The dust has finally settled on the Greater Vernon 2022 BC Winter Games, as the over 900 athletes and 1,500 volunteers have made their way home, after the closing ceremony concluded the event on Sunday night.
“It was awesome to watch the athletes compete and witness their talent and dedication to their sports,” said Nicky Dunlop, the president of the BC Winter Games.
In the curling event, the Thompson-Okanagan teams dominated in both the men’s and women’s categories.
Okanagan’s 2A team, skipped by Vernon’s Ava Ardnt, third Bethany Evans (Kamloops), second Ivy Jensen (Vernon), and lead Alicia Evans (Kamloops) faced off in the gold medal match, after finishing round robin undefeated, against the other Okanagan team, skipped by Kelowna’s Megan Rempel.
Team Rempel included third Parker Rempel (Kelowna), second Gwyneth Jones (Kelowna), lead Ella Walker (Penticton) and fifth Tegan LePoole (Lake Country).
The teams battled in a back and forth final game, with Rempel going up 2-0 after the first two ends, before Ardnt grabbed two in the third, before going up one in the fourth.
Rempel then took two in the sixth to go up by one again, before another two stone end by Ardnt in the seventh put the Vernon locals team up. Rempel tied the game up in the eighth to send the match into an extra end where Arndt grabbed the decisive final stone to win, 6-5.
In the men’s category, the final match pitted two Okanagan squads against each other, Team Beck and Team Jaeger.
Team Beck, from the Salmon Arm Curling Club, consisted of brothers Kaiden (skip) and Nolan Beck (third), second Eli Rands and lead Alex Watkins.
Team Jaeger hails from the Kelowna Curling Club, led by skip Owen Jaeger, third Spencer Rempel, second Noah Wielgosz, lead Brenden Hruschak and fifth Dylan Tucker.
Both teams went 3-0 in round robin games, setting up a hotly contested gold medal match. Through three ends, just one stone was taken, with Team Jaeger claiming it. However, in the fourth, Team Beck found their groove, scoring five throughout the fourth and fifth end, to put Team Jaeger on the ropes. The Kelowna team salvaged one in the sixth to go down 5-2 into the seventh, but the Salmon Arm rink was too good, grabbing four to seal the victory, 9-2.
Dunlop extinguished the torch on Sunday night, and called upon athletes and volunteers to prepare for the 2024 event, which will be hosted in Lhtako Quesnel.
For full results from the competitions, visit bcgames.org/games/participant-lists-and-results.
READ MORE: PHOTOS: Greater Vernon 2022 B.C. Winter Games athletes shine
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