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Hometown support meant a lot
Shona Barbour helps Team NWT curl to record Scotties finish

Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Thursday, March 9, 2017

INUVIK
It was supposed to be an off year but Shona Barbour ended up helping Team NWT get their best finish ever at the 2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in St. Catharines, Ont. last week.

NNSL photo/graphic

Coach John Epping and Shona Barbour smile during the 2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in St. Catharines, Ont. Team NWT finished with its best record ever. - photo courtesy of France Isabelle

"It was an amazing experience," said Barbour, who went with Team Galusha as a spare this year.

"The five of us got down there and my coach, John Epping, and I decided that we were going to keep the girls organized and look after everything for them. The girls joked around that they never knew who they would be playing or didn't know what the schedules were because John and I were looking after everything for them."

Team NWT, made up of Barbour, Kerry Galusha, Sharon Cormier, Danielle Derry and Megan Koehler, finished with five wins and six losses at the tournament.

It was Barbour's ninth time at the Scotties. She's been curling with her team since they went to nationals together in the 1995 juniors. She still spends her winters going south every second week to participate in curling events.

She had planned to take this year off but got recruited as a spare in case Koehler, who is pregnant, got tired and needed replacement.

"It's way worse sitting on the bench than actually playing, because when the girls are out there you don't have any control over things," said Barbour.

Team NWT had lost two years in a row in the pre-qualification finals and finally bumped that slump this year.

The toughest part about the national tournaments is handling the mental aspect of the game, she said.

"Once you get to that level, we know we're technically good and we know we have good strategy and we can make the shots, but it's a long week and you have to stay mentally strong and mentally sharp the whole time. You know when you get down there you just can't make any mistakes. You're always given chances during a game and it's just trying to be able to take advantage of the chances and trying to pull the wins out at the end of the game."

To its credit, Inuvik has a great curling club, she said, noting the high membership and its strong junior program.

"One of the best things about the curling rink in Inuvik is that it's really good ice," said Barbour.

"The ice conditions are pretty much what you see down south. In curling we say it's quick ice or fast ice, and lots of curling club ice isn't like that. (It's) awesome to practice on and it's easy to transition from Inuvik ice to ice down south."

She said the support Team NWT got at the Scotties was amazing.

"We were getting so many messages from curling fans in the Beaufort Delta region," said Barbour.

"I know curling has a big history in this region, so to get support from people in Inuvik and the communities really meant a lot."

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