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Stettler team rocks the house at world curling

The Stettler Rotary Club’s curling team won the world curling championship hosted by Rotary International in Scotland
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Stettler Rotary Club’s curling team won the world curling championship in Scotland hosted by Rotary International in early April. They are pictured here after the Erskine Men’s Bonspiel in March. L-R: Brian Sribney

The Stettler Rotary Club’s curling team won the world curling championship hosted by Rotary International in Scotland the first week of April.

“The guys played very well as a team, I think we earned it. That’s rewarding,” said skip Neil Connor.

The rest of the team included lead Brian Sribney, second René Bernard, and third Collin Georget.

To qualify for the championship, the team had to win a western bonspiel, which encompasses two rotary districts – basically all of Alberta and part of B.C. The team won two years ago to qualify for this year’s world championship, and they won again this year to qualify for the 2016 world championship in Grand Prairie.

The event ran from March 29 to April 4. Over the course of that week, the team was kept busy playing a ten game round robin, as well as going on tours of Scotland organized by Rotary International.

“It was a wonderful event,” Connor said. “The Scottish are wonderful hosts.”

Despite the fact that they were competing in a world championship, Connor said they weren’t nervous.

“It was fun, he said. “Certainly more focused than you are when you’re headed for the Wednesday night men’s league.”

In total, eleven teams competed at the championship: four Canadian, three American, three Scottish, and one English team. The Stettler team’s winning game was against a team from Madison, WI, and it was a close game with a score of 5-4.

“It was a good game,” Connor said. “They played very well in the final.”

The Madison team outcurled the Stettler team for most of the game, but Stettler caught up in the seventh end and overtook them in the eighth.

“They struggled earlier in the week, but they were probably the hottest team there at the end of the week,” Connor said.

But it wasn’t all competition. Connor and the rest of the team got to take in the attractions in Scotland, including Balmoral Castle and haggis.

“I can say that I tried it,” Connor said. “Pretty sure that I’ll never have it again.”

The teams also socialized with each other, which Connor said is always a big part of the event.

“You sit down with each other afterwards and exchange stories,” he said.

The team received a trophy, gold medals, and silver mementos for winning. The team had a good time and represented Stettler well.

“We were spoiled rotten at a first class event and we were fortunate enough to win,” Connor said.