2018/2019 WCCC Travels

We started keeping track of how many bonspiels our WCCC members traveled to in the 2017/2018 season and were amazed at the result! Our club filled 119 spots at various spiels around the continent that year which means one thing: WCCC likes to travel! Read all about our travels that year here. And then come back and read about 2018/2019 travels below:

In October 2018, Tony Kelly, Sonia Montero, David Betts, and Joshua Bally curled in McCall, Idaho for the annual Rocktoberspiel! (4 spots) Josh Bally had a really good time!

Laura Lunetta traveled via train to the East Coast and was able to sub along the way! Her visits to Broomstones in Boston, Dakota Curling Club in Minnesota, St. Paul Curling Club, and Chaska Curling Club ranked high on her memorable trip. (4 spots)

Many members (Brian Feldman, Brian Feldman Jr, Katie Feldman, Auria Moore, Porsche Stephenson, Tyler McEwan, Andrew Little, Kristin Little, Melissa McGuire, Chris Skidmore, Ashley Spalding, Tristan Hanon, and Davis Betts) traveled ALL THE WAY to Stockton 🙂 to curling in the annual Boo-Spiel. (13 spots)

Then we had a small contingent of WCCC curlers travel to the Fall Fiesta in Arizona. Suzan Minshall, Nelson Hilger, Junior Feldman, David Betts, and Tyler McEwan all served as babysitters to Katie Feldman and Bob Kuhl who enjoyed the tequila that came with the bonspiel tickets. (7 spots)

In December 2018, Team Markowski (David Markowski, Camren Spangler, Chris Hillman, Brian Feldman) went down to Arizona for the MoPac Playdowns for Club Nationals. (4 spots)

For New Year’s Eve 2018, Dan Stefani, Matt Olsen, Scott Johnson, and Tim Sauter traveled to the Denver Curling Club for the New Years Eve Spiel! (4 spots)

Then a weekend later, Laura Lunetta and Katie Feldman traveled to the Chicago Curling Club and teamed up with Helen Bryce and Martha Marple from Cedar Rapids to curl in the USWCA’s Gloamin Purple Rain Spiel.  (2 spots)

In mid-January, on their way to volunteer at the Continental Cup in Las Vegas, David and Karla Markowski teamed up with two more Markowskis to curl in the Sin Sity Spiel in Las Vegas. (2 spots)

Rob Shelton and Mike McCarthy also traveled to the Continental Cup to rub elbows with all the curling celebrities. (2 spots)

Rob was busy! In February he traveled for work to Vancouver and visited a few clubs up there while he was at it! He visited Royal City Curling Club, Marpole Curling Club, and Delta Thistle Curling Club. (This writer is counting it 3 as spots!)

Also in February, we had a group travel back to the Esquimalt Curling Club in Victoria. This is one of our favorite clubs to and it’s WCCC’s 3rd time in 4 years attending the White Ensign Bonspiel which is the home club of former WCCC members Vic and Cheryl Eason. This year’s travelers were Jon Swartz, Eliza Morris, Brian Feldman, Laura Lunetta, Melissa McGuire, and Junior Feldman. Congrats to Swartz/Morris (who curled with Cecil and Glenda from Esquimalt) who came out on top when they were pitted against Team Feldman in the D Event Semi Finals. Yes they traveled all that way to curl against each other.  (6 spots)

Bob Kuhl traveled again to the United States Senior Men’s Curling Association’s (USSMCA) National Bonspiel this time held in Duluth. (1 spot)

Nelson and Suzan spent some time in Canada as well and blogged a little bit about their stay in Creston (read it here), but they also sent in a photo of Suzan who participated and won the B Bracket at the Creston Valentine Bonspiel. (Let’s round up and go with 2 spots for this one!)

In March 2019, Ramon Cusi, James Meinert, Yin-Ping Li, Jenny Fromm, Mike Fromm, Ilene Barbree, and Luke Milliron traveled to Evergreen Curling in Oregon for a 5&U! (7 spots)

Also in March 2019, our only junior curler, Brian Feldman Jr, traveled to the U18s in Chaska Minnesota with teammates Nelson Rogers (SFBACC), Ozzie Altus (SVCC), Oliver (ECC), and Zach Gabrielson (SVCC). The team was coached by TC Altus (SVCC). (1 spot, although it should be 2 because Junior’s mom went as well.)

Katie Feldman received one of the Volunteer of the Year awards for MoPac and got to travel to the Tankard where she curled in Abbottsford Curling Club in British Columbia. (1 spot)

One of our favorite spiels every year is the MoPac 5&U held in Seattle at the Granite Curling Club. This event is heavily attended by our new curlers and is a great introduction to bonspiels and dedicated ice. 2019 saw 24 spots go to WCCC! Team Betts was the B Event Runners Up: Bob Seyfried, David Betts, Junior Feldman, Shannon King. Also attending: Ryan Smith, Tony Kelly, Chris Drabandt, Brian Feldman, Chris Skidmore, Tyler McEwan, Tristan Hanon, Ashley Spalding, Ilene Barbree, Yin-Ping Li, Sandy Higginbotham, Dan Higginbotham, Joshua Bally, Rob Shelton, Mike McCarthy, Timothy Bilbrey, Katie Feldman, Laura Lunetta, Melissa McGuire, and Chris Bilbrey. (24 spots)

Fresno was also a popular spiel! Maybe because it was a #bonspielyoucoulddriveto! We had 18 members travel down the state to curl in a few events! Rob Shelton, Chris Bilbrey, Tim Bilbrey, Dan Stefani, Bob Seyfried, David Markowski, Bob Kuhl, Luke Milliron, Junior Feldman, Sonia Montero, Porsche Stephenson, Auria Moore, Katie Feldman, Brian Feldman, Tony Kelly, Suzan Minshall, Wendy Feist, and David Betts. (18 spots)

Arena Nationals was held in West Chester Pennsylvania and WCCC sent both a women’s team and a men’s team to the big competition: Team KFeldman (Katie Feldman, Laura Lunetta, Suzan Minshall, Sonia Montero) and Team Markowski (David Markowski, Camren Spangler, Chris Hillman, Brian Feldman, and David Betts). (9 spots)

Right after Arenas, WCCC traveled to the inaugural Silicon Valley Bonspiel in Fremont on Memorial Day Weekend! David Markowski, Dan Stefani, Luke Milliron, Karla Markowski, Katie Feldman, Laura Lunetta, Bob Kuhl, Junior Feldman, Nelson Hilger, Suzan Minshall, Ryan Fox, and Shaun Johnson took 12 spots!

Another #bonspielyoucandriveto is the Hollywood Curling spiel over 4th of July weekend. In the beginners’ division, Team El Bonspielbergo (Matt Olsen, Junior Feldman, Tim Sauter, Andrew Little, and Tim Bilbrey) were the winners! Team Hold ‘Em To 1 (Katie Feldman, Laura Lunetta, Melissa McGuire, Chris Bilbrey) also made it to Sunday. (9 spots)

And to close out the year, Junior Feldman and Katie Feldman traveled to the Hotter Than Hell Bonspiel in Arizona in the middle of the summer. It was definitely hotter than hell. (2 spots)

So what’s that add up to? If this writer has used her calculator correctly, then I think we beat last year’s total of 119!

Eighteen more spots than last year! That puts the pressure on for the 2019/2020 season.

Where oh where will WCCC travel to in the upcoming season? We can’t wait to find out where we’ll go!