FIRST FOUR The first Invermere curling team (pictured here in the Banff Curling Club) to head to the BC Club Challenge consists of (from left to right) Skip Kindry Luyendyk, Third Trish Phillips, Second Holly Jones and Lead Laurie Klassen. Alternate Kari Saunders is missing from the photo. Photo submitted
Four local curlers have won the right to represent the Kootenay Region in the BC Club Challenge scheduled for April 15th to 19th in the Lower Mainland, in Richmond.
Over the weekend of March 14th and 15th, the Invermere & District Curling Club sent a ladies club team to the Traveller Curling Club East/West Kootenay play-downs and Invermere came out the winner.
The team of Kindry Luyendyk, Trish Phillips, Holly Jones and Laurie Klassen are the first Invermere curling team to win the regional zone playdowns in this provincial championship event.
It is a really neat opportunity, said Ms. Luyendyk. We are a passionate groupthat have all played competitivelyat somelevel, and if we play well as a team we have the potential to be near the top of the standings.
There have been a few different versions of this team over the last five years, but this year, three of the four curlers make up the regular team with Ms. Jones joining for any out of town bonspiels.
The Club Challenge is the only major competitive curling event that is dedicated to the grassroots of curling curlers in club leagues. In Richmond, the Invermere ladies team will compete against seven other regional winners for the chance to represent B.C. at the National Club Challenge held in Ottawa this November.
The BC Club Challenge is unique in that it is incorporated with the Pacific International Cup, a club challenge for curlers from a variety of U.S. states and foreign countries. The winner of the BC Club Challenge will play a final game against the Pacific International Cup winner to determine the overall winner of the event. For more information and to follow the progress of our local team, please visit www.picup.ca.
