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So what did the Lethbridge Curling Club rink of skip Kendra Nakagama, third Jinaye Ayrey, second Jennifer Colwell and lead Shauna Ferby think of their trip to the Dominion Club Curling Championship?
Quite honestly, it rocked.
And while the foursome missed the playoffs even with a 4-2 record at the event which ran Nov. 21-26 in Richmond, B.C., it was still an experience to remember.
“It was so much fun. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who has a team and enters something like this,” said Nakagama, back home as she and her teammates prepared for Lethbridge Curling Club Super League action Dec. 1. “It’s a great experience, I can’t say enough about the Dominions. They pretty much pay for everything and everyone treats you so well. Without the volunteers Richmond had, it probably wouldn’t have gone as well as it did.”
Needing a win over Manitoba in their final round-robin game to make the playoff round, Nakagama fell just short of that goal.
“In our pool it was the top two teams and we didn’t have any tie-breakers. We didn’t get a chance to get to the final,” she said.
Still, the trip was worth it, said Colwell.
“We had an amazing weekend out there. We met a tonne of really nice people from across the country. The curling was good. It was really good, quality curling. Unfortunately we had one too many losses. Four wins and two losses didn’t even give us a tie-breaker or a playoff spot. But you know what? We’re still very proud of what we achieved.”
Like Nakagama, Colwell gave the Dominion Club Curling Championship the full endorsement.
“It was so amazing. I think every club team should consider trying this. They treated us like gold out there. We felt like queens for the week and it really makes you feel good about what you’re doing.”
The calibre of teams varied, said Nakagama.
In fact, one team didn’t even have any ice time before heading to the event.
“The Yukon, who was in our pool, actually hadn’t had any ice yet,” said Nakagama, who will be leaving for Japan next March to complete her schooling. “They didn’t win any of their games, but they had a lot of fun. You could see they weren’t as well practised as some other teams.”
Then there were some teams playing to win.
“Some of teams definitely had past junior winners,” said Nakagama. “So it was pretty fierce competition for some and others were more relaxed and club (oriented).”
Colwell also enjoyed the diversity in the teams at the event.
“There were teams from the northern parts of the country and their ice isn’t even in their rinks yet. So those ladies hadn’t curled yet this year. We felt fortunate that we had practised enough beforehand this year to go.”
It was enough to get them on the cusp of a playoff berth, even if they fell a bit short.
“In our last game in the round-robin against Manitoba we were 4-1,” said Colwell. “We really needed to win that game to get into the playoffs. So of course we’re flying high and hoping for the best. We lost that game and we were kind of feeling a bit low after that. But it all evens out, lots of highs and lows. We loved it.”
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