Four of ten Manitoba teams advanced to the Sunday playoffs at the Canadian Stick Championships in Nanaimo but only one was able to bring home a medal.
St. Vital’s Gewen Smith & Lynne Rehbein receive Canadian Bronze Medals from Canadian Stick Ass’n President Randy Olson
That medal was assured when the bronze medal game was a re-match of the Manitoba Women’s championship final game. This time around, Gwen Smith & Lynne Rehbein (St. Vital) defeated Val Kolsun and Lorna Marr (Springfield).
In the Open Division, Manitoba champions Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald (St. Vital) were eliminated in the round of 16 while defending Canadian champions Norm Magnusson & Resby Coutts advanced one step further.
Magnusson-Coutts lost a 3-2 quarter-final to McDougall-Dyke (Nova Scotia). A near perfect game by both teams saw the Nova Scotians with last rock coming home tied and McDougall’s draw to the open rings stopped with a2 inch bite of the back 12 foot circle.
Norm Magnusson & Resby Coutts receive “qualifier” congratulations from Randy Olson
The Nova Scotia team advanced to the gold medal game where they lost to Keith Bennett-Paul Landry, also from Nova Scotia.
The Women’s gold medal was won by Rich-Radcliffe, British Columbia.
Former Manitoba Brad Childe finished 4-1 and advanced to the first round of playoffs. He was awarded the Open event Sportsmanship Award.
** The Round Robin Records of the ten Manitoba teams were: WOMEN 4-1: Val Kolsun-Lorna Marr WOMEN 3-2: Gwen Smith-Lynne Rehbein WOMEN 1-4: Darlene Maywood-Mel Shura
OPEN 4-1:Warren Johnson-Dan McDonald OPEN 4-1: Norm Magnusson-Resby Coutts OPEN 2-3: Don Fischer-Grant Nicolson OPEN 2-3: Fred & Britta Spiring OPEN 2:3: Jim & Keren Rouse OPEN 1-4: Ken & Shirley Strand OPEN 1-4: Tom & Rae Campbell
Smiles after a Manitoba final re-match in the Canadian Bronze Medal game: Lorna Marr, Gwen Smith, Lynne Rehbein, Val Kolsun
Teams from St. Vital and Springfield took home the trophies in the Manitoba Stick Curling Association’s 2023 championships in Morris.
Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald (St. Vital) and Lorna Marr & Val Kolsun (Springfield) with their trophies and the CurlManitoba champions jackets.
St. Vital’s Warren Johnson and Dan McDonald, regulars at MSCA events and club bonspiels, lost one game in round-robin play, finished first in their group, and won three in a row on championship Sunday to win their first championship. For McDonald, it was a first-ever. Johnson has won twice previously, with Brad Childe in 2017 and with Earl Stephenson in 2012.
The final game against Darren MacMillan & Terry Proctor (Marquette) in the SunLife Financial MSCA Open Championship presented by Jim Anton went right to the last shot.
Tied 1-1 after four ends, Johnson & McDonald had stolen two on the fifth to lead 3-1 coming home. Laying one in the four foot, Proctor played a lightweight tap shot on a pocket of three stones in the back four foot but got the worst possible angle on them, touching all three and rolling forward across the teeline and out of the four foot circle to score only one.
In the semifinals, Johnson-McDonald defeated Herb Sulkers & Harold Peterson (East St. Paul) and MacMillan-Proctor beat Larry Weatherburn & Rick Willetts (Eriksdale).
The four teams eliminated in the first round of playoffs were Charlie McCullough & Wayne Johnston (Carman), Don Fischer & Grant Nicolson (St. Vital), Bill Reid & Ed Thompson (Wildewood at Thistle), and Norm Magusson & Resby Coutts (Fort Rouge).
McCullough & Johnston were the only undefeated team in the event. Sulkers & Peterson and Willetts & Weatherburn advanced to the playoff round through a tiebreaker. They had been tied after round-robin play with Jim Rouse & Ross MacMillan (Warren/Marquette) but survived the tiebreaker.
A total of 24 teams participated in the SunLife Financial Open Championship presented by Jim Anton.
Lorna Marr & Val Kolsun (Springfield) defeated 2020 champions Gwen Smith and Lynne Rehbein (St. Vital) to win the 7-team 2023 MSCA Women’s Championship. Down 3-2 coming home, Marr-Kolsun scored a single point to force an extra end then won the game with a steal in the extra when a last shot draw to the four foot circle slid a little too deep.
At the end of round-robin play, Marr & Kolsun, Smith & Rehbein, and Irene Tully & Marilyn Campbell (Marquette) had been tied with 4 win – 2 loss records. Marr & Kolsun won the tiebreaker and the bye to the final. Smith & Rehbein eliminated Tully & Campbell in the semi-final.
