The girls are just ecstatic.
That is how Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) girl’s curling coach Rod Phillips characterized everyone connected with the rink’s fourth place finish at the Alberta High School Provincial Championships on March 2-5 in Lethbridge.
“I don’t think they could be any happier, even if they had won the gold,” he said. “Just being there, knowing you are one of the best teams in the province, is enough all on its own.”
The team of Avary and Lauren Kostiw, Leigh Murray, Kayla Nanninga and Robyn Kitz left for the event, March 1. However, due to the time when they arrived, their provincial championship experience did not start until the next morning.
To allow teams a chance to get used to the ice on Thursday, before the round robin began, teams were given 30-minute practice slots.
“It is an amazing facility,” Phillips said, adding the first thing the team noticed was the size. In addition to sporting two NHL sized ice surfaces, the facility has a 10-sheet ice-curling rink. “I think it is the biggest curling rink any of us had ever been in and certainly bigger than anything we are used to.”
In their first game BCHS faced Morin School, the team that would eventually win the gold medal.
Although Phillips said the team played well, they couldn’t match the school’s offence and lost 8-2.
After the game, the team had a chance to unwind with the mixed team from Westlock, which also qualified for provincials, at a banquet.
However, the team couldn’t celebrate too much, as they were back at the rink at 8:45 a.m. to play George P. Vanier from Calgary.
“It was a really close game all the way through,” he said of the 5-4 win. “It came down to the last shot of the eighth end. She [skip Kayla Nanninga] had to make a draw, full eight-foot, to secure the win.”
After winning the match the team took a short walk to the host school, Catholic Central High School, for the opening ceremonies.
“It was really official and well done,” Phillips said, noting it mirrored curling ceremonies one would see at the Tim Hortons Brier.
Teams followed a bagpiper into the gymnasium and were announced by name. The schools band and choir then led the audience in the singing of O Canada before hearing speeches from Lethbridge’s mayor, and environment minister Shannon Phillips, who is the area’s MLA. One of the team’s favourite parts of the ceremony was when the school band played Ahead by the Century by the Tragically Hip.
Returning to the rink, BCHS then defeated the host school 9-3 to move on to the playoff round and the crossover.
With a 2-1 record BCHS finished second and played Chinook High School, from Lethbridge.
Unfortunately for Barrhead, they lost and found themselves playing Paul Kane High School from St. Albert for the bronze.
“It was pretty close until the fifth end and then they [Chinook] had a big end [scoring five] and it kind of slipped away from us,” he said, adding they eventually lost the game 9-2.
Phillips concluded by saying he is proud of not only how the girls played throughout the season, but also how they conducted themselves.
“They are great ambassadors for the school and three quarters of the team will be returning,” he said. Kitz and Murray will be graduating this year, but the Kostiws are in Grade 10 and Nanninga is in Grade 11. “So there is a lot of potential.”
