Suzhou, China
The new curling season is underway and Kevin Koe couldn't have started things any better.
Koe and his new-look rink of B.J. Neufeld, Colton Flasch and Ben Hebert captured the opening leg of the newly-created Curling World Cup in Suzhou, China on Sept. 16 thanks to a 6-5 win over Steffen Walstad of Norway in the final. Koe and company dropped just one game through the event, that being a 3-1 loss to Scotland's Bruce Mouat in the round-robin.
Walstad opened the scoring in the final, but Koe came back with three in the second end and tacked on two in the fourth. Walstad had to steal two to force an extra end, but Koe was able to hold him to just one and secure the win.
Koe's rink ended up taking home $35,855, which came through five round-robin wins and by winning the final.
Let the scholastic sports begin
Hay River
The NWT's first big scholastic territorial championship has come and gone.
The Elks Outdoor Soccer Tournament wrapped up in Hay River on Sept. 23 and featured teams from Yellowknife, Ndilo, Fort Resolution, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith and the host community.
The round-robin began on Sept. 21 and will continued through to the playoffs with the championship games in all divisions taking place on the 23rd.
See the next edition of NWT News/North for the recap.
Success on the oche
Somba K'e/Yellowknife
The Freeze-Up Open darts tournament happened in Yellowknife on Sept. 14 and 15 and it included a group of players from Hay River. They made it worth the trip as some came away with good finishes.
Ronnie Ruttle teamed up with Dean Willis of Yellowknife to win the blind draw doubles, the opening event of the tournament, while Beth Garrett teamed up with Annette Thompson of Yellowknife to finish second in the women's doubles. Sam Antoine and her partner, Sam Bohnet of Yellowknife, came in third.
Antoine went better in the women's singles as she defeated Bohnet in the final with Lena Illiasiak coming joint third. Dan Kipling had to settle for second place in the men's singles as he was beaten by Danny Clouston of Yellowknife in the final.