MSCA President Britta Spiring and SunLife’s Jim Anton present the crests and trophy to Lorna Marr & Val Kolsun (Springfield)MSCA President Britta Spiring and SunLife’s Jim Anton present the crests and trophy to Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald (St. Vital)
(Sunday, February 19, 1:30PM) FINALS SET IN STICK CHAMPIONSHIPS Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald (St. Vital) will play Darren MacMillan & Terry Proctor (Marquette) in the final game of the SunLife Financial Manitoba Stick Open Championship presented by Jim Anton. The game is set for 2 PM in Morris.
MacMillan-Proctor defeated Larry Weatherburn & Rick Willets (Eriksdale) in the semifinal. Proctor, tied coming home and facing three, half tucked a draw behind a counter in the top of the rings and marked up the 2-1 win when Willets rubbed his own stone.
Johnson & McDonald gave up a three on the opening end , came back with three of their own on the second and led Herb Silkers & Harold Peterson (East St. Paul) 6-4 coming home. Sulkers faced a difficult tap back of a counter on the button for two with his last stone. He rubbed the target stone but left a steal of one for a 7-4 win.
In the Women’s final, Lorna Marr & Val Kolsun (Springfield) will play former champions Gwen Smith & Lynne Rehbein (St. Vital) . Smith-Rehbein were 5-2 winners over Irene Tully & Marilyn Campbell (Marquette) in the morning semi-final.
(Saturday, February 19, 10PM) MCCULLOUGH-JOHNSTON LONE UNBEATEN TEAM, PLAYOFFS SET IN STICK CHAMPIONSHIPS Carman’s Charlie McCullough and Wayne Johnston are the only team to reach the playoffs of the two Manitoba 2-person Stick Championships undefeated. In a game for first place in Pool D, McCullough-Johnston defeated Norm Magnusson & Resby Coutts (Ft. Rouge) on the Saturday evening draw. Both teams will advance to the Sunday playoff round.
(l-r) Charlie McCullough, Norm Magnusson, Wayne Johnston, Resby Coutts
In Pool A of the SunLife Open Championship presented by Jim Anton, Grant Nicolson & Don Fischer (St. Vital) finished first with a 4W-1L record. Bill Reid & Ed Thompson (Wildewood at Thistle), with a 3W-2L record, also advance to the playoffs.
In Pool B, Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald (St. Vital) and Darren MacMillan & Terry Proctor (Marquette), with 3W-1L records, both advance to the playoff round.
A three team tiebreaker was required in Pool C. Of the three teams with 4W-1L records, the tiebreak win went to Herb Sulkers & Harold Peterson (East St. Paul) and Rick Willets & Larry Weatherburn (Eriksdale).
The eight teams will play a single knock-out playoff on Sunday beginning at 11AM in Morris.
A three-team tiebreaker was also required in the Women’s championship – to determine the first place bye to the final in the three team playoff. Lorna Marr & Val Kolsun (Springfield), 2020 champions Lynne Rehbein & Gwen Smith (St. Vital) AND Irene Tully & Marilyn Campbell (Marquette) all finished with 4W-2L records. Lorna Marr & Val Kolsun earned the bye to the final.
(Friday, February 18, 9PM)THREE TEAMS UNBEATEN IN MANITOBA STICK CHAMPIONSHIPS Three of 23 teams have unbeaten records as play began Saturday at 3PM in the SunLife Financial Manitoba 2-Person Stick Open Championship presented by Jim Anton in Morris.
In Pool C, former Canadian Champions Jim Rouse & Ross MacMillan have a 3W-0L record with two games to play. Two teams trail them with 2W-1L records.
In Pool D, Charlie McCullough and Wayne Johnston (Carman) and Norm Magnusson & Resby Coutts (Fort Rouge) share the lead with 3W-0L records. They will meet in their final round robin game Saturday evening.
In Pool A, Grant Nicolson & Don Fischer (St. Vital) lead the way with a 3W-1L record. Four teams have 2W-2L records in this group.
Pool D play has been complicated by a team withdrawal due to injury. This group is now five teams and is led by Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald (St. Vital) with a 3W-1L record. Darren MacMillan & Ross Proctor (Marquette) have a 2W-1L record in that group.
Two teams from each pool will advance to the playoffs.
In the Women’s Championship, Lorna Marr & Val Kolsun (Springfield) lead the way with a 4W-1L record and a game to play. 2020 champions Lynne Rehbein & Gwen Smith (St. Vital) AND Irene Tully & Marilyn Campbell (Marquette) have 3W-1L records and two games to play.
(Friday, February 17, 9PM) 2-PERSON STICK CURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS IN MORRIS THIS WEEKEND Two different forms of 2-person curling are on display in championships underway this weekend. At St. Vital, CurlManitoba’s Dynasty Mixed Doubles Championship has attracted 20 teams, most of them from the younger curling demographic. In a triple elimination event, the teams will play down to eight teams in the knockout playoff round on Monday.
