British Columbia’s Team Dangerfield captures first in pool at 2025 Canadian Senior Curling Championships

British Columbia’s Neil Dangerfield knows how important every win is at the 2025 Canadian Senior Curling Championships.

Last year, the skip from the Victoria Curling Club was one win shy of qualifying for the playoffs. This year, he and his teammates — third/vice-skip Mike Wood, second Darren Boden, lead Glenn Allen, and alternate Andy Jarzebiak — are trying to leave as little of their success as possible to chance. The team ended its initial round-robin schedule on a high note with a 9-3 win over Quebec’s Team Robert Desjardins (4-2; Chicoutimi/Riverbend/Montreal West) and improved to 5-1 for a first-place finish in Pool B’s men’s competition.

“Really, really pleased, actually. We came in here with the goal of getting to the championship round, and last year we were 4-2. So any improvement on that would be beneficial because the other side of the pool A is extremely tough,” Dangerfield said.

British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba’s Team Dave Boehmer (4-2; Petersfield), and Northern Ontario’s Al Belec (3-3; Sault Ste. Marie) will face strong contenders in the Championship Pool. Notable opponents include 2019 Canadian senior champion Bruce Korte of Saskatchewan (6-0; Saskatoon), 1998 Olympic silver medalist Mike Harris of Ontario (4-2; Brantford), two-time Canadian men’s bronze medalist James Grattan of New Brunswick (4-2; Oromocto), and four-time Canadian Seniors competitor Keith Ryan of Newfoundland & Labrador (3-3; Labrador City).

Team Dangerfield’s final round-robin game on Wednesday at the Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club stood out as their best performance of the week. In the seventh, British Columbia made a double to score three, clinching a decisive win over the second-place pool team. Previous victories had been much closer.

“It’s been a real struggle all week, trying to read and throw the rock consistently. We’re fighting a little bit between the ice and a bit of the rocks that we’re throwing. We’re not all throwing it the same like we usually do, and it’s made a bit of an uphill battle,” Dangerfield said. “We’ve had to rely on some luck here and there, which is never ideal. It’s always great when it’s on your side, but we’d rather curl well to win a game. And I think we did that in this last game, so we’ve got some confidence for the playoff round.”

Championship Pool teams keep their records and play against opponents from other pools to decide which four advance to Saturday’s semifinals at 10 a.m. (all times Eastern), followed by medal games at 2:30 p.m. Dangerfield, having met his first goal, praised upcoming opponents and emphasized what’s needed to play for a medal.

“More of the same, just high-calibre curling. All these veteran curlers are very experienced. They’ve got a lot of Purple Hearts on their sweaters. Some of them have world championships, so it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Dangerfield said. “I mean, that’s one of the beauties of senior curling, there’s a lot more fun afterward. We leave it on the ice a little bit more than we do at a competitive provincial level and Brier level. It’s a lot of fun to curl at this event.”

In other men’s afternoon action: Newfoundland & Labrador defeated Yukon’s Team Bob Smallwood (0-6; Whitehorse) 9-4; Ontario’s Team Harris claimed a 10-3 win against New Brunswick; Saskatchewan beat Alberta’s Team James Pahl (2-4; Sherwood Park) 8-2; Manitoba edged Nova Scotia’s Team Alan O’Leary (2-4; Bridgewater) with a single in the eighth for a 7-6 win; and Northern Ontario secured a 5-3 victory over Prince Edward Island’s Team Eddie MacKenzie (2-4; Cornwall).

This morning in women’s play: Nova Scotia’s Team Andrea Saulnier (4-1; Kentville) topped Newfoundland & Labrador’s Team Jody Saunders (1-4; St. John’s) 7-4; Yukon’s Team Rhonda Horte (2-3; Whitehorse) earned an 8-7 win with a final-end deuce over Prince Edward Island’s Team Shelly Bradley (2-3; Cornwall); British Columbia’s Team Shiella Cowan (5-0; New Westminster) bested Nunavut’s Team Geneva Chislett (0-5; Iqaluit) 10-4; Saskatchewan’s Team Amber Holland (4-1; Saskatoon) won 11-2 over Northern Ontario’s Team Valerie MacInnes (1-5; Schumacher); Ontario’s Team Sherry Middaugh (5-0; Barrie) secured a 6-4 victory against Manitoba’s Team Marlene Lang (3-3; Winnipeg); and New Brunswick’s Team Shelly Graham (2-3; Fredericton) edged out Team Sharon Cormier of the Northwest Territories (2-3; Yellowknife) 5-4 with a single in the final end.

Action from the 2025 Canadian Senior Curling Championships resumes this evening at 6 p.m.

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