Copper Cliff Curling club backing their boys all the way

Copper Cliff Curling Club members and employees gathered at the club on Sunday afternoon to watch their boys play for gold in the Canadian Junior Curling Championships.

The Tanner Horgan rink has been curling at the Copper Cliff club for about a year now and club manager and ice technician Jerry Zanuttig speaks like a proud father when talking about the team's success.

“They're very committed that's why they're where they are,” said Zanuttig. “They joined the club because our ice conditions have really improved and there's more availability for them to practice.”

The rink of Maxime Blais (lead), Nick Bissonnette (second), Jacob Horgan (vice), and older brother Tanner at skip is on the ice as often as possible, practicing for three hours at a time.

To see the boys on television playing for a gold medal was overwhelming for Zanuttig.

“It's amazing to see how well they've done and they're still so young, they have a huge future in front of them, this won't be their last kick at it,” said Zanuttig.

“It's pretty cool to see a team from Copper Cliff on tv, I think the last time anything like this happened was when Mike Jakubo was competing for the Brier.”

The boys presented Zanuttig with a signed miniature curling rock as a thank you gift for all of his work at the club before they set out on the road for the national championships.

“They're not only great curlers, they're all really good kids too,” said Zanuttig. “I wish I could've gone down to Stratford to cheer them on.”