It proved to be a dream curling season for teenagers Shawna Jensen and Katie Sim.
The junior standouts from the Tunnel Town Curling Club not only thrived at their own age level but also stepped up to the senior ranks to bring home more hardware.
After winning the B.C. high school championship through South Delta secondary's curling program, Jensen (skip) and Sim (third) teamed up with Katherine Praski (second) and Chantel Kosmynka (lead) to win Tunnel Town's ladies championship.
That victory gave the Jensen rink the opportunity to represent Tunnel Town at the Lower Mainland Dominion Championship which features champions from various clubs. The girls rolled through their competition, winning all five games to earn a berth into the prestigous Pacific International Cup, hosted by the Richmond Curling Club.
The achievement marked the second straight year a Tunnel Town rink had managed to qualify for the event.
The demanding schedule saw the Jensen foursome play eight games, plus a tiebreaker, over five days.
Tunnel Town advanced to the semi-finals before bowing out to the defending champions from Comox.
The girls rebounded to win the bronze medal game, capping a tremendous and historic playoff run.
Meanwhile, it was a veteran skip who repeated as Tunnel Town's men's champion.
The Bill Rafter rink produced four straight victories, including a win against Dale Larock in the final. Rafter's road to the title included a key "A" event semi-final win over Mike Ashworth in what was a showdown of unbeaten teams.
Rafter also moved onto the Dominion Cup where his team turned in a competitive showing, finishing with a 2-2 record, and just missing out on a playoff berth.
The rink also included Darcy Heisler (third), Jeff Corbett (second) and Bruce Archibald (lead).
It was also a busy year on the senior men's circuit for Rafter who managed to earn a enough points to participate in the regional tour championship which featured the top 16 rinks based on results over the course of the competitive season.
