It didn’t matter if they were 14 years old or a veteran of provincial competition, the curlers at a clinic in Okotoks earlier this month all shared a few things in common.
A love for the roaring game and they were all female.
“I am here to pass on my knowledge to curlers that want to be successful, who want to continue the game and allow women to compete at a higher level, - and to have their dreams come true too,” said Jessica Amundsen at the Women In Curling Summit on Sept. 18 in Okotoks.
Amundsen, a second on Heather Nedohin’s 2012 Canada Scotties winning rink, was one of several instructors, all women — including her former skip — at the clinic.
She said while she attended clinics as a youth, the Okotoks one was unique.
“They weren’t just focused on women, they were always mixed,” Amundsen said of prior clinics. “I like this because of the focus on women and there are amazing role models to look up to.”
Amundsen was providing on ice advice to the approximately 80 curlers attending the summit — shot making, sweeping and putting it all together as a team.
Lori Olson-Johns, the Team Leader for Curling Canada, works with the next generation of champions, those knocking on the door to Scotties titles, such as Kelsey Rocque.
“My session is Tools for Your Curling Bag, mobility, nutrition, warm-up, preparing for performance,” Olson-Johns said, who curled competitively with Val Sweeting and Cathy Borst. “We are trying to promote the game, inspire kids to continue to pursue the sport.
“We are empowering young women to stay in sport. I am grateful for this opportunity.”
It inspired one youth who already has some significant competition experience.
“I learned about strategy and games, and mental health,” said Alena Yurko, a student at St. Paul John II Collegiate, who has curled in the Alberta Winter Games. “It’s very inspirational that women are capable of all this, I want to be like that someday.”
The clinic also proved helpful for a curler knocking on the door of competing at the Scotties and Grand Slam level.
Valerie Ekelund, who curled with the Jodi Vaughan rink at the 2020 Alberta Scotties in Okotoks, was a student at the clinic, not an instructor.
“I figured all the people here who are instructing are the people that I want to be – and I haven’t figured out how to do that,” Ekeland said. “It can’t hurt to hear from a bunch of people who lived that dance.”
Ekelund is presently curling with the Linsday Bertsch rink as a second.
Tenielle Bachek, a teacher at Holy Trinity Academy and an instructor with the Okotoks Curling Academy, also attended the clinic.
“I want to be a better coach,” Bachek said. “So, from a program facilitator here I am looking at things we can address... My competitive years as a curler are done, but I think I can have an impact as a coach,” she said.
She said there are issues that are unique to women that their male counterparts don’t have to deal with.
“I think we can have different experiences that maybe aren’t shared with men,” Bachek said. “I knew upstairs we were in a discussion talking about balancing new motherhood, breastfeeding and being at the curling rink.
“They are different things that wouldn’t be addressed with men.
“I think this clinic is an interesting opportunity to get together,” Bachek said.
Atina Ford-Johnston, the co-ordinator for the clinic, who is also with the Okotoks Curling Academy, said the clinic was made available by a gender equity grant through Curling Canada’s Women In Canada Learning Circle.
The goal is to have similar clinics throughout Alberta.
