PRINCE ALBERT - The Carnduff and Area Beef 4-H Club is home to the provincial junior 4-H curling champions.
The club won the title in Prince Albert on Feb. 16 and 17, defeating their archrivals from Springside in the final. There were seven teams entered in the junior division, and Carnduff and Springside were the southeast representatives.
Carnduff entered provincials as the second-ranked team from the southeast, with Springside the top team from the region. Denise Allum, who is the Carnduff club leader and a coach alongside Chelsie Shier, noted Springside defeated Carnduff at regionals and during meetings in previous years.
Springside defeated Carnduff early on at provincials, forcing Carnduff to go through the B event to reach the final, where they met Springside again.
Carnduff defeated Springside in an extra end, but since it was a double-knockout elimination event and Springside hadn't lost, the Carnduff club had to beat their rivals a second time. They did so in another close game.
Allum said the players were nervous about playing Springside in the final.
"I said 'Just go play a game, and don't worry about who it is,' and they did," recalled Allum. "They came out with the first win … and knew they could do it, and I told them they just had to do it one more time. They went out there and played their game one more time, and we changed a few things."
Allum noted Carnduff is very good with draws and Springside was very good at hitting, so they tried to limit Springside's opportunities for hits.
Carnduff won their other games at provincials, she said, with some of the games being called early. The 4-H provincial games have six ends.
Allum was pleased with how the curlers represented the club and the town at provincials. They had to travel eight hours to get to the tournament, and winning helped make the long drive worthwhile.
"4-H is amazing, because these kids learn that they have to represent their club and the community and be spokespeople for youth and sports and agriculture," said Allum.
Team members were Bryler Franken (skip), Fallyn Shier (third), Declynn Allum (second) and Damion Seymour (lead). Dane Tober from the Alameda 4-H Beef Club joined the team as a spare.
Allum noted the Carnduff rink had a relatively young team, and all will be eligible to return at the junior level next year, so they should be strong again as they try to defend their title.
