A unique event that recognizes the grassroots of one of Canada’s favourites winter pastimes is underway at the Richmond Curling Club.
The 18th annual Pacific International Cup features men’s and women’s rinks playing daily draws — leading up to Sunday’s championship games — first for International and B.C. bragging rights at 10:30 a.m., then the winners coming together at 1:30 p.m. to determine the overall cup champions.
The host club has representation in both the men’s and women’s divisions in the B.C. competition.
The Rob Dennis foursome is up against rinks from Langley, Vancouver, Vernon, Comox Valley, Kimberley and Williams Lake. Kim Dennis’ crew is taking on teams from Cloverdale, Cowichan, Golden Ears, Comox Valley, Creston, Kamloops and Marpole.
Once again the international division features entries from throughout the U.S. and abroad. The women’s side includes Arizona, California, Nevada, Washington, Minnesota, Oregon, Yukon and Australia. The men’s side features even more international flavour with New Zealand and Alaska joining Arizona, California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Australia and the Yukon.
It was back in 1998 when a group of curlers came up with the idea of launching a competition for club champions.
The Pacific Club Challenge was born and initially was limited only to men’s club champions from within the Pacific Coast Curling Association (PCCA).
It later became the B.C. Club Challenge and eventually included similar playdowns on Vancouver Island and in the Interior. In 2005, a women’s division was added too.
With strong support from Curl BC, there are now regional events to qualify for Richmond. divisions each year. The B.C. division winners also represent their province at the Travelers National Curling Club Championships.
It was 17 years ago when the PCCA launched the international division, providing another unique competition for the Club Challenge winners.
The PIC women’s division was added in 2004 and international interest and representation continued to grow.
Round-robin action continues Friday with draws at 8 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Three more draws follow Saturday (8 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.), followed by any potential tiebreakers. The semi-finals take place at 8 a.m. Sunday morning, featuring the second and third place finishers from each of the four divisions.
