The cool crisp air fills the room. Rocks glide down the ice and collide together with a sharp clink. Brooms shuffle and people are shouting “harder” across the ice. This is the CCAA Curling Canada Curling Championships.
This year Lethbridge Curling Club hosted the national championships. Kirk Mearns, the general manager of Lethbridge Curling Club, says these events mean a lot to his organization.
“It gives us an opportunity to expose ourselves to more people in Lethbridge.”
Events such as a national championship provide the opportunity to bring high level competitors to see the facilities Lethbridge has to offer. Spectators will also watch these events and may get inspired to try out curling or put their kids into curling, Mearns says.
There are no curling championships without teams to play. The Red Deer Polytechnic Queens women’s rink were undefeated 7-0 on their road to the finals. Kaylee Rainseth, the skip on the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens, is very proud of her team’s performance.
“We’ve been resilient all week and we’ve put in the energy and work to come together as a team.”
The Queens have been hard at work, but no event comes without its challenges. Rainseth says the biggest challenges for her team was coming together as a team and remembering they deserve to be there.
Rainseth noted that over the days of the competition she has learned how to rely on her teammates. “If one of us is under the weather or just not having the best game, relying on our teammates is the best way to overcome that and get better.”
Prior to the championship game, Rainseth said winning the championships would be incredible. “It’s for a few of us our last year at CCAA, so just going out and leaving it all on the ice and winning would be incredible.”
To prepare for the championships, Rainseth says the team needs a good night’s rest and they have superstitions they take seriously. They wear the same socks, park in the same spots and listen to the same songs.
Rainseth says Ordinary by Alex Warren is the main hype song for the team, with a lot of country mixed in such as Shania Twain.
The Red Deer Queens went on to win silver in the championship game, with PACWEST taking the gold in a 6-4 victory. In the men’s games, Mohawk College took gold against SAIT with an 8-4 lead.
Rainseth has had a great experience at the CCAA Curling Canada Curling Championships. “Lethbridge has done a wonderful job hosting and everyone here has put on an amazing event. It’s been one to remember for sure.”