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!!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
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!
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!
Monday, October 1, 2007
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!
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!
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