2007-2008 GNCC Junior Playdowns : Thursday

Well it's nine o'clock at the Ramada hotel in Whitesboro, New York and Team Walker is thinking about bed. We have the massive ipod speakers hooked up, and the walls of our minuscule hotel room jam packed with cream cheese and shampoo literally shake. It's an early start tomorrow morning with a 7:30 AM team meeting and then a 9 AM draw. But after stopping by the club post-dinner, we are ready to get out on the ice and get going.

I got to see a little bit of sheet one and the overall ice conditions and it looks pretty generic -- more curl towards the wall and less away, the ice seems quick although I've heard complaints about weird spots. I don't like the new(?) format with choice of rocks pre-chosen, what if the Utica Curling Club happened to have quite a few bad rocks that could have an impact on the outcome of the game...? I guess it's a good thing we didn't have any practice time, at least then we don't KNOW about the rocks until about the fifth end and by that time it's either too late or not a problem. I could probably complain about a lot of other things, but I guess I won't.

Okay so it's 9:07, definitely time for bed.

GNCC Junior Playdowns Draw

Friday Dec. 28th
9:00 AM vs Bareiss (Utica)
2:00 PM vs Anderson (Philadelphia)

Saturday Dec. 29th
9:00 AM vs Beebe (Albany)
2:00 PM vs Morrison (Cape Cod & battle of the sisters and EMILY Walker's junior curling debut!!!)

Sunday Dec. 30th
9:00 AM vs Ely (Rochester)

All games played at the Utica Curling Club. Face paint and streaking encouraged. Having the early draw three days in a row kind of sucks. I heard some online scoring may be done of the Broomstones Curling Club website at www.broomstones.com so check that out. We declined CurlTV, they just aren't good enough for us (extreme sarcasm).

So yeah, feel free to bring us snacks or just say hi. Oh and if you're looking for a good time, we'll be staying at the Ramada. Look for blog updates.

Morgan Stanley Curling Classic

Another weekend of traveling and curling has come and gone and we are closer than ever to what really matters.

It's certainly a relief to be back in a state where I can walk around with a mean look on my face and not be questioned about it. And for all I've said about Canada, Wisconsin is ten times worse.

We played five games total against Bonot (Thunder Bay Canadian team), Ryan Lemke, Aileen Sormunen, Matt Mielke, and Pete Fenson. And we lost all of them. Looking back, this might not have been the best event for us because it seems to be more of a men's cashspiel (I guess it is a men's event on WCT) and we were out of our league. Playing Fenson was certainly humiliating for an assortment of reasons, as was sitting with them and Team McCormick after the game and watching all the rumors come true. But, it was nice to play US teams for once. And we definitely had some close games. So overall a good time. And any experience that is not east coast teams is good for us.

Thanks to the family who housed us, and to Josh Scherz from Bela-OLHAO, our sponsor, who made it out for the weekend to watch some of our and the other teams' games.

Some highlights from the weekend:
-Discovering Oregon's nicest hostess, thankfully not staying in a shack, the thrill of risking staying in a shack.
-Belting out Elton John's "Rocketman" at 7AM while driving through Wisconsin farmland, determining that our true calling is not curling but instead a four-part harmonious chorus.
-Cheese curds and Italian beef actually tasting alright, although understanding they still and will always look dreadful.
-Meeting Dean Gemmell and realizing he looks exactly like his voice sounds, not joking.
-Hanging around the curling club all day because of a snowstorm and then not being able to fly home because the storm has figured out where you live and is stalking you. (And has the capability to divide itself and multiply, covering two cities at once).

GNCC regional playdowns here we come, Utica, NY, Dec. 27ish to 30ish fingers crossed, come watch and support your favorite junior women's curling team.

Broomstones Junior Spiel

Also - I think it's a true testimony to the TOTAL DOMINATION of our team that three out of three (ALL) who played in the Broomstones Junior Bonspiel this past weekend were in the finals. Unfortunately Nikki chose the wrong team.



Us with the Hot Chillys Turtle. (I look silly).

The New Shoe Dilemma

On a slight side track from the extremely eventful and exciting lifestyle of a junior curler on Team Walker...

