Winning was a family affair at curling’s top tournament.
The New Zealand championships at Naseby at the weekend featured the nation’s top players battling on the ice in the hopes of bringing home the national title — and the opportunity to represent the country at the sport’s newest international tournament.
The largest number of teams in more than a decade took part, including former Olympians and several New Zealand representatives.
In the men’s competition, Team Becker — brothers Sean, Scott and Jimmy with brother-in-law Dean McAuley and family friend Warren Dobson — continued the family curling legacy and claimed the national title.
The women’s title was won by Team Smith, skipped by Jessica Smith who played with Bridget Becker, Holly Thompson, and Natalie Thurlow.
Brett Sargon and Holly Thompson received the Wendy Becker Memorial Sportsmanship Award.
Curling New Zealand media officer Ian Ford said the tournament was well run and accessible for curlers but he believe it was the need to gain more competition experience which bolstered numbers this year.
"I think there’s a bit of a realisation from players around the country that you don’t get better unless you are playing against the better players," he said.
"There’s a reasonable number of people here playing in their first nationals — I hesitate to put an exact number on it but it is significant."
The competition replaces the Pacific Asia Championships and features teams from the Americas and Pacific-Asia zones.
New Zealand mixed doubles representative Anton Hood said the competition was "tough".
