Team Clendenan

There seems to be a relationship between inspiration and adversity in the same way that poets claim that nothing worth doing comes easily. Being inspired as a result of influence from an outside force has been the basis for writers and other such creative individuals, but as Team Clendenan found out at the Regional play downs, the best stories can also be brought about by a fork in the road where adversity corners you into the choice of accepting an obstacle as an inspiring or not.

Regions are a showdown of the top eight curling teams in one quarter of the province that face off for one of two births to Provincials. Like Zones, it is a double knock out formula with brackets that are pre-determined for the first draw and eventually two teams are left standing after surviving the elimination process in competition. This year’s host was the Chesley Curling Club and teams in attendance were all the best from their respective zones but the purple girl nerves were reduced a little with a solid first game win against Aliston (SINCLAIR). Moving into the second game on an outside sheet with uneven curl was of little consequence to the good guys either, because they quickly learned the ice and out-thunk their opponent (WALSH) by strategically placing stones in tricky paths that could not be removed. As such, a second “W” was posted and the momentum began to build with a glimpse at the finish line in the finals the next day. And then the unthinkable happened.

In a weird twist of fate, a Team Clendenan player fell victim to a toe being crushed under the change room door and once extricated an injury resulted that required a trip to the emergency room at midnight. Earlier in the first aid process the girls supported each other with words of encouragement but no one could deny that the final game would be problematic if it could happen at all – which is where the inspiration/adversity theory kicked in. The owner of the mushed toe was not about to let go of Provincials due to forfeit and despite stitches and medication it’s arguable that the injury actually drove her to want to be in the finals even more because of a previous loss to the finalist (FULLERTON) at an OJCT event earlier in the year. The team mates in turn, were inspired by the determination and also put the injury obstacle aside and together they joined forces to see the competition through. Understandably, the final game was a little shaky but down four points in the sixth end the girls rallied back with a three pointer and then a steal to tie up the game in the eighth, which made the eventual loss by a single point pretty tough. The good news is that there was still a second Provincial birth up for grabs and having come so close to their goal, the girls shelved the fatigue and pain and loss and boomeranged back out on the ice less than an hour later with every intention of finishing what they had started. Sure enough, BERNARD felt the full throttle of an opposition with unwavering focus and they eventually conceded with nowhere to hide from the purple peel clinic.

Meeting the team goal for the season was a tad aggressive in and of itself but alongside the adversity that all of the team members, coach and families faced at different points in the year, the right for Team Clendenan to now claim a spot as one of the eight finalists at Provincials deserves a standing ovation. No matter what happens at Provincials, daring to dream big and persevering through thick and thin to the finish line, was inspirational to us all.

Congratulations on a FABULOUS year!!!