The team decided to purchase new shoes this season for a couple reasons -- mostly because our beloved balanceplus were worn out to the point of disrepair. Instead of sending them back to the manufacturer as we most likely will eventually do, we decided investing in a new pair might be the safest track to take. Well, this turned out to be a poor decision.

First of all we went through our "club store" which went through Steve's Curling Supplies so as to avoid extra customs fees. Good plan, except balanceplus was "backordered" for the deluxe shoe for about three months or something, so we JUST got the shoes we ordered back at the end of the summer. (and to make things more difficult, Jillian's shoes weren't even ordered with the original shipping, but that's a whole different story).

Now I would be completely fine paying 300 dollars for shoes AND waiting a long time for them -- they are good shoes, probably the best and since I dislike other brands, my next option would be to make my own curling shoe -- BUT while practicing for the first time in them today, I discovered that my gripping foot sole is already wearing away. Not only that but Nikki and Laura's have been as well. Now wait a minute, wasn't this the reason we bought new shoes in the first place, because our old ones were falling apart? Needless to say, I don't recommend buying balanceplus shoes at the moment, at least until they "fix" (as I'm hoping they will) this problem of weak plastic or whatever it is on the bottom of the shoe. Until then I'm three hundred dollars poorer and unhappy about it.

On a more positive note - Team Walker has a full practice schedule in store for the Thanksgiving break. We are all home! And we will be gearing up for the Morgan Stanley Cash in Madison next weekend as there is a certain team that we would really like to beat!

Ottawa

Well, we ended up 0-4 at the OVCA Junior Superspiel. We've decided that the event must be cursed, as we are 0-8 at it. We started the weekend off with an 8am game at the City View Curling Club against a team from Newfoundland skipped by Julie Devereaux, who played lead for the Canadian Junior National Team that finished second at the junior worlds. We played moderately well this game, although we struggled with the ice which was covered in fuzzy black fabric from the other team's new socks. The game went to the last rock, an open hit by Devereaux to win 5-4.

Next we took on the Julia Weagle rink of Ottawa, again at City View. We played this team last year, losing in an extra end in our first game of the spiel. This time we struggled with the ice, losing 3-7. Next we played the Samantha Davis rink of Quebec at the Granite Curling Club. Again, the ice played a big role in the decision of the game. Karyn described the game as a "slugfest," which is completely appropriate, as the ice was around 22 seconds for the whole game. The first team to get to the four foot usually scored in any given end. We lost 7-2, which dropped us into the Consolation event, and our first game against boys this season. We took on the Mark Fleischhaker rink of Ottawa at the Carleton Heights Curling Club. Although we lost 5-2, we worked alot of things out in this game, ending the weekend on a (relative) high note.

The American guys enjoyed a bit more success this weekend, qualifying for the championship round, and losing in the semi-finals.

Here are a few pictures from the event, enjoy!

Before our game against Samantha Davis at Granite Curling Club. Check out our new uniforms! Thanks Swervepoint and Hot Chillys!


Filling our plates at the Saturday night banquet at the Granite Curling Club.


In the car, exploring Ottawa, the Capital City!


Canadian Parliament:


Laura and I found some random modern artwork in the middle of a field----

Ottawa thus far

Well, it's been a pretty rough weekend so far... we are 0 and 3. There's no excuse for it really, other than sucking, and having a lot of other things going on in our lives that might make it more difficult to stay focused.

Win or lose, fun or no fun, I still love the way it feels to throw a curling rock, so at this point, I'm going to run with that.

OTTAWA

Ice was finally made down here at the tiny two sheet rink of PCC and not much more can be said of it other than...at least we have ice. Laura and I are realizing more and more that this is a SOCIAL club and however frustrating that is, we are thankful to be here together. I find it amazing to watch a stone that was meant to be thrown inside out to fall towards the centerline and actually cross over it! Having said that, the people down here are nice and willing to work with us this year and give us as much icetime as possible.

