Pictured above: 2018 MJCT Champions – TEAM WATKINS!
L-R: Carter Watkins, Skip; Brett MacDonald, Third; Logan Schirrmeister, Second; Andrew Clapham, Lead; Bill MacDonald, Coach

Submitted by: Louise Watkins, Mgr/Asst. Coach |

Team Watkins, consisting of Carter Watkins, Brett MacDonald, Logan Schirrmeister, and Andrew Clapham finished the MJCT Tour with 160 points, clinching a Berth into the U21 Canola Junior Men’s Provincial Championships on January 2 -7, 2019 and MJCT Title. The Fort Garry Curling Club was host to the Invitational Tour Championships of 10 Junior Men’s and 10 Junior Women’s Teams that have participated in events throughout the 2018 curling season. Along with several floating berths in the Spring and Fall, Curl Manitoba offers one Berth through the points leader system in conjunction with the MJCT event season. The remaining Berths are awarded through Regional competitions held in various clubs around the Province on December 7-9, 2018. The 16 Junior Men’s & Women’s teams then play at the Provincial Championships being held at the Heather Curling Club in Winnipeg to determine a Provincial representative for Nationals.

To win the MJCT Championship and get a Berth in one weekend was a hard earned accomplishment! The team has played with consistency and strength all season. They double the points at the Tour Championship so even though you played well during the season, other teams can surpass you in points if you don’t keep your momentum going. The introduction of the 5-rock Rule in Curling has changed the ability to secure a lead in a game. It has increased the challenges and added to the strategy of the game.

The two pools of Men’s Teams consisted of Pool 1 -Wiebe, Friesen, Dunlop, Wasylik, Walter and Pool 2 -Watkins, Hykaway, McDonald, Maisey, Hadway. After round robin format within each pool, the top two qualifiers move on to the Semi-Final and Finals. Wiebe played Watkins and Wasylik played Hykaway. Team Hykaway was also hungry for a Berth through points but were defeated by Wasylik. The Final game was Watkins vs. Wasylik which ended after 6 ends.

Our Team Sponsors make the whole season possible as the team juggles University studies and curling in multiple events. We would like to thank them for their support: Swan Valley Chiropractic Centre, Investors Group – Swan River, Dr. Dumore & Team Orthodontics, Dawson Dental Centre, Charleswood Men’s League, Murray Chevrolet, Magic Men, Essentique Aveda Salon & Spa, Kingswood Golf Course, Chase Auto Body Supplies, Hunter Green, Winnipeg Honda, Stephenson Equipment Ltd., Payworks, IDK Interactive, EnerC, and Asham Curling Supplies.

On the Women’s side, Team Zacharias played Team Gray-Withers in the final. It was an intense game that came down to last rock. Team Zacharias tapped up a rock to the four foot for the win. As both Women’s teams already have Berth spots, Team Bevan was awarded the Berth with the next highest points total.

The Team has just finished up a four consecutive weekend stretch of competitive play and will take few weeks break with more goals ahead! We congratulate Team Watkins on their milestone victory and look forward to more events in the near future!