A women’s team from the Norfolk Curling Club won the annual Empire State Bonspiel which was held this year at the Ardsley Curling Club in Westchester County, N.Y. The team, shown above (l to r), comprised Veronica Burns, Vickie Brown, Deborah Lane-Olson, who was captain, and Ann Tierney. They played a total of seven games, winning six. The third event final, between two Connecticut teams, turned out to be a cliffhanger. Norfolk went into the last end, down just two points to the Nutmeg team from Bridgeport. With two Norfolk stones in the house, which would have made it a dead heat, Lane-Olson threw a delicate draw shot which came to the center of the circle, giving Norfolk a win by one point. The team’s name is the first to be engraved on a new trophy, the Rochester Gold Thistle. The Norfolk Curling Club will be hosting two bonspiels next month. The Valentine’s Day Mixed will take place February 9 through 11, and the Women’s Winter Wonderland Bonspiel will run February 22 through 25. For more information, go to Norfolkcurlingclub.org.

– Veronica Burns

Photo courtesy of Ardsley Curling Club.