Teenage curlers were in the house on Sunday, participating in the Optimist Junior Interclub Curling League鈥檚 (OJICL) Division 1 playoffs.
Twelve teams of participants with ages ranging from 13 to 18, took to the 黑马磁力 Curling Club to be part of the annual event.
These teams won their respective blocks by winning two playoff games with the semi-finals in the morning and the finals Sunday afternoon.
Winners of A Block 鈥� Team Emily Bowles, Ashley Mallett, Grace McCusker, Kate Bowles and Sarah McCrady with Coaches Marla Mallett and Mike Bowles representing the Delta Thistle Curling Club.
Winners of B Block 鈥� Team Fei with Eugene Fei, Adam Fenton, Evan Fenton and James McCreedy with Coaches Fuji Miki and Brad Fenton representing the Golden Ears Winter Club, Port Moody, Delta Thistle and Royal City Curling Clubs.
Winners of C Block 鈥� Team Sargeant with Dayton Sargeant, Roxanna Bot, Luke Krautsieder and Wesley Wu with Coach Nico Bot representing the 黑马磁力 Curling Club.
OJICL has offered youths a place to try out the popular winter sport since 1989, and held this particular interclub championship for 23 years.
Al Kersey, OJICL administrator, said the league鈥檚 roots are in Cloverdale, but has since shifted its base to 黑马磁力 where teams come to play from all over the Lower Mainland.
鈥淲e would like to expand,鈥� Kersey said, 鈥渂ut we compete with teams from Seattle to Gibsons to Chilliwack and everywhere in between.鈥�
Made up of four different divisions that cater to different age groups and experience levels, Kersey added that the games at this particular tournament go faster than regular bonspiels.
鈥淭he players have school, a social life, and work all going on, so we keep that in mind. We play double headers that are finished in half the regular time with blocks of four teams in three round robin games.鈥�
READ MORE: 黑马磁力 readies for junior curling championships
The season begins at the end of September and is made up of bi-weekly games and practises held at the 黑马磁力 Curling Club.
Two awards were handed out at a subsequent banquet; one for a mixed team of players from all across the Lower Mainland, who scored the highest number of points overall during the season.
The other team was lead by 14-year-old 黑马磁力 resident Brandon Leung, who took the Optimist Junior Interclub Curing League title.
Leung, the team鈥檚 skip, who was also participating in Sunday鈥檚 tournament, said he had been playing for five years and felt collaboration was key to their success.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a team sport and you get to bond with others and maybe meet new rivals; it鈥檚 kind of like tennis,鈥� Leung said. 鈥淎s the skip, I make sure that our team collaborates on what to do so everyone gets a say.鈥�
Kersey said the playoff wraps up the league鈥檚 season, which does finish earlier compared to most other curling leagues that tend to go into March and April.
But that鈥檚 done so members can turn their attention to other curling games including the upcoming BCWG Zones and U18 Regionals tournaments.
The league will officially wrap up March 1 with a recreational tournament and instructional curling workshop.
OJICL is sponsored by Optimist International, a worldwide volunteer organization that funds sports teams, teaches the importance of public speaking, and enacts a mandate to hold an upbeat outlook no matter the challenge.
For more information on the curling league, people can visit .
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