Okotoks curlers had a roaring good time at the 2020 Alberta Winter Games.
Gold medals in both the male and female curling competition went the way of Foothills teams as the Okotoks Curling Academy shone brightly as double gold medallists on the ice at the elite youth sports showcase on Family Day in Airdrie.
“We were planning on doing it for a while and it’s a great accomplishment to be able to make it here, let alone win,” said male competition champion and Team Kiist skip Ben Kiist. “It’s just really special — we just owe it to our parents and supporters and coaches for helping us get here and supporting us throughout the way.”
The skip — along with third Nolan Duncan, second Marcus Yurko and lead Logan Thomas, said years and years of hard work went into this achievement, particularly this season with tireless work out of the Okotoks Curling Academy.
The Zone 3 squad knocked off Rocky Mountain House’s Wyatt Wright 9-6 in the gold medal game.
“It was a close game and it came down to an extra-end and we managed to steal a point to take the win,” Kiist said. “It was really close, rock for rock.
“It’s obviously stressful, but we also train to be able to control (nerves) and keep calm and power through.”
Team Kiist went
undefeated in Airdrie, posting a 3-0 record in round-robin and outscoring its opposition by a 32-7 count before getting through the semifinal in a 7-3 triumph over Zone 4.
“We just played well,” Kiist said. “I have to owe it to my team, they played amazing, they were able to stay strong throughout the entire week.
“It was just fun to be with all the other teams and experience just being involved with everything. It was non-stop, it was just crazy.”
While Team Kiist had familiarity on its side – the female competition champions had to work quickly to build its chemistry.
Skip Rachel Jacques, third Myla Plett, second Chloe Johnston and lead Halla Grunow found its form in a hurry, finishing with an unblemished record to climb to the top of the podium in Airdrie.
“It was just such a great experience, coming into the final we were just happy we were going to get a medal anyways,” Jacques said. “But it was just such a fun experience especially since we haven’t played together very much and being the only undefeated team here.”
Despite the fledgling nature of the team, communication was key to its success on the pebbled ice along with being on the same page and enjoying the moment, the skip said.
“We just kind of winged it,” Jacques said. “The only thing we really got on the same page with was hit-weight and we had one team practice that kind of helped us with seeing each other’s line and how to call each other on.
“But we mainly learned a lot about each other during these games which really helped.”
After posting a 3-0 record in round-robin, the foursome knocked off the Alyssa Nedohin rink out of Zone 5 by a 4-2 count in the final.
“It was a pretty scary final,” Jacques said. “It had a lot of blank ends, it was a really close game, but Team Nedohin played amazing, that was a fun team to play and that was such a great final and I thought we played great, played the best we could and we pulled it off.”
Topping off the three-day competition with a gold medal was an added bonus to an experience built around the experience for the terrific youth athletes.
“Being at Gen Place, sleeping on the floor of the school – it’s all part of the experience of being here,” Jacques said. “Even though it wasn’t the most comfortable place to sleep, it was still lots of fun and hanging out with the other teams, I think that was the most important part of the weekend.
“Winning was an extra happy cherry on top, but being here in the first place was our goal.”
Okotoks had four teams in total at the curling competition, including Team Corneillie with Gemma Nickerson, Alena Yurko, Sari Potter and Claire Corneillie as well as Team Snider with Aidan Snider, Eric Tourigny, Walker Mactavish and Declan Lamontagne.
For more information go to albertasport.ca.
