Okotoks junior curling hits the national stage this week in northeastern Ontario.
Third Ben Kiist, alternate Logan Thomas and Team Davies form the Alberta 2 squad as part of a 21-team field of national contenders when the Canadian U18 Curling Championships hit the ice in Timmins, Ont. from Feb. 5-11.
“It means a lot to myself and my team,” said Kiist, from Foothills County. “We’ve been training essentially our whole lives to do this, there’s been lots of practising.
“It’s ultimately the dream of every curler to make it to these events.”
Team Davies, with skip Zachary Davies, Kiist, second Terren Algot, lead Lucas Sawiuk and Thomas, finished just on the outside of the championship picture at last month’s provincials in Cochrane.
Team Alberta 1 is the provincial champion Jaxon Hiebert rink out of Sherwood Park while Team Alberta 2 goes to the team with most points accumulated throughout the season inclusive of provincials.
“The road to nationals had its ups and downs this year,” Thomas said. “We won three events on the Alberta Junior Curling Tour throughout the year and that gave us a good boost in our confidence going into provincials and Canada Winter Games trials.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t qualify for (trials), but I think that’s what drove us towards our goal of qualifying for nationals.”
Kiist, a skip for most of his career in the roaring game before he and Thomas joined the Davies rink, has adjusted nicely to throwing third stones for the team.
“It’s been a change,” he said. “I’ve had to relearn the game a little bit. I wasn’t used to the roles that are associated with playing third, but I’ve gotten used to it now and we’re rolling with it.
“It’s been a pleasure to play with these boys and I couldn’t ask for a better set of teammates.”
The team’s five members play out of Okotoks, Sherwood Park and the Saville Centre in Edmonton, meaning practice time as a collective unit can be a challenge for a variety of reasons.
“Between school and weather conditions it’s a little tough at times,” Thomas said. “Me and Ben are new additions to this team.
“This team came together initially at the end of April last year and, really, it was built to have the best chance of qualifying for the Canada Winter Games and U18 nationals this year.”
Both members of the Okotoks Junior Curling Academy, Kiist and Thomas have enjoyed success at different levels coming through the ranks.
“It’s great to go through this experience with Ben,” Thomas said. “We’ve been teammates for years, he’s a really good friend of mine on and off the ice and it’s great to have another player on this team from the Calgary area.
“A lot of guys dream of getting to the Brier one day and, really, this is our first step towards that goal one day. It means so very much to me that I get to have this opportunity.”
The two qualified for provincials for the first time at the U18 level last January and in 2020 were part of the gold medal-winning Zone 2 squad at the Alberta Winter Games.
Kiist said keeping a positive mindset and not dwelling on a missed shot or tough end will be among the focuses for the Alberta reps in the Heartland province.
“All of our previous games are essentially training to get to this point,” he said. “We rely on the muscle memory and the experiences we’ve had in the past to make the shots.”
On the women’s side of the bracket, Carstairs’ Myla Plett rink is back to defend its national championship as Team Alberta 1 with Lacombe’s Emma DeSchiffart skipping Team Alberta 2.
Team Davies' journey can be followed on social media at Team Davies Curling on Facebook and Instagram.
For more information, visit curling.ca/2023under18.
