From the strange-but-true-files comes word that Oceanside now boasts two standout lady curlers that are not related but share the same last name.
Cheryl Noble and her husband Gene, it turns out, moved to the area from Victoria in January of 2010, and not surprisingly she soon joined the Parksville Curling Club.
On Sunday, Cheryl and her teammates of five years shipped off for St. Paul, Minnesota looking to win their second Senior Ladies World Curling Championship title.
Longtime Qualicum Beach player, instructor and mentor Lynne Noble from the Qualicum & District Curling Club in the meantime, recently made local history when the rink she skips won this year’s Senior Ladies provincials and advanced to the Senior Ladies Canadian Championships in Digby, Nova Scotia.
While Lynne Noble is well known in these parts, the latest Noble was born and raised in Victoria.
“We always used to come up this way and I’ve always enjoyed the area,” Cheryl said.
“It was a sudden thing,” she said of what prompted the move, explaining her and Gene, who have been married for 33 years, were up here for holidays when they decided to go to a couple open houses “just for the heck of it ... and the next thing we know we’re buying a house and putting our house in Victoria on the market.”
It wasn’t just curling that brought them here. Gene is an avid hockey player and laces up for the Panters, and the couple also enjoys getting out on the golf course together.
Cheryl, who curled in Esquimalt for 30 years, worked 33 years for B.C. Parks. Gene is a retired material manager with the former Juan de Fuca Hospital Society.
She didn’t start curling until her mid-20s, and has seen her share of big games.
Cheryl was an alternate on the Kelly Law rink that won the Ladies World Championships in Scotland in 2000, and with the team when they won a bronze medal at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. She’s also been to the Canadian Mixed championships twice — in 1993 and 2001.
When The News stopped by Parksville Curling Club for the club’s annual wind-up fun speil, it became evident Cheryl loves the game.
“She’s a great addition to our club — they’re a really neat couple,” said PCC’s Ken Meuckon.
“I felt at home here right from the start,” Cheryl said. “Everybody was so welcoming ... I think that’s one of the things I really enjoy about curling is that everyone is very friendly and are just out for the exercise and to enjoy themselves.”
As for the obvious question, “I do know Lynne (Noble),” said Cheryl, adding, “we’re no relation but I’ve know her for probably 10 years from curling against her.”
Cheryl, turning “freedom 55” this year says she’s nearing the end of her competitive career but has no intention of hanging up the broom.