Gary Shalansky and Jamie Mould got such a kick out of competing in the Canada Stick Curling Championships last week in Moncton, N.B., they plan to do it again in 2023.
As provincial champs they’ve got an open invitation to be among the 48 teams expected to compete for the national title next year in Nanaimo.
At this year’s nationals, the B.C. champions from Prince George ended up tied for first place in the round-robin, but were eliminated when they lost their first playoff game April 24 against John Marshall and Haylett Clarke of Halifax. Marshall/Clarke stole points in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth ends to overcome a 3-1 deficit and advance to the quarterfinals.
“We made one mistake and lost our first game in the playoffs and that knocked us out,” said the 76-year-old Shalansky. “We were competitive with them but our lack of experience cost us a couple times. The ice was a little but different than what we were used but it was the same for everybody, so there were no complaints there.
“It was a great tournament and me and Jamie are both looking forward next year to going to Nanaimo. It’s closer to home and a little easier on the body. I just wasn’t used to that (four-hour) time change. I’ve been back a couple days now and I’m still tired.”
One of the highlights of the trip for skip Shalansky and the 69-year-old Mould, who played third, was their 4-1 win in the round robin over Tom and Rae Campbell of Killarney, Man., the 2018 Canadian champions.
In the final, Norm Magnusson and Resby Coutts of Winnipeg defeated Darren and Darrel Beach of Regina 5-4 in seven ends.
As the only team from northern B.C., Shalansky and Mould won the eight-team provincial open championship in March in Kamloops, posting a 7-2 record.
Each province is eligible to sent two teams to the national tournament and it was supposed to be a 42-team event in Moncton, but a COVID flare-up forced organizers to limit the event to 28 teams in the open division. Next year in Nanaimo a full field of 48 teams is expected.
“Because we came in first this year we’ll get a second chance at it,” said Shalansky. “That to me and Jamie was the highlight, when we won the provincial we thought this was really exciting and we enjoyed it immensely down there to the point where we’ve already said we’re going to try to win the provincial next year. But even if we don’t, we would still go to Nanaimo.”
Shalansky and Mould brought stick curling, also known as sturling, to Prince George Golf and Curling Club in 2019. They’d each been using a stick for a couple years in conventional curling in the Prince George commercial league to push their rocks down the ice and decided to form a sturling league. The first year 20 teams signed up. That doubled to 40 teams the following season and this past season there were about 60 teams in the league.
“It’s just a great game for people that are getting a little older and the rest of it and it’s perfect for us,” said Shalansky. “The nice thing about it is you still all the enjoyment of curling and you’ve still got to know the strategies and how to turn the rock – everything is there except the pain of getting up and down.
“We’re hoping for next season to expand it.”
In Winnipeg, curling clubs are teaching sturling to younger kids to teach them how to curl and Shalansky would like to see schools offer the sport to try to stimulate interest in conventional curling.
“They actually start the kids using the stick because in this game you’re either skipping or throwing rocks, you’re not out their sweeping of the rest of it,” said Shalansky. “It gets the kids learning the game and rest of it quickly and after a month of two, once they know what they’re doing out there as far as an in-turn or an out-turn and they know about weight. Once they know about the game, then they start sliding. It’s easier for the kids to do it and it’s easier on the instructors and the rest of it.”