Only two days left before team CWB travels up to the Great North for another exciting competition and this one screams redemption! Last year was not very successful considering we were not able to win a game. This year we are coming back with a completely new state-of-mind. We know there are going to be good teams there, but we also know that we are able to beat those teams.

I can't wait to see you girls so get ready for an amazing weekend!!!!!!!!!

ps. See you in Ottawa Plys rink!!

Hot Chilly's Sponsorship

Korbel Challenge in NYC

It's getting to be that time of year when everything in our lives suddenly flips from normal, ordered existence to frantic airline excursions, weekends more jam packed than weekdays, and curling. It's as if we could almost become regular people with regular lives just hiding a minor secret until they turn on the compressors and it quite literally all comes "flooding back." Once again we are submerged in a downpour of names and places that exist "beyond" our realm of existence but are always there whether they reside in the Midwest or up in Canada (Canada, by the way, contrary to popular belief, is one of the most interesting and yet homey places we've have traveled thus far. And apparently one of the most sensitive and self-conscious..)

This Friday, for example, Jillian, Karyn and I might be heading down to New York City mostly just to watch the Korbel Challenge game between Pete Fenson and Peja Lindholm (it was originally supposed to be David Murdoch from Scotland, which I am quite upset about because I love him, but it's probably all for the best since Jillian and I successfully stalked him and his team at the Men's Worlds in Lowell a couple years ago.. I believe we were the first curling groupies to exist. And I firmly believe they won because they had us as their biggest fans. But besides that, how could we pass up watching a team from Sweden..) but apparently we are also helping to teach the media how to curl? It will be interesting to see how many people turn up for the event and their reaction to live curling, which is completely different from watching curling on TV. If anything, I find live play more difficult to follow because I can't watch the line or see exactly where the stones lie, but it is much more exciting in terms of spectacle, so I think people will enjoy it. Unfortunately the weather seems to be not so great; they are having difficulties making the ice and may, in fact, not even film at Rockefeller Center but at a local curling club, which would be a huge disappointment. I guess we will wait and see what happens.

If it does work out though--be sure to watch the event on TV sometime in December (I'll post times once I know them.) Jillian and I will be the ones in the audience wearing the Sweden shirts...

THE THROW DOWN OF THE YEAR:

LINDHOLM VS FENSON

Judging by ridiculous position, I would have to bet on Sweden, but curling is a sport of repressed emotion so maybe Fenson has it in the bag more so than the Swede.

UPDATE: So we didn't end up going to New York... what a waste of an entry, I know. The weather was supposed to be bad all day so they decided to film much earlier and we just wouldn't have made it so it seemed like a long drive for not much reward. I guess we'll just catch it on TV in December!

Oakville Optimist Junior Cashspiel Days 3&4

The second day of competition began with a loss against a talented salmon-colored jacket team. It was disappointing to lose after such a perfect day of competition the day before so we headed down to the center of Oakville--a really nice area of shopping and parks along Lake Ontario that is very unlike the rest of Canada, which seems to be a desolate wasteland of endless, cramped neighborhoods with the same type of house repeated over and over and over...

It was on a park bench by the lake that we discussed our loss and came to the conclusion that IAAU or that It's All About Us and that's how it's going to be in order for us to win. This was really a huge life-changing revelation we had here--it was an embodiment of the fact that each CWB season has brought such growth and change to the team and that each year we have come so far and yet there's always so much more to be had. I could never get tired of analyzing and perfecting a team from its dynamics to its techniques and I think CWB this year is going to be pretty close to if not perfection, then at least harmony at its highest level. So watch out.

After that, we headed back to the club for our second game against some girls we had been talking to the day before. It was a good close game and we pulled it out for the win which brought our total winnings up to 125 CND and put us back into the qualifying round meaning we didn't have to play until the next day.

This particular spiel was crazy--basically anyone could get back into the quarterfinals depending on their win/loss record and it was set up so that the final day, Sunday, would have three back-to-back draws. This set-up was especially good for us because it put us into a sort of Nationals semifinal type set-up of win or you're out. Well, we won our first game and ten minutes after getting off the ice, we were back on again for our second draw against the team that had already beat us. I really don't recommend two draws in a row. Not only is it physically exhausting but mentally it's pretty hard to keep focused. So we lost and that put us in the consolation event. But hey, we made it to the top four teams and that's pretty impressive for our first spiel of the year.

