Participants and fans enjoyed a rare treat Sunday afternoon at the Osoyoos International Curling Club as all three men’s finals – in the A, B and C draw – came down to the very last shot.
“It was kind of awesome the way things turned out,” said 2012 men’s curling bonspiel organizer Drew Bolokoski. “To have all three finals go down to the very last shot in each match was great.”
In the men’s A final, skip Blaine Black, whose team plays out of the Penticton Curling Club, had an open hit and stick to win the tournament title over fellow Penticton Curling Club skip Darryl Tarr’s foursome in a well-played final that saw Black’s rink win 5-4.
Filling out Black’s foursome were lead Allen Pratt, second Chris Jones and third Barrie Johnstone. Black’s rink didn’t lose a game throughout the 24-team, three-day bonspiel .
In the men’s B final, Bruce Ramsey’s rink out of the Oliver Curling Club had to draw to the four-foot with his final stone to secure a 6-4 victory over Jamie Lemke’s rink from Osoyoos.
In the men’s C final, skip Leo “Lucky” Buholzer’s rink needed its final stone of the tournament to pull out a 6-5 victory over a team from Oliver.
For Black, winning the Osoyoos men’s bonspiel is a big deal.
“I’ve been playing with this rink off and on for the past 10 years and this is only my second time in Osoyoos and there are a lot of good teams here so it’s always an honour to win a bonspiel of this calibre,” he said. “Having to win the tournament on my final stone is always a thrill.
“It wasn’t an overly difficult shot, but there’s always pressure when you’re faced with making a shot to win a tournament. But the boys did a fine job sweeping and I made the shot, so it was a good way to win.”
Beating another team from his hometown rink in Penticton is always fun, he said.
“Even though we’re at the same club, we haven’t played them much,” he said of Tarr’s foursome. “There’s always a little rivalry between teams from the same club so to beat them in the final in a very close match was a lot of fun.”
For Ramsey, whose teammates include lead Rick Capyk, second Bradd Ottenbrett and third John Surovoy, winning his draw on his final shot was exciting and a good way to wrap up a terrific weekend of curling.
“We had to win our semifinal match by drawing to the button on our final stone, so I had a bit of practice having to make my final shot to the four-foot here in the final,” he said. “It’s always exciting to have to win a match on your final stone
“The boys did a terrific job all weekend and we had a lot of fun. The only team that beat us ended up winning the whole tournament, so we curled well and had a great time all weekend.”
Winning the final match was as a tribute to good friend and fellow Oliver curler Brian Merkley, who passed away last week after a battle with cancer, said Ramsey.
“Brian passed away on Friday so we went to the memorial in his honour at the curling club in Oliver, before making the trip up the road to Osoyoos for our first draw Friday night,” he said. “It was a difficult weekend for me because Brian was a very good friend, but I’m sure he would be proud of us.
“He was a great teammate and a great guy and we dedicated this weekend in his honour, so to win the B draw was very nice.”
Buholzer gave all the credit for winning the C draw to his teammates.
“I had a pretty good weekend, but I curled like crap in the final, but the boys bailed me out and played just great,” he said. “I’m really proud of the guys because this is a very good bonspiel and being able to win the C draw on our final shot was really exciting.”
It was great to see a full lineup of 24 teams competing in the men’s bonspiel, which bodes well for the future, he said.
“We haven’t had 24 teams in some time and it was good to see a full field,” said Buholzer. “This is a very well-run tournament with a great bunch of guys and I think anyone who was here this weekend is going to want to come back next year.
“We had all three finals come down to the final shot, so it was a great way to end a great weekend.”
