Jan 21, 2009 - 10:32 AM

By Jim Easson

AJAX -- Ajax resident Bob Turcotte, curling out of the Scarborough Golf and Country Club, competed in the Provincial Senior Men's Championship at his home club Jan. 14 to 18. Turcotte had hoped to add to the three Canadian senior titles he has to his credit. With Turcotte were Roy Weigand, Frank McCourt and Steve McDermot. They ended their run losing a tie-breaker game Saturday night. Eight teams played a round robin and, after all was finished, victor Bruce Delaney of the RCN Ottawa Curling Club had a March date in Summerside, P.E.I. for the Canadian finals.

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The TCA Energizer Men's bonspiel, keeping one of the world's oldest continuous curling events alive, started TCA wide Jan. 10. The 'spiel ended Saturday, Jan. 17 with the finals held at the Mississauga Golf and Country Club. Annandale started the event with five teams entered, skipped by Glenn Bull, Dale Patterson, Brian Hawke, Sandy McMillan and Barry Gillespie. The best showing for Annandale was the Brian Hawke team of Jim Easson, Wes Stitt and Mark Scanlan, who made it to the semi-finals in the Senior Fourth Event. Each of them won a $50 restaurant card.

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The Freeze Day Ladies' bonspiel slated for Jan. 21 was cancelled. There were not enough entries to make a go of it. The next bonspiel at Annandale is the annual Rabbie Burns FunSpiel; a mixed Funspiel/Jitney slated for Saturday, Jan. 31.

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The Annandale women's team of Sandra Thain, Barb Luffman, Meaghan Snow and Joan O'Leary will be curling with Rhonda Welch, Janet Alexander, April Risto and Leslie Bainard in the OCA Zone for the Women's Tankard, the two-team event scheduled to commence Jan. 24 in Sutton.

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Annandale had two teams entered in the Fairfield Marriott Challenge Zone playdown held in Uxbridge Jan. 10. Chris Van Huyse, Andrew Klein, Rob Bushfield and Tyler Anderson advanced from the zone directly to the Provincial in Brighton and Trenton from Jan. 23 to 25, where 32 teams will meet, with three games each guaranteed.

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Team Glenn Howard, with Pickering resident Richard Hart at vice and Brent Laing and Craig Savill, next compete in Winnipeg from Jan. 21 to 25. They will play in the third leg of the men's 2008-09 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series, the BDO Classic Canadian Open. Eight of 18 top teams will qualify to share the $100,000 purse.