New Zealand Curling

New Zealand's first "Skins" curling cash spiel was held at the Maniototo Curling International indoor rink in Naseby on the weekend of the 15-16 October. The event was part of the Real NZ Festival held in conjunction with the Rugby World Cup.

In a "skins" tournament a cash prize is up for grabs during each end of a game, and each skin will jackpot if not won.

All players first competed in an individual "hotshots" competition. Names were then drawn to make up four fairly even teams, with novice curlers as young as 12 playing alongside and against NZ representatives.

At the end of the four round competition two teams were tied for the top spot with $750 prizemoney each, requiring a sudden-death draw shot challenge to determine the overall winner. The side skipped by Ranfurly's Sean Becker came out on top to take the major prize of $1600 in vouchers from House of Travel.

Runners up were the foursome skipped by Peter de Boer from Wellington.

MCI's Development Officer Nelson Ede said the inaugural tournament was a success. "All teams won some prizemoney," he said, "and everyone left with a smile on their face. We were grateful to our major sponsors House of Travel and the Real NZ Festival, and also Naseby Trail Lodge, Three Miners Winery and MCI who helped make this event possible."

"We hope to make this a regular fixture on the New Zealand Curling calendar."

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• Runners-up Runners-up
• Winners Winners
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Earlier Article

7 Sep 2011 – New Zealand's first Curling Skins tournament will be held at Naseby's Maniototo Curling International rink on Friday 14th to Sunday 16th October.

A part of the Real New Zealand festival held in conjunction with the Rugby World Cup, this will also be MCI's first cashspiel with over $3000 in prizemoney up for grabs.

Entry is open to all curlers, with an individual entry costing just $50.

There will be both individual and team competitions. The event will kick off with an individual "Hot Shots" format on Friday evening, followed by the teams being drawn. The teams competition will run on Saturday and Sunday.

Skins differs from normal curling in that a "skin" – or prize – can be won on each end, either by the team with hammer scoring 2 (or more), or by their opponents stealing the end. If the team with hammer scores just a single then the skin carries over and is included in the skin for the following end.

The tournament was originally scheduled for September, but the dates were subsequently changed. Bruce McCormick, Manager of the Maniototo Curling Rick at Naseby explains, "We originally planned the Cash Spiel prior to the Rugby World Cup games [scheduled for Christchurch] being transferred to the Otago Stadium, but with the England vs Argentina game on the 10th we were challenged, as a number of potential competitors had already bought tickets to the game. So to assist, we postponed the Skins to a later date."

"We hope to see you in mid-October for our first ever MCI Cash Spiel. Please email us your entry - and note that ALL delivery styles welcome."

More information is on the MCI website. Contacts:

• Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Ph 03 444 9878