Blazing Leaves Open, October 5 - 7
After a one-point loss in their first game, Team Brown rallied back to win three in a row to take the B-Event final this weekend at Nutmeg's Blazing Leaves Bonspiel.
Playing with Charlie Brown (skip) were Dion Warr (vice), Richard Gonyeau (second) and Scott Brennan (lead). It was the team's first time playing in the Blazing Leaves, and their first time out on the ice this season.
The 22-team field had participants from as far away as Nova Scotia. When not on the ice, teams were well fed with a chili cook-off on Saturday afternoon, followed by a plethora of smoked meats on Saturday night. An additional highlight of the event came on Saturday night when participants released sky lanterns into the night sky.
The Blazing Leaves Bonspiel provides an excellent early-season opportunity to shake off the cobwebs of Summer and get some quality ice time and competition. As usual, Nutmeg played a gracious host to a well organized event.
The next event for team Brown is the Achilles Invitational in November here at SCC as they continue to prepare for the GNCC Club National Playdowns from December 6-9 at The Country Club in Brookline, MA.
Members Nancy Wurth and Amy Hawrylchak played with skip Elaine deRyk from the Otterburn Memorial Legion Curling Club in Quebec and Sian McAlpin from Broomstones at the event as well, finishing with 1 win and 2 losses.
Stu Sells Toronto Tankard, October 5 - 8
Brian Damon and Mike Stefanik returned to this large cash event (the purse was $45,000 Canadian) with curlers from other GNCC clubs. Joining them were Chuck Skinner, former member of the Utica Curling Club and now living in Maryland, and Scott Parmelee who curls in Rochester. Team Damon played against Teams Kean, Cochrane, and Hemmings and finished with a 0-3 record.
The Stu Sells Toronto Tankard was part of the Ontario Curling Tour (OCT) and was hosted by the High Park Club in Toronto, ON. This prestigious club boasts 5 sheets of ice and is the oldest curling rink in Toronto, having just celebrated their centennial last season. The Tankard had 24 teams in the men's event including famous names like Olympic Gold Medalist Brad Gushue, reigning World Champion Glenn Howard, former World Champion Jeff Stoughton and World Ranked #1 Mike McEwen.
Team Damon attended this event as part of their season schedule to prepare for the U.S National Mens Challenge Round to be held January 2-6, 2013 in Hibbing, MN. You can view their results at the Tankard online.
