They made it out of the interregional playdown in the Comox Valley last year, and this year Team Harris repeated their performance in New Westminster to qualify for the Senior Men’s Provincial Championship in Kelowna, Feb. 14-19.
“It took a total team effort to achieve this,” explains skip Wayne Harris. “The crew showed up to play on Jan. 19 and didn’t quit till the last rock of the 'C' final on Sunday.”
It took 28 ends of back-to-back curling on Sunday to earn the C1 Qualifier, but teammates Alan deJersey, Richard Tanguay, Rick Thomson and fifth player Fred Pugh where up for the challenge. “We worked really hard for this one,” says deJersey. “We got on board with The Joint Physiotherapy and sport injury center to improve our level of fitness.” That paid off in spades as they entered their third game on Sunday. “We started working with Eddie (The Joint) in August, he got so excited about what a bunch of old guys could do he became a curler himself!”
The weekly workouts are important, but equally important is the dedication to practise and play. “Our coach, Lindsey Sparkes, has to be the most patient person I know. She knows we play too much, and don’t practise enough. But there she is with book in hand behind the glass looking for the little (or not so little) things we could do better,” explains Harris. “She has a tremendous impact on the success this team enjoys.”
This curling team has travelled extensively in their preparations this year, playing in Seattle, New West and tournaments on the Island. “We could not have done this without the help of our team sponsors, DSJ Electric, Colonial Countertops, and Island Truss. Without that support it would simply be unaffordable to compete.”
The Harris team would like to acknowledge and thank the local curling community as well as Campbell River for their good wishes as they continue to work toward their goal. “Playing in the BC Provincial, it doesn’t get any better than that!”
– Team Harris