A somewhat older demographic is demonstrating the skills involved in the 2-person stick game in Morris in the Manitoba Stick Curling Association’s SunLife Financial Open Championship presented by Jim Anton, as well as in the Association’s Women’s Championship. The seven-team Women’s event is being played in one pool so each team will play six games. Irene Tully & Marilyn Campbell (Marquette) won their only two games on opening day while Darlene Maywood & Melanie Shura (St. Vital) AND Lorna Marr & Val Kolsun (Springfield) also won a pair (but also had a loss). The top three teams will advance to Sunday playoffs.
In the SunLife Financial Manitoba Open Stick Championship presented by Jim Anton, 24 teams are competing in four pools. Six teams won their first two games on Friday.
Three Canadian champion teams and two other individuals who have won the Canadian title are included in the field of 24 teams from across Manitoba who will compete for the Manitoba Stick Curling Association’s Open Championship this weekend in Morris.
In addition, seven women’s teams including the 2020 Manitoba champions will compete for the MSCA’s Women’s Championship.
Competition in the round-robin plus playoffs formatted event will begin at 9AM Friday with round-robin play winding up on Saturday evening. Playoffs go Sunday with the two provincial finals set for 2PM.
Tom Campbell-Killarney delivers a stone in the 2022 Canadian Championship in Moncton, NB. Two sheets over, Britta Spiring-St. Vital prepares to deliver.
Highlighting the MSCA Open are Norm Magnusson & Resby Coutts-Fort Rouge (2022 Canadian champions), Tom & Rae Campbell-Killarney (2018 Canadian champions) and Jim Rouse & Ross MacMillan-Warren/Marquette (2015 Canadian champions) along with Canadian champions Warren Johnson-St. Vital (who won in 2012) and Charlie McCullough-Carman (who won in 2010).
Past Manitoba champions in the field include Ken & Shirley Strand-St. Vital (2018 Manitoba champions). Those who have won with different partners include two-time Manitoba champion Warren Johnson-St. Vital (2012 & 2017), and Manitoba champions Jim Webster-Stonewall (2020), Ron Shafirka-St. Vital (2022), and Ross MacMillan-Marquette (2015).
Gwen Smith and Lynne Rehbein-St. Vital were the MSCA Women’s champions in 2020, the last time a Women’s championship was held.
The Open AND Women’s champions earn a berth, and the opportunity to wear CurlManitoba’s provincial champions jackets, in the Canadian Open and Women’s Championships respectively. The event will be played in Nanaimo, BC in late-March. Seven of the teams competing in Morris this weekend have already indicated intention to compete in the Canadian championship bonspiel. These include Melanie Shura & Darlene Maywood-St. Vital in the Women’s. In the Open event Strand & Strand, Campbell & Campbell, Magnusson & Coutts, Grant Nicolson & Don Fischer-St. Vital, Dan McDonald & Warren Johnson-St Vital, and Britta & Fred Spiring-St. Vital will all be making the trip to Nanaimo
Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald are the only unbeaten team at the completion of round robin play in the first Red River Valley Stick Spiel in Morris. The St. Vital team competed a nearly perfect preliminary round with a nearly perfect 5 wins and a tie – making them the only team not to suffer defeat.
They advance to the Sunday playoff round as the #1 seed. In the 10AM Sunday quarterfinals, Johnson-McDonald will play Herb Sulkers-Harold Peterson (East St. Paul).
Second seed Norm Magnusson & Resby Coutts (Fort Rouge), who topped the red pool with four wins and a tie, will play Ken & Shirley Strand (St. Vital).
Third seed Lorne & Chris Hamblin (Morris), who topped the green pool with a four wins in six games, will play Cam & Lynne McMillan (Fort Rouge).
In the fourth quarter-final, Greg & Mike Harding ( Springfield) will play Tom & Rae Campbell (Killarney).
The final rounds of play in the bonspiel sorted out the playoffs mostly based on win-loss-tie records and then wins against opponent to break ties. However, the Draw to Button totals were used to break a couple of the ties to establish the playoff draw.
The playoff seeds are:
POOL WINNERS #1 seed: Warren Johnson-Dan McDonald 5 wins and a tie #2 seed: Norm Magnusson-Resby Coutts 4 wins and a tie #3 seed: Lorne-Chris Hamblin 4 wins
POOL #2’s #4 seed: Tom & Rae Campbell 4 wins and a tie #5 seed: Greg & Mike Harding 4 wins #6 seed: Ian & Lynne McMillan 4 wins
POOL #3’s #7 seed: Ken & Shirley Strand 3 wins and 2 ties #8 seed: Herb Sulkers-Harold Peterson 3 wins #9 seed ($50 consolation prize): Ralph Nespor-Jim Webster
Warren Johnson and Dan McDonald (St Vital) have 4 wins and a tie to lead the pack at the first Red River Valley Stick Spiel. Tom & Rae Campbell (Killarney) are in second place in the blue pool with 3 wins and a tie.
Logjams in the red nd green pools will be resolved on four round robin draws yet to be played today.
