Top curlers slide in for 4-day event
Curling fans are in for an unforgettable weekend, with the first stones thrown Friday as the World Curling Tour makes its way to Penticton for the first time. The Penticton Curling Club, with sponsorship from Ashley Home Furniture, is hosting the first annual Curling Classic, which is anticipated to become an annual event.
Cathy Jones, manager of the Penticton Curling Club and chair of the event, said this weekend combined with the Scotties Tournament of Hearts coming to the club next year is certain to put Penticton on the map for curling.
“This is a four-day cash spiel that gives them points and cash and is the highest-paid cash spiel World Curling Tour across Canada,” said Jones.
“So it is a quite a privilege and honour for Penticton.”
The tournament is hosting 24 teams from around the world. Jones said the spots for this event filled up in three weeks.
“We were very lucky to draw eight of the top 10 teams around the world to our club,” she marveled. “We have some great B.C. teams lined up, as well as local talent that makes for a very interesting tour event.”
One of the local talents is Team Baier, with members from Penticton, Kelowna and Victoria. Team Baier member and Penticton resident Matt Tolley, co-chair of this event and treasurer at the Penticton Curling Club, said this is a unique experience that he is extremely happy to be participating in.
“We’re having some of the best teams in the world come to Penticton,” Tolley said.
“It’s pretty amazing. There’s a lot of buzz in the room and everyone is excited to be here and be part of it.”
Along with Tolley, Team Baier members are skip Chris Baier from Victoria, and Adam Cseke and Cal Jackson, both from Kelowna. Tolley said that although he has been curling with Cseke for about 20 years, the rink is in their first year together.
“We have done a lot of good things as a team and hopefully we will have a better result going forward,” Tolley said in response to his team’s 8-3 loss in their first round robin game to Maple Ridge’s Team Joanisse.
“This is an incredible experience for us and we will continue to develop as a team.”
“The calibre of curling for them just pushes them to a completely different level,” Jones said.
“It is exciting for them and exciting locally for our club to see one of our own members out there.”
The cash purse is $66,000, which will divide $54,000 between the top eight teams and another $12,000 among the winners of each round robin game, allocating $200 per game. Tolley said this is the largest event he’s played, in terms of purse, by almost double.
Jones said a lot of preparation went into planning this year’s tournament, stating it is always difficult doing an event the first time around. She said sponsors have already jumped on board for next year. She thanked the City of Penticton for its support, along with her co-chairs Tolley and Cy Gladish.
“The community has come together in a big way and hopefully they continue to support curling in Penticton,” Tolley said.
The four-day event continues through until Monday. Round robin games continue today, with quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals played on Sunday and Monday.