Parksville Curling Club president Penny Shantz was rockin’, if not around the Christmas tree.
The Canadian Olympic gold medallist competed in two senior national championship events, both held thousands of miles away in Ontario.
“I threw 492 rocks in two weeks,” said Shantz. “It was a busy two weeks of Canadian championships right before Christmas.”
Shantz was a member of Team BC that competed at the 2021 Everest Canadian Senior Curling Championships in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Dec. 6-11. Shantz played third in the team that consisted of skip Mary-Anne Arsenault, who has won five Scotties titles and two world titles, second Diane Gushulak and lead Grace MacInnes.
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Team BC advanced to the final but their quest for gold fell short as the rink from Saskatchewan rallied late in the game to beat them 10-4. It was the fourth consecutive senior Canadian championships won by Team Saskatchewan, skipped by Sherry Anderson.
Shantz also travelled to Ottawa prior to the senior championships to compete at 2021 Everest Curling Club Canadian Championships Nov. 28-Dec. 4 in Ottawa. This is a tournament that allows only one curler to have any experience at the provincial or national level.
As provincial club champions, Shantz, who has represented Canada in the Olympics, skipped Team BC that composed of Parksville Curling Club members Nancy Betteridge, Nicole Guizzo and Tina Chestnut. They ended up with a 1-5 record in the tournament.