SUDBURY—Robbie Gordon says his curling rink has some unfinished business this year as they try to win the provincial Senior Men’s championship this year and get back to the nationals.
The Gordon rink won all five of its games (to finish first) at the Northern Ontario Senior Men’s Curling Championships East Region qualifying tournament held in North Bay, December 14-17. His rink includes vice Ron Henderson, second Dion Dumontelle and lead Doug Hong. “We qualified at the east playdowns in North Bay the week before Christmas,” Mr. Gordon told the Recorder. Five of the eight rinks in the event qualified for the provincials.
“This is the sixth year our team has been together, which is one year more than we had scheduled to compete together.”
Team Gordon won the senior men’s Northern Ontario championships in 2017 and 2016. The team represented the region in 2012 and 2014.
“We still have family on the Island,” said Mr. Gordon, whose parents were Ian Gordon and Barbara (McCannell) Gordon. His grandparents were Ron and Lizzie Gordon, who ran Gordon’s Lodge in Gore Bay for many years. Robbie Gordon spent many of his summers as a youngster in Gore Bay.
The provincials, which will include a total of eight teams, will take place in Sault Ste. Marie from January 24-28 in Sault Ste. Marie. “The winner of the provincials will qualify for the Canadians being held in Stratford later this spring,” said Mr. Gordon. “As a team we have been to the Canadians four times and have finished as high as third and fifth last year. We kind of left a little on the table last year.”