The Campbell River Curling Club hosted the 48th annual Ralph Boyd Men’s Open Bonspiel on Feb. 2-5, matching last year’s astonishing draw of 36 teams.
This Spiel has become one of the best men’s open events, largely due to the efforts of club manager and event chair Susan Johnson, and the continued sponsorship from Tyee Chevrolet and Thrifty Foods.
The Ralph Boyd Memorial Trophy was awarded to the most sportsmanlike team which was the Laskosky Rink, consisting of Ernie Laskosky, Del Wagner, Geoff Willson and Duffy Simpson.
The “A” event, sponsored by Coastal Community Credit Union, was won by the defending champions: the Dunn rink of Qualicum, consisting of Rick Dunn, Wayne Duncan, Bob Hirschfield and Cliff Reynolds.
In the final, they went toe to toe against the Ray Michell rink of Campbell River, playing with John LaPointe, third, Don Pennell, second and Jade Jensen, lead.
The “B” event, sponsored by A-1 Autobody, was won by the Franklin Rink of Campbell River: Tom Franklin, skip; Terry Kratzmann, third; Cal Parker, second; and Rick Sloan, lead. This was a great game of skill and strategy against another local rink skipped by Todd Peachey.
The “C” event, sponsored by Ironside Contracting, was won by the Wilson Rink, skipped by Gary Smith, third Frank Voysey, second Joe Pulak and lead Ken Wilson. They met their match playing against longtime local Ed Schmuland, who gave them a hard run right down to the final rocks.
The “D” event, sponsored by Kal Tire, was won by Courtenay’s Aitken Rink.