Those crazy Canadians would have had us play a third game but instead we forfeited in order to make our flights and took the 300 dollar prize over the 400 dollar one if we had won. So overall we made 425 CND! AND we are ranked 8th in Ontario! AND our flights home weren't delayed (too much). AND it was probably the best spiel we've been to in Canada thus far. I mean no one really gave us a schedule before we got there so we had no idea what to expect, there were no social events as usual, and we were not expected to eat or sleep, only curl, BUT we are especially good at entertaining ourselves and Team Walker is a team of troopers.

Our next get-together will be the second weekend of October during which we have some scrimmages planned so look for more then!

Oakville, Ontario Day 1&2

Well, it's our very first time on the ice this season and I have to say, we're looking pretty BALLIN' and Laura hasn't even fallen yet..

We left for Toronto yesterday (Thursday) evening and typical Team Walker travel dilemmas ensued. Apparently thunderstorms across the country were enough to cause delays all over the east coast and while Karyn, Nikki and Monica waited in Boston during a three hour delay, Laura and Jillian in Philadelphia waited even longer. Finally the team was reunited at 1:45 AM in Toronto (pronounced two-ron-two.. don't ask). Facing a half hour drive to reach our host family's home in Brampton, we promptly popped in our CWB Season 4 BALLIN' cd and drag-raced our GOLD minivan down Route 9-esque highways against some skeevy Indian dude who wanted to get Karyn in the back of the van if you know what I mean.. After being thoroughly sketched out and thoroughly exhausted, we called it a night at 3 AM, thoroughly anticipating the 6 AM wake up call to come soon and the beginning of the tournament.

Well the next morning was not pretty as only Nikki showered. But Team Walker entered the Oakville Curling Club with class and got right into game one against the Laura Crocker rink of somewhere in Ontario. An amazing Laura runback, two Nikki high hit peels and massive amounts of Jillian butch sweeping later, Team Walker won it's first cash prize reward and first game in Canada for a while now.. It was pretty exciting and we celebrated by buying ourselves lunch at Wholefoods, which brought our cash money flow back to zero.

Being thoroughly exhausted as we were, Team Walker took a quick nap in the gold minivan of heaven and then got right back out there for more Canadian ass-whooping, this time taking on most of an Ontario (Ottawa?) rink that we played and lost to in Calgary, Alberta back in 2005. After five ends the score was 9 to 0 for Massachusetts and Team Walker received it's second cash money prizes galore in the form of fifty bucks that will most likely be spent on food tomorow! Canada and cashspiels are so cool, you get money to curl, what a great idea.

So overall, a pretty decent day in beautiful, flat, eerily and densely populated Ontario. Time for some real sleep and more curling to come tomorrow! IT'S CURLING SEASON ONCE AGAIN!!!

Car Wash 2007

Yay Karyn!

http://www.usacurl.org/usacurl//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=205&Itemid=1

Henry, Cousins named USA Curling's top coaches for 2007 Wally Henry and Karyn Cousins are USA Curling's Coach of the Year and Developmental Coach of the year respectively.

Aug. 10, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

USA Curling announces 2007 coaching awards

(STEVENS POINT, Wis.) - Wally Henry, Beaver Dam, Wis., and Karyn Cousins, Medfield, Mass., have been named USA Curling's top coaches for the 2006-07 season.

Henry was named 2007 USA Curling Coach of the Year after leading his daughter Debbie McCormick's team to back-to-back national championships and a fourth-place finish at the Women's World Championship in Aomori, Japan, in March. He was a member of the coaching staff at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and also coached McCormick's team to the 2003 world championship - the first and only world championship to date won by a U.S. women's team.

"Coach of the Year is an honor I never expected, and I am very thankful for the recognition," said Henry, a USCA Level IV coach, Level II instructor and Level I official. "Working with (USA Curling athlete development directors) Ed Lukowich and Rob Meakin over the past few years has allowed me to learn coaching techniques that will be of great benefit in the future."

