In the House – Local rinks undergo sweeping changes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/09/2010 (5839 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There may not be an official trade deadline for curling teams, but that didn’t stop Westman’s lineups from numerous major shakeups during the off-season.

The biggest change came when Brandon’s Rob Fowler left provincial champion Jeff Stoughton‘s squad and teamed up with Allan Lyburn of Brandon, Richard Daneault of Carman and Derek Samagalski of Winnipeg.

That meant two of Lyburn’s former mates, Scott Ramsay of Brandon and former Brandonite Mark Taylor, were free to join Brandon’s Brendan Taylor, with Nathan Bodnarchuk at lead. Lyburn’s former lead, Cory Barkley of Virden, will curl at the club level this season. Terry McNamee‘s Brandon rink will also have a new second as Geordie Hargreaves of Brandon replaces Allan Lawn.

Meanwhile, Carberry’s Kelly Marnoch made a change to his competitive lineup by adding Kevin Hamblin of Morris to play third. He replaced Cale Dunbar, who threw second stones.

Jerry Chudley‘s Brookdale-based team had to find a new teammate and picked up Mark Robertson as its new lead to replace former third Kevin Cooley. Robertson is the brother of newly promoted third Paul Robertson. Brent McKee remains at second.

On the women’s side, Lisa Blixhavn‘s Brandon-based squad will return to a past lineup, with Jaimie Campbell returning after a year away from the game. Rhonda Ritchie, who joined the team as Campbell’s replacement, stays on as the fifth player.

Wawanesa’s Joyce McDougall took over as skip of the defending senior women’s provincial champion team led by Linda Van Daele. Van Daele will throw third stones while Sharon Shannon and Lilliane Fargey round out the lineup. Betty Couling has left the squad due to illness.

In another move, Joan Robertson of Minto replaced Lynn Sandercock and now takes over as lead of Lois Fowler‘s 2009 Brandon-based championship squad, which still includes Gwen Wooley and Lori Manning.

TOUR NOTES — Brandon’s bonspiel action heats up during the Thanksgiving weekend, when the Brandon Curling Club hosts the Manitoba Lotteries Men’s Fall Classic, Oct. 8-11.

Dual approved with the Manitoba Curling Tour and the World Curling Tour, curlers will have shot at a $40,000 purse if the 24-team draw fills to capacity.

So far, 15 teams have signed on to play, including Fowler, Brendan Taylor, Chudley, Joel Jordison of Moose Jaw, Sask., former Brandonite William Lyburn of Winnipeg, and Kevin Park.

At Carberry, the King Spud Classic is back with men’s and women’s draws and is affiliated with the Manitoba Curling Tour, though the scheduled date of Oct. 21-24 weekend may have to be moved because the new geothermal ice plant at the Carberry Curling Club may not be ready in time.

Other major tour events in Westman include the Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy Cash Spiel from Dec. 3-6.

TOURNEY WATCH — The senior men’s bonspiel season opens in earnest with the Neil Andrews Legends Classic on Oct. 15-17 at the Brandon club. The 50-and-over bonspiel still has room for a couple of teams. Those interested should call Kristin Andrews at 729-4949 or e-mail Andrews at: kandrews@guildinsurance.ca.

HACK NOTES — The Brandon Curling Club hosts its annual meeting on Sept. 30 at 7 p.m, and begins club play on Oct. 12. Interested players can still get on teams and will receive information at the meeting. … CBC will show the first episode of the new curling sitcom Men with Brooms, which was filmed in Winnipeg, on Oct. 4.