(NOVEMBER 11 – 9pm) MORRIS TEAM SURPRISES ON DAY ONE AT RED RIVER VALLEY STICK SPIEL Home ice may be an advantage for Lorne & Chris Hamblin, veteran international coaches and curling instructors at the Cargill Curling Training Centre in Morris. Relative novices in the two-person stick game, the Hamblins lead their 7-team pool with a 3W-1L record after day #1 of the Red River Valley Stick Spiel in Morris.
Behind the Hamblins in the green pool are four teams who posted two wins on Friday.
The only undefeated team was the St Vital team of Warren Johnson and Dan McDonald who won their three games on day #1. Four teams with two wins also share second place in the green pool.
In the red pool, Jim Rouse and Ross MacMillan (Warren-Marquette) lead the way with two wins in three games. Four teams are also tied for second in this group – each with a win and a tie on the first day of play.
The first Red River Valley Stick Spiel is underway this afternoon at Curl Morris, with no fewer than five past national or provincial champion teams included in the 21-team field.
Three Canadian Champion teams include the current Canadian champions Fort Rouge curlers Norm Magnusson & Resby Coutts, Killarney’s Tom & Rae Campbell (2018), and Jim Rouse & Ross McMillan from Warren-Marquette (2015). St. Vital’s Warren Johnson (who won in 2012 with Earl Stephenson) and Carman’s Charlie McCullough (who won in 2010 with Ken Horton) will also compete in Morris.
Two competing teams have also won past Manitoba Stick Championships. Gwen Smith & Lynne Rehbein (East St. Paul) won the Manitoba Women’s title in 2020 while Ken & Shirley Strand (St.Vital) won the Manitoba Open title in 2018. Ross McMillan, in 2019, and Warren Johnson, in both 2017 and 2012) were members of Manitoba champion teams.
The competition will feature three seven team pools playing a six-game round robin Friday and Saturday, followed by an eight team playoff Sunday. Highlight challengers include Darren & Darrell Beach, the 2022 Canadian finalists from Regina and Canadian National Wheelchair team member Jamie Anseeuw, who will partner with fellow wheelchair-curler Mark Wherrett, representing Assiniboine Memorial.
Manitoba clubs represented in the event include Assiniboine Memorial, Carman, East St. Paul, Fort Rouge, Killarney, Marquette, Springfield, Stonewall, St. Vital, Warren, along with teams from the host Curl Morris.
Total prize value is over $1,500, including an entry in the Manitoba 2-person Stick Curling Championship to be played in Morris in February.
Two-person stick curling is one of the developments in the continuing evolution of different forms of the sport of curling. Established 20+ years ago, mainly as a social-recreational outlet for older curlers, interest in a more competitive stream is occurring parallel with unique Mixed Doubles and Wheelchair Curling competitions.
The Red River Valley Stick Spiel will be played in the “Open” format which is common and popular in this of the sport. Billed as gender, age and ability inclusive, Open 2-Person Stick events include Women, Men & Mixed teams, wheelchair and able-bodied curlers, and curlers of any age.
(Monday, April 25: 9:30PM)(Publisher’s note: It is an interesting professional challenge to win a significant championship event – but then be the only available person to actually write about it. Forgive me if I cross the line between objective reporter and “wow – we were good”.)
The Manitoba duo of Norm Magnusson and Resby Coutts have won the 2022 edition of the Canadian 2-Person Stick Curling Open Championship in Moncton. A three win Monday, including a pair of extra end victories, earned them the championship, the first under the new sponsorship of CIBC Wood Gundy.
The final game victory over Darren & Darrel Beach (SK) was a story of ‘no quit’. Down 4-0 after two ends, a deuce on the third started a comeback. Single steals on the fourth and sixth, after a blanked fifth, created a tie and extra end.
Under the 2-person sport’s unique rules, there is no hitting until the fourth rock of the end. A centre guard was followed by a draw top eight foot behind the guard. Three times, the Saskatchewan team removed the guard but missed the runback. Three times the guard was replaced. With his last rock of the extra end, Magnusson’s final draw attempt slid deep, coming to rest almost perfectly beside the shot stone. It was a deceptively difficult double kill. The hit overcurled to the nose of one of them, leaving a third steal and a 5-4 championship win.
The key to both the quarterfinal and semifinal wins was the Magnusson-Coutts ability to score a single deuce in each game. In the six rocks-six end game, a two is a big score to overcome. In both games, Magnusson made the key shots. The quarterfinal saw him bite the rings behind a wide corner guard – a rock that was “in” for 2 on a measure after he had an open draw to the rings with his last rock on the second end. In the semifinal, it was a wide out-turn hit past a guard about three feet from the wall that Magnusson ‘stuck’ for the deuce. On that remarkable shot, he nose hit a rock in the full 12 ft circle which was almost fully buried behind the guard.
In the quarterfinal, John Marshall & Haylett Clarke (NS) followed with a single and a steal of one to tie after four ends. A blanked fifth end led to a single, and 3-2 win, without having to throw the last stone coming home.
