The ladies from Qualicum Beach are through to the national championships after kicking some curling keisters at the provincials in Kamloops.
Third time was definitely the charm for skip Lynne Noble last weekend as she and her rink rebounded from back-to-back losses by knocking off the defending world champions and posting five straight wins to win the 2011 BC Senior Women’s Curling Championships.
Noble and her team — Lorraine Jeffries at third, Lorraine Gagnon at second, and Kristin Nickells in the lead position — have been together for two years along with their coach Ellen Merriam.
This was Noble’s third trip to the Senior provincials. Two years ago she finished third.
This marks the first time the longtime dedicated teacher and student of the game has won a provincial title as a player, and her first trip to the nationals. It is also the first time in Qualicum Beach and District Curling Club history that one of its own has qualified for a sanctioned national final.
“It feels amazing,” Lynne, 54, said. “I’ve been curling competitively for 20 years, so to win a provincial championship is very, very special.
“It was a very tough field — probably the toughest field of any province in the country.”
In the final, Noble scored twice in the 4th, 6th and 8th ends to take a three-point lead into the final end, then ran the Vancouver squad out of rocks for an emotional 7-4 win.
“I was on a medical leave and had nothing to do so I said yes. They’re a fantastic group of girls to work with, and their very excited about winning the provincials and playing in the nationals,” said Merriam. “You had to be sharp for every game.”
Nationals host province Nova Scotia has one of the top seeded teams taking to the ice, led by the iconic Colleen Jones; four-time Canadian women’s champion and two-time world champion.
“It’s going to be lots of fun — it’s a huge event, lots of stuff going on — but it’s going to be tough. Really tough,” said Noble.
The nationals run March 18-26.