Contributed by Revelstoke Curling Club
The annual Revelstoke Open Bonspiel took place on March 1-3, 2024 at the Revelstoke Curling Club.
16 teams (64 curlers), four from out of town based out of Kelowna and North Okanagan competed in the tournament’s triple-knock-out format. Teams had a chance at the A, B, or C event finals they didn’t lose more than two games.
This was the 70th running of the event, and volunteer Tysyn Olynyk returned to volunteer his time as coordinator.
A-Event
To reach the A-Event finals and a chance to become the grand champion of the Bonspiel, teams were required to win all of their games. The two undefeated teams heading into the A Event finals this year were the dominant Team Eggplant from Salmon Arm and the fan-favorite Here For The Budweiser led by Revelstoke Curling Club veteran Ed Wozniak along with his son, Mykol.
Team Eggplant had knocked off both of last year’s finalists on their unwavering path to the championship game. Team Eggplant kept on rolling with consistent shotmaking and took control of the final game much like their previous wins. The Salmon Arm foursome completed a successful weekend to win the Bonspiel and claim top prize in impressive fashion.
The winner was ultimately, Team Eggplant from Salmon Arm, featuring skip Dave Long, 3rd Chad Hagel, 2nd Tracey Latosky, Lead Rob Oldman.
The runner-up was Here For The Budweiser, with players from Revelstoke, Kelowna and Invermere with skip Ed Wozniak, 3rd Mykol Wozniak, 2nd Darren Ottenbrite, Lead Cody Harris.
B-Event
After early losses the B Event final’s squads bounced back to win their way in. Two Thursday League rivals from Revelstoke squared off as Top Guts featuring the Electric Penguin, skipped by Tysyn Olynyk, were up against The Blue J’s skipped by Barry Joseph Strasser.
The Top Guts’ silky smooth velvet was too slippery for the J’s to grab a hold of and the Guts pulled away from their foes without looking back, winning the B Event.
The winners for this round were: Top Guts featuring The Electric Penguin from Revelstoke, with skip Tysyn Olynyk, 3rd Dan Brown, 2nd Alyssa Veerenhuis, Lead Dorothy Connoy. The runner up was The Blue J’s from Revelstoke with skip Barry Strasser, 3rd Jack MacDonald, 2nd Jamie McMahon, Lead Joanne Kaczmarski.
C-Event
After a devastating loss in the second draw, last year’s champions and local celebrities, The Hogline Honeys, refused to go home empty-handed. Grinding in the basement in pursuit of any consolation to salvage the season, they came up against the aesthetically gifted team Rock Hard.
It was a classic family battle pitting brothers Brady Blake and James Blake at odds once again. The Hogline Honeys controlled the scoreboard but Rock Hard kept it close by making important shots when the pressure was on. In the end, with Rock Hard needing two and sitting two, the Honeys’ skip Kody Moncrief made the double take-out and ran their opponents out of rocks.
The winners were The Hogline Honeys from Revelstoke, featuring skip Kody Moncrief, 3rd Brady Blake, 2nd Tim Work, Lead Chad “Dancing” Gillespie. The runner-up was Rock Hard from Revelstoke, featring skip James Blake, 3rd Elsa Brownlee, 2nd Landon Fuscaldo, Lead Taylor Volkman, Alternate Lavina Coburn.
The Revelstoke Curling Club is thankful to the six local sponsors who generously made monetary donations and their platinum sponsor, Downie Timber Ltd.
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