Curling girls making history
Players set to punch above their age at 2017 championships
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Thursday, December 15, 2016
INUVIK
They had a laugh doing it but Inuvik's junior girls curling team had a seriously good showing at the NWT Junior Curling Championships and have qualified for a national competition next spring.
Paris Wainman, left, and Mataya Gillis sweep in front of the rock during the NWT Junior Curling Championships in Yellowknife last weekend. - James McCarthy/NNSL photos
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"Staying positive," said player Paris Wainman about what led her team to a 4-win, 2-loss finish last weekend in Yellowknife, earning the girls a second place finish over-all behind Hay River and an invitation to the Canadian U18 Championships in Moncton, NB, to take place April 2017.
"Sometimes we would slip and fall but we would get back up and laugh," added teammate Mataya Gillis. "We were trying not to laugh in front of our coach (Nick Saturnino) though. He'd tell us after the game, 'Be more serious!'"
"We're definitely not serious," chimed Wainman.
Despite the fun they had, the team was up against some stiff competition from around the territory.
"All of our games were close," said Tyanna Bain.
Gillis said it felt great to get so close to beating the older Hay River team, who won the tournament in the end. The girls practised hard before the tournament with regular practices three times per week plus a game day. The curlers also take part in a bootcamp and practise yoga for off-ice training.
The Canadian U18 Girls Championship in Moncton will be the first event in Canada of its kind.
"It's going to be pretty scary though because there will be 18-year-olds there, and we're 13 or 14, and they probably have way more experience than us, but I think we're going to still do okay," said Andreane Gagnon.
A previous tournament in Lacombe, Alta., showed Gagnon and her team they needed to practise harder in the lead up to last weekend's tournament.
"We realized we really have to push harder," said Gagnon.
For now, the players will be working on their sweeping technique and making their shots.
Their unanimous highlight from last weekend was trying on the Team NWT jackets.
"It's going to be really exciting going to Moncton," said Gillis. "It's going to be our first big competition that really counts. It's a little nerve-wracking."
There's a silver lining in the team's second-place finish, as it means the players are going to this tournament and not nationals, she added.
"We made our goal," said Gillis. "I kind of like how we're not going to nationals because (instead we get to go to the newly christened) U18s and it's going to be kind of historical."
Bain said she enjoyed meeting the other teams and seeing how they played at the Yellowknife tournament.
"It was a good experience and the people who put it together were really nice," added Gagnon.
Saturnino was also awarded an Asham Coaching award last weekend for his work in leading the girls.
