A Richmond Curling Club team has struck gold at the 2018 Traveler’s Curling Championship at the Miramichi Curling Club in New Brunswick.
Vic Shimizu’s rink capped an undefeated week with an 8-3 victory over Nova Scotia in Sunday’s championship game. His team also includes Cody Tanaka, Trevor Bakken and Mark Yodogawa. It was Tanaka who threw skip stones and named the tournament’s most valuable player.
The B.C. representatives went 6-0 in round-robin play then defeated Ontario in the semi-finals.
B.C. jumped out to a commanding 6-1 lead after four ends in the final and secured the victory with singles in the sixth and seventh ends after Nova Scotia notched a pair in the fifth.
“We’re so, so happy … to bring back the banner to the home club it means everything,” Tanaka told Curling Canada.
The 24-year-old was fresh off representing B.C. at the Canadian Mixed Championships in Manitoba.
Shimizu’s rink earned the opportunity to represent their province by capturing the B.C. final on home ice at the Pacific International Cup back in April with a thrilling victory overLangley’s Darren Frycz. The RCC team also went on to defeat Arizona to earn PIC bragging rights as well.
This is the second time that B.C. has won a gold medal at the Travelers Curling Club Championship, and the province is the first to win back-to-back men’s titles since Alberta’s three golds spanning from 2011 to 2013. Last year, Nanaimo Curling Centre’s team of Bart Sawyer, Steve Waatainen, Craig Burton and Keith Clarke won gold.