The semi followed the same pattern, the deuce against former champions Dave McDougal & Paul Doucet (NS) was followed by a single and a steal of one to tie after six ends. In the extra end, again the last rock was not needed for a 4-3 win.
It was almost a Manitoba final. The Manitoba duo of Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald lost the semi-final to the Beach team from Saskatchewan after a quarterfinal victory over Bob Desnoyers & Shawn Sherwood (SK).
In the Women’s Championship final, Betty Matson & Audrey Dorey (NS) were 5-4 extra end winners over Elaine Hughes & Etta Reid (PEI).
(Sunday, April 24: 8:30PM) TWO MANITOBA TEAMS ADVANCE TO CANADIAN STICK CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFFS Manitoba teams of Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald and Norm Magnusson & Resby Coutts have survived to play in the Monday OPEN Championship round in Moncton.
Magnusson-Coutts won a pair of games on Sunday, including a last round showdown with Shawn Sherwood & Bob Desnoyers (Saskatchewan) who were undefeated. Both finished with 5W-1L records but the Manitobans’ victory earns them a bye to the 10AM quarter-finals while Sherwood-Desnoyers had to win a first round playoff game at 8:30PM.
Dan McDonald (l) & Warren Johnson (4W-2L) Curl Moncton Photo
Johnson-McDonald pulled off an early Sunday win over Martin Purvis & Jack Smart (Alberta) to improve to 4W-2L. Then they had to wait nervously for the rest of the group’s results throughout the day. In the end, the early win had earned them third place in the pool.
The Manitoba ‘shot of the day’ has to be ‘shots of the day’ by Dan McDonald as he and Warren Johnson followed a three on the fifth end with a steal and their fourth victory to earn the playoff berth.
As described by Warren after the game, Dan’s precision shooting got them shot stone behind a couple of well placed guards. The opponent’s attempted hit and roll rolled out leaving the steal.
Along with Magnusson-Coutts, the pool winners were AJ Scott & Greg Lowe (SK), former champions Dave McDougal & Paul Doucet (NS), and Darren & Darrel Beach (SK). McDougal & Doucet were the only undefeated team in round-robin play.
In total in the Open playoffs, there are team from Saskatchewan (3), Alberta, Manitoba, BC and Nova Scotia (2 each), and one from Prince Edward Island.
Johnson-McDonald needed an extra in the Sunday evening playoff round to advance to the Monday quarter-finals. They posted a 6-4 win over Desnoyers-Sherwood (SK). The Manitobans will play AJ Scott & Greg Lowe (SK); Magnusson-Coutts will play John Marshall-Haylett-Clarke (NS); Darren & Darrel Beach (SK) meet John Dunsford-Myrna Sanderson (PEI); and Dave McDougal & Paul Doucet (NS) play Darrel Sears-Wayne Heinrichs (BC).
The four team Women’s playoff round will feature teams from Alberta (2), Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island
Manitobans Fred & Britta Spiring (3W-3L) and Tom & Rae Campbell (2W-3L) both missed the playoffs in the Open Championship. Gwen Smith & Lynne Rehbein (3W-4L) missed the playoffs in the Women’s Championship.
Gwen Smith (l) & Lynne Rehbein (Curl Moncton Photo)
(Updated Sunday, April 24: 7AM)MANITOBA TEAMS STILL IN THE PLAYOFF CHASE AT STICK CHAMPIONSHIP After an 0-2 opening day, Gwen Smith & Lynne Rehbein jumped back into contention in the Canadian Stick Championship Women’s Division in Moncton with a three victories Saturday. Rehbein gets the Manitoba ‘shot of the day’ award for her last shot on the opening day of the first game on the early draw. Facing four with her last shot, Rehbein’s double kill rolled to the face of an opposition stone to create a steal.
The shot killed the very early momentum of their BC opponent enroute to an 8-1 win which was followed later by a 6-2 win over a PEI duo. At 2-2 with three games to play, Smith-Rehbein had moved into the fourth playoff position. They solidified the position on the late draw with a third victory. With Sunday games against two teams below them in the standings, they control their own playoff fate.
In the Open Division, Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald had a two win day Saturday. Their 2-1 Saturday gives them a 3-2 record with a game to play Sunday. They currently hold down the third playoff position from their pool.
The Manitoba group in Moncton: (l-r) Warren Johnson, Lynne Rehbein, Dan McDonald, Gwen Smith, Fred Spiring, Tom Campbell, Britta Spiring, Resby Coutts (the tall one behind), Rae Campbell, Norm Magnusson
Magnusson & Coutts split two games Saturday and, with two to play on Sunday, have a 3-1 record and hold the second playoff position from the pool.
Britta & Fred Spiring lost three on Saturday after a two wins first day. At 2-3, the chance of them advancing is slim but still exists based on the right combination of wins & losses on Sunday.
Tom & Rae Campbell lost two Saturday. at 1-3, the former Canadian champions will miss the playoff round.
