Curling Battles as October Looms

September is almost done and the serious stuff is soon to begin.

Matt Dunstone and his new crew – with ex-Gushue mate Mark Nichols now at second stone – might not have impressed that much at their first outing, but they put things together to win the Okotoks Classic some 40 minutes south of Calgary.

Dunstone went 7-1 through the weekend and defeated Switzerland’s Marco Hoesli 5-4 in the final.

The Brier champion’s sole loss came to Brier finalist Kevin Koe, who finished 4-1 after dropping a quarterfinal game to Winnipeg’s Jordon McDonald by an 8-4 count.

McDonald and Brendan Bottcher made the semifinals, while Germany’s Benny Kapp, Sasky’s Mike McEwen and Edmonton’s Evan Van Amsterdam made the quarters.

There were other tour events at Winnipeg (Mother Club Classic), Cornwall, Ont. (Shorty Jenkins U18 and U20), men’s events at Tallinn, Estonia and Valleyfield, Que., and a mixed doubles shootout in the U.S.

That one, the Colorado Curling Cup at Rock Creek, saw Australia’s world champ Dean Hewitt sore the win with his new teammate, Jessica Wytrychowski.

The event that caught a few eyes, however, was The Battle.

This one-off challenge series between Canada’s Olympic reps, teams Homan and Jacobs, took place over three days at a packed arena in Port Elgin, Ont.

The weekend marked the first stones of the season for both squads.

Jacobs third Marc Kennedy couldn’t compete, and was replaced by team coach Paul Webster. He and Jacobs teamed up for the first match – mixed doubles – and lost to start the weekend.

The Jacobs lads then came back to win a skins spectacle on Saturday, and the inevitable regular fours match on Sunday.

The Olympians were joined by the Paralympians, too. Mark Ideson’s gold medal-winning wheelchair curling squad played for the crowd and met fans, while 80 “campers” experienced on-ice sessions with the celebrities and other coaches.

The whole thing was streamed on CBC Gem, featuring an interesting broadcast team of Glenn Howard, Marilyn Bodogh and Mike Harris.

But there’s more.

Some $40,000 was raised for various charities – including the Sandra Schmirler Foundation, Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Tire’s Jumpstart and the local chapter of Special Olympics.

Another $5,000 was raised for local youth curlers, and nearby curling clubs saw a cut of revenues from their involvement in ticket and advertising sales.

That sounds like quite the weekend.

But there’s a world (mixed doubles) qualifier coming soon, folks… followed by a Slam, and then the European Championships.

It’s almost time to get serious.