"Whoa! Whoa! Let it curl! ... YES!" a skip, crouched down intent upon the rock just thrown, calls out to the sweepers keeping pace with the stone as it glides down the ice curling around the guards, as the one who threw the rock continues to slide half way down the ice keeping their form out of the hack and watching the line of their rock.
On Tuesday, Feb. 11, and Wednesday, Feb. 12, the Carlyle Curling Club was host to the Â鶹ÊÓƵ East District Senior Girls Curling Playoffs, which brought together ten rinks of the finest female high school curlers in the district.
Schools from Gladmar, Stoughton, Carnduff, Lampman, Weyburn, Rocanville, Maryfield, Oxbow, Estevan, and Carlyle came together to vie for a chance at attending the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association's (SHSAA) Regional Curling Championship held on Friday, Feb. 14, and Saturday, Feb. 15, in Lumsden.
In the end Estevan Comprehensive High School would come away in first skipped by Karlee Fessler, with Taylor Marcotte, Amanda Wilson, and Rachel Kramer contributing to the win. The second team to move onto Regionals was the Carnduff rink skipped by Vanessa Murray and joined by Shanna Cameron, Bailey Kozma, and Hallie McCannell.
Though these teams came out on top, there were many close games as all of the girls brought their best skills to the ice.
The action at the curling rink began on Feb. 11 a little before 10 a.m. as teams were early on arrival and excited to get the day started.
Included in this first match were local grade twelve students Brooklyn Zacharias, Kacey Valentine, Renae Faford, and Nicole Brown. The Carlyle team ended up winning this match to move on. They would go on to win another match only to be bested in their final two games.
Other local curlers included those from Lampman, Stoughton, and Maryfield.
The Lampman rink consisted of Skye Sichter, Angela Hookenson, Daria Schaff, and Jordan Walter. The girls didn't do quite as well as they had hoped, but the relatively young team consisting of a grade nine, grade 10, grade 11, and grade 12 student did their best.
Stoughton's team included Meagan Breault, Lacey Raynard, Selena Riege, and Rayanna McGill. Though losing in a double knock-out, the team put up a fight against the Carlyle rink taking them to an extra end for the determining score.
Maryfield would fare better in playoff action, making their way through Oxbow to the B-side final where they met Carnduff in bitter battle. Though they were unable to reach Regionals the girls, including Rachel Erickson, Skylynn Bourgeois, Jessica Thompson, and Kelly Kay, played well.
For some, high school curling is now over while others will continue in the years to come; but, that is part of the beauty of curling as it can be played at any age and the rinks who played together in high school may once again come together in bonspiels as a way to keep in touch.
