High School Curlers Compete for Championship

The official 2011-2012 Juniors Curling season has come to an end. Yesterday was an excellent show of skill, teamwork and sportsmanship by all of the participants in the finals.  The six winning most teams of the season competed for club championship.  It was nail biting.

The afternoon kicked off with an on ice procession by all the Junior participants.  They were treated to an on ice cocktail (of ginger ale) and then the games began.  Play was continuous and fast paced for almost 2 hours.  The last 2 teams on the ice did not want to finish playing as their game was so close.  The winning team took it by 1 point!!!

In typical curling fashion, the games were followed by a social event in which opponents dine and drink together.  Our Juniors feasted on pizza, soda and a special Nutmeg Curling Club cake.   

It was amazing to watch these 17 year olds make off the cuff speeches during the social part of the event.  They expressed gratitude for the great coaching they received, their teammates and the ability to participate.  It is tough to imagine having the confidence and maturity to speak publicly at their age.  Once again, I’m very impressed.

No competition would be complete without prizes.  The third place team was awarded curling pins.  The first and second place teams were awarded pin and engraved water bottles commemorating the event and their place.  The winning team will have their Skip’s name engraved on the club trophy.  An award was also presented to the curler that best exemplifies the actions of a curler.  This went to a graduating senior who very eloquently spoke about his transition from contact sports to the very gentlemanly sport of curling.

As our Junior league isn’t very old we are graduating our first round of participants.  It was bittersweet to watch the 13 young men and women completing their Junior league status and preparing for college.  Not to worry, however, a reunion competition is already in the planning stages.  These seniors presented their coaches with a bench that includes a heartfelt message of appreciation engraved on it.  It was quite evident that this group has grown together.

I promised more information on the rules of curling, the equipment, ice preparation etc.but yesterday was too inspirational to not blog about the events.  The rest will have to wait till another entry.