Parksville Curling Club had some junior members win silver medals at the U18 BC Curling Championships held in Delta.
Christian Klein-Beekman of Parksville and Jackson Nowak of Qualicum Beach were members of Team Parkinson that finished second at the championship, losing to Team Fenton of Royal City Cloverdale 8-5.
The team was led by skip Chris Parkinson and lead Graham Lead, both of the Comox Valley Curling Club. Nowak played third and Klein-Beekman was second. They went unbeaten in the round robin that included a 4-2 win against eventual winners Team Fenton.
In the final, Team Fenton grabbed a huge lead early. Team Parkinson battled back but fell short losing 8-5.
Team Parkinson earned a spot at the U18 Canadian Curling Championships in Timmins, Ont. next month and will enter the tournament a Team BC2.
READ MORE: Parksville curler Shantz earns silver medal at Canadian senior championships
In the girls division, Team Richards took home the U18 provincial crown when they beat Team Bowles of Royal City/Delta 6-3 in the final.
The team includes Courtenay’s Gracelyn Richards (skip) and Keelie Duncan of Comox (third), Grace McCusker (second) of North Vancouver and Duncan’s Carley Hardie (lead). They won five games and lost two, including a 6-5 loss to Bowles during the qualifiers.
In the gold-medal game, Team Richards dominated and cruised to a 7-4 win over Team Bowles.
Parksville Curling Club president Penny Shantz was happy to see both Team Parkinson and Team Richards do so well and earn berths in the U18 nationals.
“Both these teams curl in our IA Wealth Management Super Cash League on Wednesday nights in Parksville,” said Shantz.
“The girls live in Courtenay and Comox but have played in our league the last two years. The boys are also members of other clubs but also members of ours as they curl in our Wednesday Cash League as well. I am so proud and excited for both teams as they both qualified for the U18 Nationals in Timmins, Ont.”
Curling Canada announced recently the national tournament that was to be held Feb. 14-20 was postponed due to COVID-19. They will attempt to reschedule the event for later in the year at a new location.
— NEWS Staff