Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

INUVIK - The Ladies' Auxiliary-sponsored junior curling team has been busy on the ice at the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex.

The four-person combination of Karly King-Simpson, Carina Saturnino, Shannon Baetz and Rayna Vittrekwa has been meeting three times a week to sharpen skills on the ice.

Carina Saturnino of Inuvik's junior curling team does a few slides before the team starts practice. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

"I just started this season, but I did a bit of curling back in Fort McPherson," said Vittrekwa, 10, a Grade 5 student in Sir Alexander Mackenzie school. She joined the team earlier this season.

Her father was a curler, which is how Vittrekwa got started in the sport.

She joined the Ladies' Auxiliary team when the season started in September.

It took a while to learn the finer points of the game, but Vittrekwa said she enjoys the challenge of throwing the rocks down the ice. Sliding down the ice when throwing the rock proved to be the trickiest part of learning how to curl.

She said the training sessions are worthwhile and much is to be learned in the hour-long warm-up.

Saturnino, 11, is one of the three returning players to the team, which formed last season.

Saturnino said the team is busy preparing for its next challenge in Yellowknife.

"We're going to Yellowknife in two weeks," she said.

"We're going for a little tournament."

Saturnino said the team has been working on turning rocks and sliding down the ice.

This year, the team is getting used to having a new player in their ranks.

"Rayna is new this year," she said. "It's a bit challenging to play with someone new."

Saturnino offered some advice for new players and anyone else who wants to get involved in the sport: "Just practice and keep playing as much as you can."

Baetz, 11, said one of the best perks of playing the sport is the amount of travelling they do to play against other regional teams.

Last year, the team went to Whitehorse. Baetz said the experience was a good one that taught them how to play against other teams.

"We were down there for a few days. It was a good time," she said.

Like the other players on the team, Baetz said she has the hardest time mastering the slide-out technique.

"Balancing is hard," she said.

"We had a coach come up and help us with throwing the rocks and sliding."

King-Simpson, 11, is in her second year on the team.

When she first started, the rules were all new to her and she had to learn the sport.

Now, a year later, King-Simpson said she knows a lot about the game and how it's played.

"We're doing good and getting along great," she said.

While in Yellowknife, King-Simpson said she has a few goals she'd like to accomplish.

"Shopping of course, see some movies and win the tournament," she said.