Henry had a busy year as his men's team won the U.S. Senior National Championships and finished fourth at the 2007 World Senior Championships in Edmonton, Canada. He also is a two-time U.S. national champion and twice won the bronze medal at the subsequent world championships.

"As a curler, I never really had an interest in coaching until I was part of the staff at the 2002 Olympics, and then the clincher was being involved with the team winning gold in 2003," Henry said. "We really want to get to that level again and to have the opportunity to medal in 2010 at Vancouver. This team loves competing in Canada."

Cousins was named 2007 USA Curling Developmental Coach of the Year. She coached Monica Walker's junior women's team to back-to-back silver medals at the U.S. Junior National Championships in 2006 and 2007.

"The award is meaningful because it provides positive feedback from the U.S. coaching community that they like the work I'm doing with junior teams and junior camps," said Cousins, a USCA Level III coach, Level II instructor and Level II official.

With two members of Team Walker aging out of junior competition after the 2007-08 season (over age 21), Cousins sees big things for her team for the upcoming season. "I see them representing the U.S. at the Junior World Championships in Sweden in 2008." To reach this goal, Cousins will keep the team focused. "Team Walker needs to make the most of their available time," she said. "Juggling college schedules, on- and off-ice practices and 'spiels is tricky, but the team is motivated to make it all work."

Coaching positions in the sport of curling within the U.S. are primarily volunteer positions, thus asking a lot of an individual's time and financial input to make it work. "I am motivated by the progress I see in the youth I coach," Cousins said. "In addition to changes in skill, I see growth in perspective and attitude. It motivates me to have a hand in this growth, to inspire these young curlers to enjoy and value every minute of this phase of their curling careers."

The Coach of the Year and Development Coach of the Year awards are determined by the USA Curling Coaching Committee. Winners of these awards are nominated for the United States Olympic Committee annual coaching awards as well.

USA Curling is sponsored by AIT Worldwide Logistics, AmerAust Technologies and Nike as well as by AT&T, General Motors, The Home Depot, and Bank of America through a joint marketing program with the U.S. Olympic Committee.

(30)

For more information: Terry Kolesar, USA Curling, terry.kolesar@usacurl.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , 715-344-1199.

a note from philly

so only a few more weeks!! i'm getting wicked excited for our upcoming season. it is going to be the best yet. don't know if everyone's heard but 2014 winter olympics are in RUSSIA. GET PUMPED! haha it's been too long since we've been curling. i wish i could come home to play on the cape ice. i know it's not the best but it's ice. so i was trying to find an image for cwb, and this is what came up... it made me laugh and i thought it might make you smile too. i think it really captures our team's intimidation factor... haha


anyways... i can't wait to be back in the bay state. i know this post is kinda random but i wanted to say HI.

THE REAL DEAL : 2007-2008 SCHEDULE

TWO THOUSAND AND SEVEN TO TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT
TEAM WALKER / CHICKS WITH BROOMS SCHEDULE

JUNE 15-17 MILWAUKEE CAMP AT THE PETTIT ICE ARENA

SEPTEMBER 28-30 JUNIOR CASHSPIEL (OAKVILLE, ONTARIO)
OCTOBER 19-21 NO BOUNDARIES CAMP (BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA)
NOVEMBER 2-4 OVCA JUNIOR SUPERSPIEL (OTTAWA, ONTARIO)
NOVEMBER 23-25 CORNWALL JUNIOR SPIEL (CORNWALL, PEI)
DECEMBER 8-10 BROOMSTONES OPEN SPIEL (WAYLAND, MASSACHUSETTS)

DECEMBER 26-31 GNCC JUNIOR REGIONAL PLAYDOWNS
(UTICA, NEW YORK)

JANUARY 12-15 WOMEN'S CASHSPIEL (LONDON, ONTARIO)

FEBRUARY 3-12 2008 USA JUNIOR NATIONALS
(PORTAGE, WISCONSIN)
MARCH 2-13 2008 WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
(OSTERSUND, SWEDEN)

I've been sitting here too long, with a man from Milwaukee..

