Provincial curling gold is being brought back to Duncan Curling Club courtesy of skip Carley Sandwith-Craig and her rink of second, Roselyn Craig, third, Marika Von Osch, and lead, Megan Montgomery.
The team took the title at the 2023 BC Women’s Curling Club Championships at the Abbotsford Curling Club March 28-April 2.
“Going into the event we knew the competition was going to be tough, and they were,” said Sandwith-Craig. “The field was pretty level and we had to play our best to come out victorious for each game. I think most of our games were decided on the last rock of the game.”
Sandwith-Craig’s squad got underway with a 5-4 victory over Colleen Hannah of the Golden Ears Winter Club. From there the foursome beat Karen Sauer and her rink from the Abbotsford Curling Club by a 7-3 score before dispatching Penny Shantz and the Qualicum Curling Club representatives with two in the eighth end to make it a 7-6 final.
That win gave the Duncan-based team a finals berth where they once again beat island rivals, Team Shantz, this time by a 5-3 score.
The players are no strangers to being at the top of their levels.
Combined, the team boasts 15 previous B.C. titles at various levels, and Roz Craig has earned three Canadian titles, and two world championship titles.
“Megan, Roz and I have been playing together for two seasons and we brought Marika on board this season to bring her back into the game since she hadn’t played in five years or so,” Sandwith-Craig said.
It was a family affair for the Craig family which had more Craigs curling on the men’s side of the event.
Sandwith-Craig’s husband Miles Craig was playing on the men’s side with his dad, Wes, a famed Cowichan curler in his own right. Wes Craig won the 2023 B.C. Sr. Men’s Curling Championships March 22-26, while Miles Craig skipped his way to the 2023 AMJ Campbell B.C. Mixed Championships in Penticton earlier in the month. The two joined forces at the 2023 BC Men’s Curling Club Championships at the Abbotsford Curling Club last week to see if they could add another medal to their haul.
Joining the skip Wes, and third, Miles, were second Con Haug and lead Adam Bloch-Hansen. They represented Kerry Park Curling club.
In their first game, Craig’s rink met Marpole Curling Club’s Armando Guanzon, winning handily 7-1 in six ends.
They were ousted 8-2 in the second draw, falling to Vancouver’s Jeff Guignard, before being beaten 7-4 by Abbotsford’s Dayne Gagnon and rink. From there, the Kerry Park team fell 8-5 to Aaron Watson of Chilliwack Curling Club, eliminating them from medal contention.
“We didn’t play well,” Miles noted.