A rock solid performance by sailors
Stephanie Burr
Staff writer
February 25, 2008
Considered a long shot at the B.C. Coastal Curling Championship, PO2 Todd Jones’ curling team proved their mettle, winning enough games to advance to the BC Curling Provincials.
For a team that was thrown together at the last minute, the wins at Coastals was a surprise to most people, including the team members.
“We beat out people who have been curling for 30 years, and here we were a team that had only practiced once together and we cleaned house,” says PO2 Jones, an instructor at CF Fleet School. “It just goes to show how far dedication and team spirit can get you.”
They were eventually outplayed at the Provincials held in Penticton Feb. 4 to 10, but PO2 Jones said it was a huge accomplishment to have qualified and competed. The team was created late in the season, with two people short when it came time to compete.
“Myself, LS Mark Sarty, and LS Steve Whyte had curled together at the Esquimalt Curling Club, but LS Whyte was going to sea, and our other two members were unable to curl, so we got lucky and Wes Craig and Phil Olson stepped in,” says PO2 Jones. “These guys are pro curlers and are incredibly talented.”
Having only curled for a year and a half, and being the least experienced curler on the team, PO2 Jones says he couldn’t believe his luck at having made the provincials.
“The four other team members have many years of curling under their belts and yet many had never made provincials. I am extremely lucky,” he says. “It was a phenomenal feeling to be there and although I may never make it back, I’m definitely going to try.”
Despite not having played together for very long, PO2 Jones says the team fell into an immediate groove.
“We got along very well and even though we were all relatively nervous, after a few games we really stepped up our play and became a tough team to beat,” says PO2 Jones. “We got more aggressive with our plays, and competing against such talented teams really pushed us to perform better.”
The reality of how well they played at Provincials set in when a team they had beaten ended up being on the roster to represent B.C. at the national level.
Since competing at the Provincials, the players have returned to their original teams, and while there are no plans in the works to get back together, PO2 Jones says himself, LS Sarty, and LS Whyte are taking competitive curling a little more seriously.
“We really had no idea we could do so well. We three are going to do our best to come back strong for next year’s Coastals,” says PO2 Jones.
The team still needs one more qualified curler to complete the set.
“It will be hard because we are also subject to deployments and I’m going on course shortly, so it makes it difficult to make any concrete plans,” says PO2 Jones. “But if we are in town you can be sure we’ll be on the ice as much as possible, and keeping our eyes peeled for another player to help us get to the provincials once more.”
