NEWS PHOTO MO CRANKER
Ted Appelman throws a rock in the fourth end of action of the men's final in the 24th annual Hat Charity Classic on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018.
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com @MHNmocranker
And just like that, the 24th annual Hat Charity Classic came to a close.
The event began last week and concluded Monday evening with Ted Appelman’s rink taking down Kirk Muyres’ team 7-2 in six ends.
“That was a really fun and exciting game,” said Appelman. “It’s been quite a few years since we won this event.
“We’ve been in the finals the past couple of years and have unfortunately lost — winning it this year is fantastic.”
Appelman’s rink blew the game open scoring three in the fifth end, before stealing one in the sixth to take the win.
“We had a lot of rocks in play that end and Kirk just missed his last one,” said Appelman. “If he had hit that shot we maybe could have gotten one, but we got lucky there and getting three is obviously great.
“We were just able to get rocks in good places today and we came out with a win.”
Muyres says he has no shame in losing to the Appelman rink.
“We came out this morning and played some great games to get to this point,” he said. “All of those guys that just beat us are veterans and great curlers — they’ve been around forever and know how to win games.
“I think if I could have hit a couple more shots in that game, maybe we could have been on the other side of it but that’s curling.”
Medicine Hat Curling Club manager Vicki Sjolie says it was a great year for the tournament.
“It went really, really well,” she said. “We had a really good field of teams this year and we saw lots of really good curling.
“We crowned a new champion on the women’s side Sunday and we’re just happy with it again this year.”
The charity tournament raises money for the Children’s Wish Foundation, an organization that helps children locally see their wish come true.
“I think they’re right around the $5,000 mark this year,” said Sjolie. “Next year is our 25th and we’re hoping it’s going to be a special one.”