Langley’s Team Coulman came from behind to defeat Team Brazil at the Optimist Junior Interclub Curling League (OJICL) wrap-up tournament on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 30 at the Langley Curling Centre.
Skip Anna Coulman, third James Jones, second Hanna Mares and lead Elise Levangie tied with team Brazil at the end to force a tiebreaker, which they won.
Final score was 5-4 for team Coulman, who play out of the Langley Curling Centre.
Coach Lisa Coulman rated the team performance as “fantastic.”
“They played their games with heart and integrity,” she told the Langley Advance Times.
While the rival junior team plays for Brazil internationally, they are based in B.C., allowing them to take part in the young curlers league.
Team Coulman finished third in their block at the tournament.
Play in the OJICL is under a block system that reseeds teams after every three-game round to their appropriate challenge level.
The overall winner Sunday was Team Tam from Port Moody.
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Curlers were juniors, boys and girls, from Howe Sound to Hope. A team may consist of any combination of U12, U15, U18 or U21 girls or boys.
Players wore masks and COVID-19 protocols were in effect for the tournament
It was the end of the 33rd season of the OJICL, an organization for young players in Lower Mainland communities that aims to emulate the approach of other youth-league sports in developing talent.
League founder Al Kersey said the program had grown to 28 teams in three divisions across the region before the pandemic hit, which reduced them to half that number in two divisions.
He considered it an accomplishment that the league was able to hold its annual wrap-up event despite the pandemic.
“We had a really good day,” Kersey commented.
“I think of the whole year as a success.”
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Kersey estimated the league has totalled “3,942 kid-years of fun.”
“In curling, a child does not need to be bigger, faster or stronger to grow from playground to podium,” Kersey explained.
“In curling, each member of the team contributes an equal share of the effort for every shot in every game. No other team sport can make that claim.”
The tournament was made possible through the support of the Optimist Club, which sponsors curling for younger players.
More information about the league can be found online at their website, optimistjuniorcurling.ca or on their Facebook page.
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