 |
|
|
|
|
  
|
Better record and big prize at national curling championship
Despite an attack of the flu, team comes home with major highlights from Scotties
Katherine Hudson Northern News Services Published Thursday, March 1, 2012
The drama started on the very first day of play, said Barbour, when skip of Team Northwest Territories/Yukon Kerry Galusha won the Ford Hot Shots competition. She received a brand new Ford Focus Titanium two-year lease after beating Newfoundland/Labrador skip Heather Strong 19-14 in the final match. "Then we got off the ice from Hot Shots and beat Alberta so that was great because Alberta ended up winning the Scotties," said Barbour. The team – made up of Galusha, Barbour, fifth Wendy Miller, third Sharon Cormier and lead Megan Cormier – faced challenges heading into the middle of the week, with the majority of the team fighting the flu which was making its way around the tournament. On Feb. 21, the team played against Quebec with only three players – a first at the Scotties. "I stayed healthy for the week but everybody else on the team got the flu ... The girls were really suffering, that's what kind of hurt us mid-week," Barbour said. The team persevered and came back healthy on the last day of the round robin, beating Team Canada and Team Saskatchewan – both strong teams with a lot of Saskatchewan players. "We knocked both of them out of the playoffs. There were a lot of Saskatchewan fans so we weren't really popular with them that day," chuckled Barbour. The team came out with four wins and seven losses, placing them 10th overall. The team won one more game than at last year's Scotties. "Our team had worked really hard this year and we wanted to make playoffs. We were hoping for six or seven wins and seven wins did get you into playoffs this year. That was a little bit disappointing because we thought we would be able to get there," said Barbour. "Despite the setbacks, we did perform better than last year, which is what we were hoping for. We had some wins between big teams ... We went in with high expectations, and we didn't meet our expectations but we still had some pretty good moments so you leave with a good feeling." Barbour is no stranger to the big crowds, the big teams and the national spotlight – this being her fifth Scotties tournament. She participated in the 2005 Scotties in St. John's, 2008 in Regina, 2009 in Victoria, 2011 in Charlottetown and this past tournament. Barbour said the novelty doesn't wear off, although knowing what to expect helps at the Canadian Women's Curling Championship. "Your first year, your rookie year is the hardest year where everything seems so big and you're not used to the routines or pacing yourselves. This year in Red Deer was the year where we felt the most comfortable," she said. The team had already curled in Red Deer, it was close to home without a timezone change, they had played a lot of the teams throughout the year, and they stayed in a house, allowing them to cook their own food. "There was a lot of planning that went into Red Deer and it felt comfortable right from the minute we got there." Barbour said the million-dollar question is if this is the end of the road when it comes to working for the Scotties – with herself and other players alluding to the fact they might need time off. She said training and travelling are huge commitments during the curling season. "Right now, we're kind of following the same process at the end of a season. We take some time to get back home, spend time with our families and start thinking things over. It won't be until a few weeks when we sit down and decide what we're going to do for next year," she said.
|