(Friday, April 22: 8PM)MANITOBA TEAMS 6W-4L ON FIRST DAY OF STICK CHAMPIONSHIP A pair of Manitoba teams won two games on opening day at the Canadian Stick Curling Championship, two teams went 1W-1L, and one had a tough day with two losses.
The team of Britta and Fred Spiring and the Norm Magnusson-R. Coutts duo are the first teams to post 2W-0L records in their respective seven-team pools.
Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald and Tom & Rae Campbell both won their openers but lost their second games of the day and sit in the middle of the pack in their groups.
The four teams are all competing in the Canadian Open Championship. Tom & Rae Campbell won the championship in 2018. Warren Johnson won it in 2012 with Earl Stephenson.
Tom Campbell gets the ‘shot of the day’ award, at least among the Manitoba teams. Down one coming home in their first game, the Campbells elected to play a difficult double kill rather than draw the eight foot for a tie and extra end. He had a stone of his own near frozen to the shot rock. His big weight hit sprung off his own stone, killing the shot rock and his delivered stone doubled out the second shot rock. He stuck in the top of the 12 foot for second shot and the win.
In the Women’s Championship, Gwen Smith & Lynne Rehbein lost a pair of close games. Gwen Smith gets honorable mention in the ‘shot of the day contest. On ice curling over two feet with good hit weight, Smith threw a nose hit kill on a rock in the four foot that was over-buried by over a foot. From the lobby side, it was obvious that centre line guard was no where near the line to protect the shot stone. From the throwing end, Smith just had to believe what she knew should happen.
(Monday, April 25: 9:30PM)(Publisher’s note: It is an interesting professional challenge to win a significant championship event – but then be the only available person to actually write about it. Forgive me if I cross the line between objective reporter and “wow – we were good”.)
Coutts & Magnusson (r) with CIBC Wood Gundy Rep
The Manitoba duo of Norm Magnusson and Resby Coutts have won the 2022 edition of the Canadian 2-Person Stick Curling Open Championship in Moncton. A three win Monday, including a pair of extra end victories, earned them the championship, the first under the new sponsorship of CIBC Wood Gundy.
The final game victory over Darren & Darrel Beach (SK) was a story of ‘no quit’. Down 4-0 after two ends, a deuce on the third started a comeback. Single steals on the fourth and sixth, after a blanked fifth, created a tie and extra end.
Under the 2-person sport’s unique rules, there is no hitting until the fourth rock of the end. A centre guard was followed by a draw top eight foot behind the guard. Three times, the Saskatchewan team removed the guard but missed the runback. Three times the guard was replaced. With his last rock of the extra end, Magnusson’s final draw attempt slid deep, coming to rest almost perfectly beside the shot stone. It was a deceptively difficult double kill. The hit overcurled to the nose of one of them, leaving a third steal and a 5-4 championship win.
The key to both the quarterfinal and semifinal wins was the Magnusson-Coutts ability to score a single deuce in each game. In the six rocks-six end game, a two is a big score to overcome. In both games, Magnusson made the key shots. The quarterfinal saw him bite the rings behind a wide corner guard – a rock that was “in” for 2 on a measure after he had an open draw to the rings with his last rock on the second end. In the semifinal, it was a wide out-turn hit past a guard about three feet from the wall that Magnusson ‘stuck’ for the deuce. On that remarkable shot, he nose hit a rock in the full 12 ft circle which was almost fully buried behind the guard.
In the quarterfinal, John Marshall & Haylett Clarke (NS) followed with a single and a steal of one to tie after four ends. A blanked fifth end led to a single, and 3-2 win, without having to throw the last stone coming home.
The semi followed the same pattern, the deuce against former champions Dave McDougal & Paul Doucet (NS) was followed by a single and a steal of one to tie after six ends. In the extra end, again the last rock was not needed for a 4-3 win.
It was almost a Manitoba final. The Manitoba duo of Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald lost the semi-final to the Beach team from Saskatchewan after a quarterfinal victory over Bob Desnoyers & Shawn Sherwood (SK).
In the Women’s Championship final, Betty Matson & Audrey Dorey (NS) were 5-4 extra end winners over Elaine Hughes & Etta Reid (PEI).
(Sunday, April 24: 8:30PM) TWO MANITOBA TEAMS ADVANCE TO CANADIAN STICK CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFFS Manitoba teams of Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald and Norm Magnusson & Resby Coutts have survived to play in the Monday OPEN Championship round in Moncton.
Magnusson-Coutts won a pair of games on Sunday, including a last round showdown with Shawn Sherwood & Bob Desnoyers (Saskatchewan) who were undefeated. Both finished with 5W-1L records but the Manitobans’ victory earns them a bye to the 10AM quarter-finals while Sherwood-Desnoyers had to win a first round playoff game at 8:30PM.
Dan McDonald (l) & Warren Johnson (4W-2L) Curl Moncton Photo
Johnson-McDonald pulled off an early Sunday win over Martin Purvis & Jack Smart (Alberta) to improve to 4W-2L. Then they had to wait nervously for the rest of the group’s results throughout the day. In the end, the early win had earned them third place in the pool.
