Prairie teams enjoy early success at The Dominion C.C.C.

Saskatchewan skip Brad Bibby can only hope the rest of the week at The Dominion Curling Club Championship goes as good as it did opening day for his Prince Alberta Golf & Curling Club team. Not only did he emerge 2-0 in men’s play in Richmond, B.C., he also had ice that was to his liking. “It was awesome,” said Bibby, who polished off Nunavut’s Ed Sattelberger 8-2 in the second round Tuesday to hit the pillow at night as one of four 2-0 teams in the men’s division. “The conditions were just the way I like them — super fast and plenty of curl.” The Dominion Curling Club Championship is an annual event for men’s and women’s curling teams that have won their respective local club championships. Bibby was joined at 2-0 atop the Blue Group with Ontario’s Greg Balsdon of Richmond Hill, while Alberta’s Wade Thurber of Red Deer, and Manitoba’s Barry Mandryk of Winnipeg are alone in first in the Grey Group at 2-0. New Brunswick’s Barry Lewis (Grey), Newfoundland and Labrador’s Paul Harvey (Blue) and Donald Clarey of Prince Edward Island (Blue) won their only games of the day. Baldson jumped into a 7-2 lead over Nova Scotia’s Andrew Atherton after three ends and cruised to a 10-5 victory, Turber thumped Northern Ontario’s Dale Dubinsky 8-6, and Mandryk disposed of Yukon’s Scott Hamilton 4-1. Balsdon admitted he was thrilled to be unbeaten after a so-so performance in his first draw earlier in the day. He emerged with a 5-3 win over Sattelberger, but says he could have been sharper. “We had a battle this morning and we weren’t firing on all cylinders and they were playing very well, so it was a battle,” said Balsdon. “But we played a lot better this afternoon. “It’s always nice to get off to a good start. It makes you feel a little more comfortable going through the week. We’re feeling pretty good.” Balsdon’s team also had another bit of good fortune Tuesday. Just 15 minutes before the opening draw, Ontario third Jordan Keon discovered the sole of his curling shoe had completely ripped apart, leaving him hobbling around the club in his socks looking for an emergency repair or replacement. Up stepped volunteer Tom McKay, who just happened to have the same shoe as Keon, and the same size shoe. Keon interchanged his sliders onto McKay’s, and was good to go. In other second-round games, British Columbia’s Dwight Hodder throttled Mel Sittichinli’s crew from the Territories 12-5, and P.E.I. shaded Quebec’s John Monroe 6-5. In first-round action, New Brunswick hammered Northern Ontario 9-4, Alberta beat Yukon 6-2, Saskatchewan dropped Quebec 8-4 and Newfoundland/Labrador edged Nova Scotia 6-3. Round-robin play continues until Friday, with the finals set for Saturday afternoon. The Dominion Curling Club Championship is Canada’s first national championship for men’s and women’s curling teams at the club level. The event is fully funded and operated by The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company. The Dominion is a proud supporter of curling across Canada and has been a strong supporter of the Canadian Paraplegic Association for over 13 years. Canadian owned and operated since 1887, today The Dominion is one of the country’s largest home, car and business insurers. Get to know The Dominion by visiting thedominion.ca.