Curling Classic wraps today in Vernon
Published 11:00 am Monday, October 5, 2026
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Eunji Gim’s curling stay in B.C. has been extended.
The 2024 Women’s World Curling bronze medalist and her Korean teammates earned a spot in the Grand Slam of Curling’s Co-Op Invitational Oct. 13-18 in Victoria by capturing the women’s championship at the Prestige Hotels and Resorts Curling Classic.
Gim, a 15-time Korean women’s champion, defeated Japan’s Yuina Miura 5-2 in the championship Sunday, Oct. 4, at the Vernon Curling Club. The victory earned Gim a spot in the Victoria field.
Seven of the eight playoff rinks in Vernon were from Japan or Korea.
The only Canadian rink to advance and win some cash was reigning B.C. women’s champion Taylor Reese-Hansen of Victoria.
Reese-Hansen was one of five playoff rinks who finished preliminary round play at 4-1, along with Miura, and Korea’s JiYoon Kim, Youbeen Park, and Team Kang.
She lost 4-3 in the quarterfinals to Gim, who was 5-0 in the round-robin, along with Japan’s Miku Nihira and Ikae Kitazawa.
Defending champion Mahra Harris of Victoria went 2-3 in the round-robin, missing the playoffs.
Lane Prokopowich of Vernon finished 1-4, her only win coming against Keelie Duncan of Winnipeg, who had Vernon’s Ivy Jensen throwing second stones.
Kelsey Powell of Vernon, and Penny Shantz of Coldstream, each went 0-5.
MEN
Eight men’s teams hope to join Gim in Victoria as the playoffs go today, Monday, Oct. 5.
Quarterfinal matches started at 9 a.m. with Marco Hoesli of Switzerland taking on Richard Krell of Langley; the Green Machines of Saskatoon, skipped by Cloverdale’s Olympic gold medalist Tyler Tardi, meet Ryan Jacques of Edmonton; Japan’s Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi meets Victoria’s Matthew Hall; and Jacob Libbus from Okotoks, Alta., plays JaeBom Lee of Korea.
The four winners meet in the semifinals at 12 p.m. The championship game is at 3 p.m. with the winner getting the final Grand Slam spot in Victoria.
Vernon’s Jim Cotter rink went 3-3, eliminated in a C event match Sunday by Evan Van Amsterdam of Edmonton, 6-5. Van Amsterdam scored a single point in an extra end for the win.
Defending men’s champion Jason Montgomery of Victoria finished 3-3, also being eliminated in the C event by Krell by a 10-1 decision.