Harry and Wendy Ylch will need to have their draw weight in their pockets this weekend in Maple Ridge.
The Prince George couple, who curl out of the Prince George Golf and Country Club, are competing in the provincial mixed doubles championship for the first time.
"We're looking forward to the challenge," Harry said after his Tuesday morning senior mixed league game. "We're going there to win."
"It should be fun and it'll be very different," Wendy added. "It should be exciting and interesting and we'll go with a positive attitude."
The mixed doubles game format is somewhat different than the normal game where every team has four players.
Mixed doubles is played over eight ends (instead of the usual 10). Each team only has six stones and one of those stones from each team is prepositioned on the centre line before every end of play.
One player delivers the first and last stones, while the other player throws the second, third and fourth stones. Both team members are also allowed to sweep. Twenty-four minutes of thinking time is allowed over the course of the game. Three minutes of playing time per end is allowed.
The B.C. championship that begins Friday at the Golden Ears Curling Club features 16 teams divided into four pools with four teams each. The rinks are ranked by a draw to the button before the bonspiel gets underway.
A page playoff format will determine the champion on Sunday.
Wendy will deliver the first and last stones, while Harry will throw the second, third and fourth stones. That is subject to change though after every end or every game.
While the Ylchs have played since 1999, they only started competing in doubles when a new league was created at the PGGCC five years ago.
"We like the doubles game," Harry said. "You think at times you can do no wrong and others do no right. It's all about peaking and timing."
"It was a learning curve," Wendy added. "You have to learn the weight (of all the shots). It's a draw game."
So far, 12 teams compete in the doubles league at PGGCC that takes place every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Curlers who want to try it out for the last half of the season are welcome. The cost is $75.
