New Zealand Curling

Bar set high at World Mixed

Team NZ in action against the hosts in Canada. Photo © WCF / Jeffrey Au

21 Oct 2018 – The bar was set high at the World Mixed Championship in Kelowna, BC, Canada said Team New Zealand skip Dave Watt.

"We didn't play bad," he said after the competition where they finished with a 1 win - 6 loss record. "We just got no breaks."

"Team Canada [the eventual gold medalists] told us that they played their best game against us up to that point," he continued. "Same with Slovenia – and Austria got up for us too."

"Against Norway we played well too – but did get some breaks!"

Stonehenge clean up in Auckland

Team Stonehenge, 2018 Auckland Champions. Photo Earl Irving

17 Oct 2018 – The Stonehenge team of Garion Long, Benjamin Frew, Kieran Grieve and Rebecca Treacy are the 2018 Auckland Curling champions after a 9-2 win over last year's winners, Cleansweep, in last Sunday's Premier League final.

The side also won the Auckland's Round Robin trophy and the Big End award.

In the semi-finals a week earlier, Chelsea Farley's Cleansweep had beaten Iain Craig's Rockers, while Stonehenge headed off the fast-improving Penguins skipped by Sasha Golborodko.

Kavanagh takes NZ Secondary School honours

Girls winners Kavanagh College L-R: Grace Apuwai-Bishop, Temika Apuwai-Bishop, Elizabeth Audas and Emily Armstrong. Photo Janyne Fletcher

1 Oct 2018 – Kavanagh College took the major honours in last weekend's NZ Secondary Schools Championship, taking home the Girls and Boys trophies.

The Kavanagh Girls side of Grace Apuwai-Bishop, Temika Apuwai-Bishop, Elizabeth Audas and Emily Armstrong-Sagvari were unstoppable on their march to their title.

Remarkably, they did not concede a single point throughout their four pool games. Maniototo Area School came closer than anyone in their semi-final, restricting Kavanagh to a 6-1 margin.

An emphatic 12-1 victory over Otago Girls #1 in the final sealed an outstanding tournament for the Kavanagh Girls.

Mustapic extends Seniors streak

Man's champions Iain Craig, Lorne DePape, Dave Watt and Dan Mustapic. Photo © NZCA

18 Sep 2018 – Team Dan Mustapic won their fifth straight NZ Senior Men's Championship undefeated last weekend, but they needed to warm into their task.

Mustapic found himself facing six counters as he lined up his last shot in the first game of the tournament against Ewan Kirk's Naseby side.

The game then went to an extra end after an attempted Mustapic takeout in the eighth end clipped a guard.

Their second match against Pete Becker was also close through the first five ends, before a three-pointer in the 6th broke the deadlock.

EGGS, Long Bay and Lynfield take North Island honours

EGGS v Long Bay. Photo NZCA / Liz Matthews

6 Sep 2018 – Epsom Girls Grammar Knock Out struck form at the business end of the tournament to win their North Island Secondary Schools Championship at Paradice Avondale this week.

In round robin play the side finished fourth of the five teams to claim the last semifinal berth.

But Jasman Vir Kaur, Katrina Shepard, Sava Youssef and Shreya Nair peaked at the right time to beat their schoolmates EGGS Squad Curl Out 5-2 in their semi, and then claim the gold medal 9-3 over Long Bay Silver in the final.

Winter Games NZ podium

L-R: Korey Dropkin and Sarah Anderson (USA, bronze), Brent Laing and Jennifer Jones (Canada, gold) and Fraser Kingan and Jayne Stirling (Scotland, silver). Photo Neil Kerr / Winter Games NZ

Canada claim Winter Games gold

Brent Laing and Jennifer Jones (Canada) at the Audi quattro Winter Games NZ 2018

Brent Laing and Jennifer Jones on their way to gold. Photo © Neil Kerr / Winter Games NZ

30 Aug 2018 – Brent Laing and Jennifer Jones claimed the gold medal for Canada in the Audi quattro Winter Games NZ Mixed Doubles curling tournament in Naseby this afternoon.

They beat Scotland’s Jayne Stirling and Fraser Kingan 9-5 in the final.

The tournament was also the first event of the northern season’s World Curling Tour, and was the first WCT event to ever be held in the southern hemisphere.

Canada and Scotland to play for gold

Semifinal action at the Audi quattro Winter Games NZ 2018

30 Aug 2018 – Scotland and Canada won this morning’s semi-finals at the Audi quattro Winter Games Mixed Doubles curling tournament in Naseby and will face off in the gold medal match this afternoon.

Scotland beat Norway in a high scoring game. The Scots took four points in the third end, and then a crucial steal of two in the next when Maia and Magnus Ramsfjell could find no way to the button for Norway.

When their last shot in the seventh end wrecked on a guard, the teams shook hands with the score at 12-7.

Scotland and USA through to semi-finals

Fraser Kingan and Jayne Stirling (Scotland) at the Audi quattro Winter Games NZ 2018

29 Aug 2018 – Scotland and USA won tonight’s quarterfinals at the Audi quattro Winter Games Mixed Doubles curling tournament in Naseby to progress to tomorrow’s medal rounds.

The Scots won a tight match 5-4 against the local favourites, the New Zealand 2 side of Bridget and Sean Becker.

The Kiwis had a tough shot to tie the game in the final end, needing to score two with a thin in-off to dislodge a Scottish stone in the centre of the house.

Kiwis claim their place in Winter Games playoffs

Brisget Becker and Sean Becker (New Zealand) at the Audi quattro Winter Games NZ 2018

29 Aug 2018 – Canada and Norway claimed the top spots in their pools to qualify direct to tomorrow’s semi-finals in the Audi quattro Winter Games Mixed Doubles curling tournament in Naseby this week.

Scotland, New Zealand 2, USA and Australia 1 will contest the right to meet them in tonight’s quarter-finals.

Team Canada had secured the top spot in Pool A before last night’s penultimate round.