Volunteers at the Sparwood Curling Club hosted the East-West Kootenay Boys High School Curling Championships on January 7-8.
Four high school teams competed in the event. Jaffray Secondary, Fernie Secondary, Sparwood Secondary and Selkirk Secondary from Kimberley fielded teams. The tournament was a double knockout event.
The first draw saw Selkirk beating Jaffray and Fernie beating Sparwood. The second draw was a meet-up between Selkirk and Fernie, with Selkirk coming out ahead while Sparwood defeated Jaffray, eliminating them from the tournament.
The third draw on Saturday saw Sparwood once again face off against Fernie, but this time winning and eliminating Fernie from the competition as they had suffered 2 losses.
On Sunday morning, Sparwood faced Selkirk for the first time and came up just short, losing 10-8 in a great game. With this loss, Sparwood was eliminated and finished in 2nd place with Selkirk claiming 1st place. Selkirk now has the opportunity to play off against the West Kootenay team from Grand Forks to determine who has the right to attend the Provincial high school playdowns in Terrace.
All four teams brought a lot of enthusiasm and sportsmanship to the games. There was some great shot making leading to some nail-biting finishes for the spectators. It was great to see this level of participation after three years of Covid restrictions. Best wishes to Selkirk Secondary in the East-West Playdowns!