Otago’s weather caused problems for some teams heading to the NZ Curling Association’s Men's and Women's Championships in Naseby this past weekend, with one Auckland team also striking a particularly rural obstacle.

Teams compete in the NZ Curling Association’s Men's and Women's Championships in Naseby at the weekend.

Fog at Dunedin Airport meant some flights were cancelled and some teams had to forfeit their opening games, association secretary Lauren Becker said, as the tournament had to proceed as planned.

“One Auckland team got off their plane and thought, ‘Yay, we have time to get to Naseby,’ but then they struck a mob of sheep on the road.”

Despite that, “it was a fabulous weekend”, Lauren said, with a record number of 16 teams in competition. The number of entries showed obvious growth in the sport within New Zealand and there was the desire to grow it further, Lauren said.

The youngest competitor was 15 and the oldest (association president Elizabeth Matthews) 77, and one team included three generations of the same family. 

NZ Curling Association president Elizabeth Matthews (right) celebrates with men’s champions Team Hood, made up of (from left) Anton Hood, Ben Smith, and Hunter Walker, all of Maniototo, and Brett Sargon of Auckland.

“There are not many sports where you get such a disparate age range.”

Part of the tournament was for the selection of teams that will represent the country overseas but, as much as people liked to win, curling is about much more than winning, Lauren said.

“The spirit of curling is not just on the ice but off the ice. It’s the heart of curling, it’s the way people conduct themselves.

“Out there on the ice, you’ll see people helping out the younger curlers. It’s sportsmanship - it’s a real gentlemen’s and women’s sport.”

NZ Curling Association president Elizabeth Matthews (right) celebrates with women’s champions Team Smith, made up of (from left) Jessica Smith, Holly Thompson, Bridget Becker and Natalie Thurlow, all of Central Otago.

That spirit is rewarded by the Wendy Becker Sportsmanship Awards, instituted after 2016 when curling stalwart Wendy died around the time of the Nationals that year.

“Wendy was just salt-of-the-earth,” Lauren said. “Everyone loved Wendy.”

Wendy’s husband, World Curling Hall of Fame member Peter Becker, came up with the awards in Wendy’s honour. 

“They are based on that spirit of curling, and the recipients are those who by deeds or action during their performance best exemplified the traditional curling values of skill, honesty, fair play, friendship and sportsmanship,” Lauren said.

This year, the awards went to male curler Darcy Neville, and female curlers Ruby Kinney and Bridget Becker.

The winning men’s team was Maniototo-led, with Anton Hood, Ben Smith, and Hunter Walker of Maniototo joined by Brett Sargon of Auckland. The winning women’s team of Jessica Smith, Holly Thompson, Bridget Becker and Natalie Thurlow all came from Central Otago.