The Manitoba ‘shot of the day’ has to be ‘shots of the day’ by Dan McDonald as he and Warren Johnson followed a three on the fifth end with a steal and their fourth victory to earn the playoff berth.
As described by Warren after the game, Dan’s precision shooting got them shot stone behind a couple of well placed guards. The opponent’s attempted hit and roll rolled out leaving the steal.
Along with Magnusson-Coutts, the pool winners were AJ Scott & Greg Lowe (SK), former champions Dave McDougal & Paul Doucet (NS), and Darren & Darrel Beach (SK). McDougal & Doucet were the only undefeated team in round-robin play.
In total in the Open playoffs, there are team from Saskatchewan (3), Alberta, Manitoba, BC and Nova Scotia (2 each), and one from Prince Edward Island.
Johnson-McDonald needed an extra in the Sunday evening playoff round to advance to the Monday quarter-finals. They posted a 6-4 win over Desnoyers-Sherwood (SK). The Manitobans will play AJ Scott & Greg Lowe (SK); Magnusson-Coutts will play John Marshall-Haylett-Clarke (NS); Darren & Darrel Beach (SK) meet John Dunsford-Myrna Sanderson (PEI); and Dave McDougal & Paul Doucet (NS) play Darrel Sears-Wayne Heinrichs (BC).
The four team Women’s playoff round will feature teams from Alberta (2), Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island
Manitobans Fred & Britta Spiring (3W-3L) and Tom & Rae Campbell (2W-3L) both missed the playoffs in the Open Championship. Gwen Smith & Lynne Rehbein (3W-4L) missed the playoffs in the Women’s Championship.
Gwen Smith (l) & Lynne Rehbein (Curl Moncton Photo)
(Updated Sunday, April 24: 7AM)MANITOBA TEAMS STILL IN THE PLAYOFF CHASE AT STICK CHAMPIONSHIP After an 0-2 opening day, Gwen Smith & Lynne Rehbein jumped back into contention in the Canadian Stick Championship Women’s Division in Moncton with a three victories Saturday. Rehbein gets the Manitoba ‘shot of the day’ award for her last shot on the opening day of the first game on the early draw. Facing four with her last shot, Rehbein’s double kill rolled to the face of an opposition stone to create a steal.
The shot killed the very early momentum of their BC opponent enroute to an 8-1 win which was followed later by a 6-2 win over a PEI duo. At 2-2 with three games to play, Smith-Rehbein had moved into the fourth playoff position. They solidified the position on the late draw with a third victory. With Sunday games against two teams below them in the standings, they control their own playoff fate.
In the Open Division, Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald had a two win day Saturday. Their 2-1 Saturday gives them a 3-2 record with a game to play Sunday. They currently hold down the third playoff position from their pool.
The Manitoba group in Moncton: (l-r) Warren Johnson, Lynne Rehbein, Dan McDonald, Gwen Smith, Fred Spiring, Tom Campbell, Britta Spiring, Resby Coutts (the tall one behind), Rae Campbell, Norm Magnusson
Magnusson & Coutts split two games Saturday and, with two to play on Sunday, have a 3-1 record and hold the second playoff position from the pool.
Britta & Fred Spiring lost three on Saturday after a two wins first day. At 2-3, the chance of them advancing is slim but still exists based on the right combination of wins & losses on Sunday.
Tom & Rae Campbell lost two Saturday. at 1-3, the former Canadian champions will miss the playoff round.
(Friday, April 22: 8PM)MANITOBA TEAMS 6W-4L ON FIRST DAY OF STICK CHAMPIONSHIP A pair of Manitoba teams won two games on opening day at the Canadian Stick Curling Championship, two teams went 1W-1L, and one had a tough day with two losses.
The team of Britta and Fred Spiring and the Norm Magnusson-R. Coutts duo are the first teams to post 2W-0L records in their respective seven-team pools.
Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald and Tom & Rae Campbell both won their openers but lost their second games of the day and sit in the middle of the pack in their groups.
The four teams are all competing in the Canadian Open Championship. Tom & Rae Campbell won the championship in 2018. Warren Johnson won it in 2012 with Earl Stephenson.
Tom Campbell gets the ‘shot of the day’ award, at least among the Manitoba teams. Down one coming home in their first game, the Campbells elected to play a difficult double kill rather than draw the eight foot for a tie and extra end. He had a stone of his own near frozen to the shot rock. His big weight hit sprung off his own stone, killing the shot rock and his delivered stone doubled out the second shot rock. He stuck in the top of the 12 foot for second shot and the win.
In the Women’s Championship, Gwen Smith & Lynne Rehbein lost a pair of close games. Gwen Smith gets honorable mention in the ‘shot of the day contest. On ice curling over two feet with good hit weight, Smith threw a nose hit kill on a rock in the four foot that was over-buried by over a foot. From the lobby side, it was obvious that centre line guard was no where near the line to protect the shot stone. From the throwing end, Smith just had to believe what she knew should happen.
