Team Brennan from Summerland, comprising of three sisters and their mom, were the champions of the 2017 Ladies Bonspiel at the Osoyoos Curling Club. Pictured from the left are skip Jodie Brennan, third Amanda Guido, second Melissa St. John and lead Tammy Brennan. (Dan Walton photo)
Team Brennan brought the winning combination to the Osoyoos International Curling Club over the Family Day holiday long weekend.
The four teammates, a mother and three daughters from Summerland, had never played together competitively before the 2017 Ladies Bonspiel, yet they managed to return home as winners of the A Draw.
“This is the first time we’ve curled with my mom and two sisters,” said third Amanda Guido. “My oldest sister was at home.”
Guido said her family is “all grown-up” now, and they’ve managed to continually get better at the game.
“My sister Jodie (Brennan, skip), she calls a good game and throws a good rock.”
The other two teammates were her sister Melissa St. John, playing second, and her mother Tammy Brennan, who played lead.
Team Brennan was able to glide their rocks down the ice quickly, Guido said, thanks to the ice conditions at the Osoyoos Curling Club.
“We were able to curl consistently and it was really nice ice to play on,” she said.
Each draw throughout the weekend was a challenge to win, she said, and their toughest match of the three-day tournament was saved for last, the A Draw.
During the championship draw, the score stayed close for the first six ends until Team Brennan was able to run away with the lead.
“We managed to pick up two in the seventh end which really played to our advantage,” she said. “Until that it could have gone either way.”
There was more than just curling at the Ladies Bonspiel weekend – there was also a slumber party.
On Saturday night, curlers were invited to a pyjama-themed shindig at the rink. The catering was all taken care of by the gentlemen from the Osoyoos curling community, who were providing a reciprocal service, as the ladies prepared the food last month during the men’s bonspiel.
When the Brennans weren’t at the curling club, they stayed with a family friend while they were in town.
The bonspiel attracted a full field of 20 teams over the weekend.
DAN WALTON
Regional Reporter
