Team Clendenan

If you were to get a 66% on a school test you probably wouldn’t be overly proud to bring the results home to your parents but the paradox of curling ( in the early bantam season ) is that the same performance result is actually something to celebrate.

In theory, curling is a winter sport but a good portion of the events begin long before there are any traces of winter weather. In fact, the conundrum of most curling clubs not having ice to practice on until November means that most teams are still finding their sea legs when they square off against competitors in September. Essentially you hit the ground running and in a best case scenario you figure things out faster than your opponent. Consequently, the player statistics are usually a little rough around the edges and team purple was no exception. The good news, however, is that there were other accomplishments that turned their focus away from their C+ grade and toward an exciting year ahead.

Beginning with a round robin, the good guys faced teams Duguid, Titkai and Bartlett and secured a lone position at the top of the leader board with a record of 3 and 0. Relying heavily on their summer fitness training for endurance, they held on to yet another win in the quarter final against Pickett and morale was high as they prepared for a rematch against Bartlett in the semifinal the following day. When the time came, and out of the gate with hammer and a deuce, things were looking promising but the exchange of blanks and singles afterward quickly turned the game into a nail biter. So much so, that an extra end was required to ultimately determine the victor of the 3-3 tie and as with most fish stories, the last rock got away.

Dusting yourself off after a big loss is tough, and facing the statistics that hint at missing practice takes maturity. It would be easy to wallow in the 66% and place the loss squarely on the shoulders of the rotten stats number, but if you did, you would be missing the wonderful parts that should keep you coming back for more. If nothing else, the girls racked up wins in four out of five games but there is also the notable that in three of those their opponents conceded early and in two, ties needed to be broken with the last stone in an extra end. Even more amazing, is that out of a total of 50 points that were scored for and against throughout the tournament, 37 were earned by Team Clendenan. The quick math on that is 74% (woo hoo!) and there’s still one more secret weapon that emerges when you turn the frown upside down . . . 66 looks an awful lot like 99 with a different perspective!

Celebrate what you accomplished ladies because you have a lot to feel good about. It was a fabulous start to the season and you’re A+ effort will convert those stats before you know it!