People scoffed initially at the idea of Mixed Doubles curling. It’ll never catch on Canadians said with a fair bit of arrogance – but it has. Around the world people love the pace and the shorter game, among other what they consider advantages.
If I’d said to you 4 years ago, that Italy would win more gold curling medals at the 2022 Olympics than Canada – you’d have laughed out loud
Curling is ripe for new versions of the sport – Mixed Doubles is, I suggest just the first!
Which does not in any way suggest that 2-person stick is the next phenomenon. Maybe it will always be a niche game played by an older demographic.
But if you’re a ‘regular’ curler who has read this far, think about the unique rules of 2-person Stick play and tell me you can beat the best of these guys, even if they are older than you.
** NO SWEEPING – until the delivered rock gets to the second hogline. Elite curler ability to carry the rock further and ‘carve’ it more than ever before are remarkable to behold. A draw to the button behind cover without sweeping maybe even more remarkable to behold.
** NO HITTING until rock #4. This is the 2-person stick version of the placed rocks in Mixed Doubles – immediate creation of rocks in play. The ‘no-hit’ rule applies to all rocks: rocks in the rings OR rocks in the traditional free guard zone. I wonder if a version of this should actually be tried in 4’s curling. The experiment with the no-tick-if-touching-centre has been interesting. What if 4’s adopted a version of the 2-person stick rule (can’t hit any rock) until perhaps the 6th rock of the end.
** EVERY SHOT EVERY OTHER END – each player plays all six rocks every end. I throw six down – you call the shots. You throw six back – I call the shots. You can’t be a draw specialist, a hit specialist, a tick specialist in our game – you have to be able to draw, hit and roll, tick (although it is not played all that often) – you may have to play any shot, and every possible shot, in a single end.
** 6 Rocks – 6 Ends: It is fast game, completed in an hour at the recreation or competitive level. You don’t have those 7th-8th-9th-10th ends to recover from early mistakes. It is attack from the first end in our version of the game with a lot of rocks in play most of the time. Occasionally a ‘blanking’ game will occur between two high skill hitting teams. Six ends is not long enough to be boring and it is too short to recover when you accidentally stick on that late ends blank attempt.
The key to our game is that the 2-person stick competitors still have to be able to read ice. When you don’t have sweepers to help put the rock where you want it, you better be real close on the ice call (and of course your partner has to hit the broom and give you the right number of rotations) as there is no salvation once the rock is released.
If you’ve read this far, my point is this. Don’t scoff when you hear I and many others have become excited by the challenge and the competition of 2-person stick curling. As I discovered in our third game of the recent Manitoba provincial event at Assiniboine Memorial (against Pembina’s Peter Rey) – I once again have an outlet for my competitive spirit that has been missing on the curling ice. Turns out you’re always a competitor. Maybe with the years of experience we have behind us and with (at least some of us) carrying a few too many pounds – we may not look like the athletes we once thought we were but we are still competitors.
The challenge is – how much practice time would you like to learn how to use a stick, before you’re willing to play us – using our rules.
No, I don’t suggest that 2-person stick curling is going to be the awarded the next Olympic medals. I do suggest it is just another version of our game which is going to expand the sport of curling and the population of curlers in our clubs – and that’s a good thing.
Curl Moncton is hosting a pair of national 2-person Stick Curling Championships this weekend – an Open which encompasses 27 mixed and men’s teams and a Women’s event which includes eight women’s teams.
The Open represents the unique nature of this version of the sport: the opportunity for a completely age, gender, and abilities neutral competition as men-women, young-old, wheelchair and fully mobile curlers compete equally on the field of play at the same time.
On the two championships, there is provincial representation from nine provinces. The representation is: BC: 6 Teams (4 Open – 2 Women) Alberta: 5 Teams (3 Open – 2 Women) Saskatchewan: 3 Teams Manitoba: 5 Teams (4 Open – 1 Women) Ontario: 2 Teams (2 Open) Quebec: 1 Team (1 Open) New Brunswick: 5 Teams (5 Open) PEI: 3 Teams (1 Open – 2 Women) Nova Scotia: 4 Teams (3 Open – 1 Women)
In the Canadian Stick Curling Association Annual Meeting, President Randy Olson ran an efficient meeting which dealt with the usual association concerns relating to approval of constitution and by-laws and review of rules – important details at the first AGM of the organization formally constituted over the past year.
The CSCA’s Host site selection committee recommended that the 2023 national events will be played in Nanaimo, BC and the 2024 events will be played at the Leaside club in Toronto.
In the election of Directors, NB’s Sherril Minns concluded an initial one-year term and was re-elected. Manitoban Warren Johnson completed his initial one-year term and decided not to continue. He has been replaced by your writer. Continuing on the Executive are Randy Olson (AB), Britta Spiring (MB), and Bruce Densmore (NS).
thecurler.com 