A Select group of kids

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This article was published 03/02/2009 (6316 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a new version of a very old bonspiel this year.

It was only fitting, then, that a team of three youngsters — and one old guy — authored a classic MCA Bonspiel tale on the final day yesterday of the 121st renewal of a Winnipeg winter tradition.

Springfield’s Braden Zawada, fresh out of juniors, captured his first-ever trip to the Manitoba men’s curling championship yesterday morning — one of five berth winners during the day.

But Zawada’s tale was perhaps the most interesting. The 20-year-old University of Manitoba anthropology student hooked up with Steve Dash and Ian Fordyce — all teammates from the Travis Bale team that played in the Manitoba juniors just last month — to put an entry into the bonspiel.

But when Bale went his own way, Zawada gave the team’s longtime coach, Ray Fillion, a call and asked him if he’d like to anchor the squad.

Fillion hadn’t curled since November 2007, but he knew the kids and had seen them throw literally thousands of rocks over the past two years. So he accepted on a lark.

Some lark. The squad will now play later this month in Selkirk for a chance to represent Manitoba in the Brier next month in Calgary.

Fillion was still shaking his head yesterday afternoon at the turn of fortunes. "I’m older than the three of them put together," Fillion laughed. "I’m 60 and they’re all 20.

"Isn’t that cool?"

Well, let’s ask a cool kid. And there’s none cooler than Zawada, who will almost certainly be the only curler in Selkirk sporting a hairstyle that can best be described as a modified Faux-hawk.

"It’s been a long weekend — holy," said Zawada. "It was our first time playing in the MCA. It was a good run."

And it’s not over yet. The Safeway Championship later this month will be the first provincial men’s appearance for all four members of the squad. And that includes, surprisingly enough, Fillion, who has been a fixture in Manitoba curling for years.

In addition to his years of coaching juniors, Fillion also was a member of the 2002 Canadian senior men’s champions skipped by East St. Paul’s Carl German.

But despite all that curling over the years, Fillion will be a raw rookie in Selkirk, just like his tender teammates.

The irony wasn’t lost on Fillion.

"I’ve got a Maple Leaf," he observed, "but I’ve never been to a Select."

The other four berth winners on Monday were 1994 Manitoba men’s champion Dave Smith, St. Vital’s Darryl Friesen, Riverton’s Shawn Magnusson and West St. Paul’s Rob Cosens.

With those five berths handed out, the 32-team field for the 2009 Safeway Championship had been assembled by early Monday afternoon.

But there were still finals to be determined last night and, most importantly, a bonspiel champion.

That latter honour went to Kyle Einarson and a team that includes provincials veteran Dave Boehmer, who defeated LaSalle’s Randy Neufeld 8-3 in the final of the premier Labatt’s event last night to emerge as the only undefeated squad in this year’s bonspiel.

The Free Press major event winner was former world champion Kerry Burtnyk, who defeated Smith 7-5 in the final. And the winner of the Lucerne major event was Rorketon’s Murray Woodward, who defeated Cosens 7-5 in that final.

And the MCA Bonspiel winners are…

 

Here’s a complete list of the event winners of the 121st MCA Bonspiel

MAJOR EVENTS

 

Labatt’s — Kyle Einarson, unaffiliated

Free Press — Kerry Burtnyk, Assiniboine-Memorial

Lucerne — Murray Woodward, Rorketon

 

MINOR EVENTS

 

Bituminex Paving — Dave Watt, Heather

Monsanto — Thomas Melanchuk, Fort Rouge

Canada’s Web Shop — Don Fischer, St. Vital

Chas. Fidler and Son — Darko Reischek, Charleswood

Lafarge Construction — Andrew Wickman, West Kildonan

Manitoba Pork Council — Russ Kihn, St. Vital

Asham 8-ender — Bill Burkett, Victoria

Great-West Life — Tom Cameron, CFB Halifax

Manitoba Hydro — Ross Rybak, West Kildonan

Investors Group — Craig Nichol, Stonewall