Kelly Cup Goes International

By Kelly Sharp

        Kelly Cup Finalists Team Korea and Bill Fisher rink of Prince George

There was a buzz surrounding the Kelly Cup, Prince George Men’s Bonspiel. After all, two national men’s curling teams entered the 81^st annual curling event. Team Korea and Team China headed north for competition after curling against lower mainland opposition. Skip Jeho Lee and teammates will represent in the Republic of Korea in the Ford World Men’s Curling Championship March 31-April 8. Lee will be trying to improve upon the 2003 1-8 record of the only other Korean team to curl on the men’s world curling stage. The China foursome stepped onto the pebbled Prince George ice after a busy Canadian schedule which included stops on the World Curling Tour.

Kevin Smale, the 2-time BC men’s curling champion, compared the  interest in the Kelly Cup to when he and his team of third Pete Sherba, second Pat Carr and lead Bob McDonald returned to curl in the ‘Kelly after finishing second at the 1969 Brier. Team China finished at 5-2 in the four-day ‘spiel losing 7-5 to Bill Fisher’s Prince George team in the semi-finals of the Kelly Cup playoff round.

“Absolutely, a great experience,” Team China coach Randy Perry said. “We came here to practice, our long range goal is to qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.”

Team Korea won five in a row before falling 10-1 to defending Kelly Cup champ Mel McMillan of Prince George in the “A” final. McMillan scored a 7-ender against the Koreans. The curlers from the Gangwon-do province rebounded for three consecutive victories in the Kelly Cup playoff round, setting up the championship game against Bill Fisher, who dropped a one-side game to Korea in the “A” event.

“When we were playing the semi-final game against China, the Korean skip leaned over to me and said you win, we win, rematch,” skip Bill Fisher said.

Korea scored a deuce with the hammer in the fourth end to tie it 3-3, Fisher blanked three consecutive ends before his last shot paid off with the pivotal three ender in the eighth. The Prince George team of skip Bill Fisher, third Mike Gallagher, second Geof Magrath and lead Sig Vogt learned from an earlier loss to Korea.

“Our strategy was to put plenty of rocks in play,” Fisher said. “We figured if we blanked a couple of ends we would force them to throw rocks out front to generate some offense and that would be our opportunity.”

The Prince George skip did not have throw his last shot in the tenth end as Lee was heavy with his final draw.  Fisher and his teammates captured the 81^st Kelly Cup 6-5 in nine ends.

“There is so much tradition to the Kelly Cup, ever since I came here ( 19 years ago from Manitoba) every one told me about the ‘Kelly, now we are the champions,” Fisher said, a long-time participant of the prestigious Prince George men’s curling event.

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