The Viterra men’s curling championships in Virden proved to be a short tournament for the Shaun Parsons team from the Burntwood Curling Club, which lost their first two games to become one of the first teams eliminated in the double-knockout format tournament.
The Parsons team, which also includes Kevin Parsons, Bronston Jonasson and Jim Davidson, opened up the tournament in the first day’s second draw, taking on Braden Calvert’s team from the Assiniboine Curling Club. The Burntwood team scored one in the first end but then gave up three points in two of the next three ends and one in the other to fall behind 7-1. They drew to within five points with a single point in the fifth end before giving up two more in the sixth en route to a 9-3 defeat.
The opening-game loss sent Team Parsons into the B side, where they took on Brett Walter’s team from Winnipeg’s Elmwood Curling Club. The Thompson curlers fell behind by four in the opening end and couldn’t muster a comeback despite scoring two of their own in the second end to halve their opponent’s lead. Three points by Team Walters in the third end pretty much spelled the end for Team Parsons as they were defeated 10-3.
Curtis McCannell’s team from Pilot Mound, the Darren Perche team from Charleswood and Kelly Robertson’s team from Neepawa were the other teams knocked out on the tournament’s first day.
