Team manager Susan Storry and head coach Cameron Reid called it a “nail-biter” game. Still, Powell River’s Special Olympics curling team held on for a 6-5 win against Northern Ontario with a bronze medal.
“They had a nice lead, 6-0,” said Storry. “So it must have been the fifth it was 6-0. [Northern Ontario] got three in the sixth end, another point in the seventh and in the eighth end scored one. Final score was 6-5.”
Eighteen teams competed in curling during the 2012 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games. The teams were placed into four divisions based on ability. Team BC was in Division D and played against Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Northern Ontario.
Reid said seeing the team finally wearing medals was his favourite moment. “To see the bronze medal go around their necks was a real achievement because that’s the summation of a lot of time that Susan and I have spent with these athletes over the year with regional championships and provincial championships and now this one. Just to know that they could do it and they did.”
The team has been curling together for four years, said Storry. She added that she enjoyed watching the team grow over the past year as they progressed from the regional championships to the provincials and finally to the nationals. Nerves seemed to get to them for a while, she said.
“I think the last day was the best day for us because everyone sort of came together. I think the nerves finally wore off and everybody started thinking ‘we can do this.’ I could see they were all melding together and starting to work as a team again where before they just weren’t playing as well as I knew they could.”
From here, Reid and Storry want to recruit more people to join the curling team. The next two years will be a rebuilding process as they prepare for the next regional championships.
“We’re hoping now that they’ve won a medal it’ll encourage others to get involved,” said Storry. Powell River Curling Club has arranged for the team to curl with the senior ladies on Thursdays, something which both Reid and Storry said they appreciate.
Reid added that on top of the medal, the team took home an important lesson. “We tried to say that they can do it if they’re willing to keep their eye on the broom and concentrate but not be afraid to miss once in a while. And sure they missed, but they made it too.”