The haze clears over Lake Michigan and I catch my first glimpse of Milwaukee through the airplane window. It is a fairly unimpressive city with one lone white building that turns out to be just a bank. Jillian is on my left; we've had a great couple of flights stopping in Cleveland along the way, no delays. We even got to meet the pilot, told him all about curling and the Olympics and then went on our way after reminding him to fly safely and try not to crash. Continental is probably one of the best airlines we've flown yet. Certainly a huge improvement after AirTrain.

It's a blazing 85 degrees when we get off the plane. We meet Laura at baggage claim and head upstairs for a bite to eat as we will be waiting a while for a ride to come. Laura spilled her Starbucks everywhere... typical :) I feel like everywhere we go, people just look at us. I mean I won't deny I take extreme delight in watching people's reactions as our broom bag labeled "Team Massachusetts -- Curling" makes its way around the baggage claim carousels. I relish in noting which people are oblivious to oddities in front of them and those that take notice and make mental notes. Maybe because of that broom bag, they will one day try curling for themselves.

We decide to take a cab after an hour or so of waiting. You'd think a fifteen minute ride would be less than forty dollars. Either way we make it -- we step out of the cab and gaze at the monstrosity before us that is the Pettit Olympic Training Center. From there it is all dreamlike; the first person we meet is Rob Meakin who is off to rejoin Kerry Burtnyk in hopes of winning the Briar. Everyone that is anyone in the USA curling world is there... Debbie McCormick, Erika Brown, Todd Birr. We have made it..





***

After a perfect balance of hard work and socializing, Team Walker heads back to the East Coast. We've overused all of our muscles, made plenty of contacts (including the USA Women's Olympic Soccer Coach, April), and learned tons of new and interesting information about our sport. It really is all coming together -- Curling is becoming a full-fledged, funded, scientifically explored, Olympic sport. Someday professional USA curling atheletes will exist... and how cool would it be to be one of them?

All other athletes practice year round...

why must curling end.......?

Thinking about you girls today.

"Ever since I can remember, I have been involved in the eccentric and vastly unknown sport of curling. As a child it was integrated into my life by my Scottish-born parents, who brought me to the local ice rink to watch them curl in their evening league games. For them it was social: a vast array of drinks, plaid rugs, and strangers united by the graceful oddity of a 42 lb rock sliding across pebbled ice. For me, it was magical and it became the creation of so much more. Looking back now across ten years of my own curling experiences, I can only start to understand how much curling has affected my life and the person I am today."

My awkward introductory paragraph for the essay that got us four thousand dollars from the Olympic committee. I have some stuff from Worlds and some old goals I've been looking through to show you on Wednesday. (Nikki, some other time ok?)

Story.

I'm posting this here per request of Monka.

Last week in crew we went out in fours (a four person boat...usually it is an eight person boat.) The boat was named walker, and I sat in the second seat---WEIRD. It made me think of my CWB and I missed you.

we will all be together soooooon
'07-'08: the season to remember.

Broomstones Closing Dinner

Miss us, Villanova girls!

Team Picture

2007-2008 Schedule

Our tentative 2007-2008 Competitive Schedule.

June 15 - 17 Milwaukee Training Camp (Pettit Olympic Center, Wisconsin)
Sept 28 - 30 Oakville, Ontario Junior Cash Spiel
Oct 19 - 20 No Boundaries Camp (Bismarck, North Dakota)
Nov 2 - 4 OVCA Junior Superspiel (Ottawa, Ontario)
Nov 9 - 11 Duluth, Minnesota Cash Spiel (?)
Nov 23 - 25 Cornwall, Ontario Jr. Cash Spiel
Dec 9 - 9 Broomstones Open Team Competition (Wayland, Massachusetts)
Dec 26 - 31 GNCC Junior National Playdowns (Utica, New York)
Jan 12 - 15 London, Ontario Women's Cash Spiel
Feb 3 - 12 2008 US Junior Nationals (Portage, Wisconsin) cross your fingers.
Mar 2 - 13 2008 Junior Curling Worlds (Ostersund, Sweden) HOPEFULLY!!