THANK YOU!

We want to take the time to let you know how much we appreciate all of the support our entire club has given us for the past five years.

For the people that do not know, five years ago we were initiated into the competitive world of curling through the Broomstones JET program. This program was started by a group of curlers who wanted to share all of their knowledge about the sport of curling with the youth at the club. They spent hours working with us on our deliveries and communication on the ice. They also touched on the mental aspect which was a big part of our team’s success. Another thing that they taught us was how to look for help within the Broomstones community. This led us to finding our coach, Karyn Cousins, who has given infinite amounts of time and energy to our team.

After deciding we wanted to be a competitive team, we joined the President’s League. We are so thankful for all of the people who treated us as adults, even though we were all still in high school. This experience really helped us to grow into mature curlers. Because of our experience in the adult leagues at Broomstones, we were able to acquire curling etiquette that could not just simply be taught. We have learned how to carry ourselves in an adult environment and it was mainly due to all of you. There were many games when we came off the ice and as we were sitting at the tables behind the glass, our opponents would go over certain scenarios with us telling us what they would have called. This helped us to see a game through an experienced curler’s eye and we are very grateful for that.

The support didn’t stop there. You have helped to finance our very expensive season. As many of you know, it is hard being from the East, always having to book those expensive Northwest flights out to the Midwest. These flights were necessary for us to get to the level that we did, and it is because of you that those trips were possible for us. Starting with the dinners we sold during derby and ending with the fund established by Sam Williams (and many other events in between) you have all been so generous and have made it easier for us to be able to go out on the ice and just worry about curling.
For the past four years at nationals, our fan mail inbox has been filled with numerous emails from members of this great club. At our first nationals it was difficult to see huge Wisconsin cheering sections versus our small (but amazing) group of parents. Those emails meant a lot because it made us feel that although we may not have had as many people out on the ice, there were many people there in spirit. It has really helped to make our experiences even greater.

We also wanted to thank everyone else from around the country who has been there for us. It's nice to know that whenever we travel, we are able see some friendly faces, no matter how far from home we are. You have made the past few years unforgettable and our experiences would not have been as wonderful without you.

We are all so proud to be from such an amazing club. In all of our travels, we have been to many clubs around the United States but we have yet to visit a club that is as warm and compassionate as Broomstones. We are convinced that no such club exists. Although Team Walker will be taking a break, we will still bring everything that we have learned from you with us everywhere we go. We hope that you continue to support the youth at the club so that others can experience the same opportunities we had. Broomstones is filled with so many caring people who give so much and never look for recognition. We really want everyone to know that you do mean so much to us and that we know that we would not be where we are now if it wasn’t for you. You all have so much knowledge about the game, and life, that you have shared with us. Because of you, not only have we become better curlers, we have also become better people.

Thank you!

Monica Walker, Laura Hallisey, Nikki Rossetti, and Jillian Walker

Game 6 - Alaska & Game 7 - Illinois

We won both our games yesterday! Both were a little sloppy, the Illinois team played extremely well and it came right down to the last end. Now that we have ALL our bad shots out, we're ready to play hard today, just one game at a time.

Shoot us an email at teamwalker@usacurl.org

Game 5 - Wisconsin II

Briefly... we beat Wisconsin II yesterday at four. We had a nice, solid game and hope to continue with this level of play. More later...

Games 3 & 4 - Minn 2 and North Dakota

We lost against Minnesota II yesterday afternoon but came back and demolished North Dakota in the evening. One game showed us at our worst, the other much improved. We decided to wear kilts for the rest of the competition.

The highlight of the day (besides playing well) had to be our late night trip to Wendy's. You can get pretty much anything you might desire with any kind of dipping sauce possible. And since the "strip" that the curling club and the hotel are on only has fast food, we are experiencing true American culture and cuisine at the very heart of the country! What else could be better?

We haven't been able to check our fanmail because for some reason the USCA website doesn't work at the hotel (?). But thank you if you've sent some, hopefully we'll get to that at the club today.

Game 2 - Utah

We got off to a bit of a shaky start this afternoon - I missed my second shot for four ends in a row, but after the fifth end break we got it together and made a great comeback, kept them to one, took two and then did what we do best... steal, to tie it up in the tenth and go into an extra end. Then we had some great team shots to get one into the four foot and ended up stealing the eleventh for the win. Utah played great, but I think our experience and patience as a team pulled us through in the long run. We wish them the best of luck for the rest of the week.

Here are a few pictures from Opening Ceremonies.

Game 1 - Pennsylvania

It doesn't look like the USCA website is up at the moment, but you can check our standings at www.portagejuniornationals.com or email us at teamwalker@usacurl.org

We won against Pennsylvania girls last night without too much difficulty, although the game was a bit sloppy and I'll be happy to move on from it and get into the real competition. The ice seemed to begin to lose its pebble real early in the game and by the end there were spots more worn down than others and one straight spot that I can remember. Other than that, the ice seems really good, and it's just one game at a time.

We play Utah at noon today, so I need to go jump on the bed about that. Email us.

por... TAGE

I have to say, I had a little bit of a scare when I woke up this morning (Friday.. i.e. the day before Nationals) to pouring rain and high winds in Boston, and a snowstorm in Milwaukee. We have the worst luck in history when it comes to traveling and weather and this time was no different -- the Philadelphia flight to Madison was canceled so Laura and Jillian ended up driving from Chi-town and essentially just arrived in Por-TAGE (sidenote : stress on the 'tage' similarly to target becoming tar-JAY just to class things up a little bit). We still eagerly await Nikki's any-minute arrival and then CWB will finally be reunited and we will have defeated all airline delays and weather conditions.

The hotel is spacious which is reassuring considering we are here for nine days. We missed both USADA drug testing meetings due to travel (major stroke of luck right there - most boring meeting in the existence of the world). And we managed to convince the Massachusetts boys to switch practice times with us so we don't have to get up quite so early tomorrow. Oh and I forgot my broom at Broomstones (Mom can you bring that for me?) I'm probably the most prepared curler ever...

Other than that, all i-pods are charged, the speakers are loaded, new broom heads on the brooms, shoes polished (not) and awkward pictures on the door to indicate that Team Massachusetts Women, aka Chicks With Brooms are in Wisconsin, probably the best state in the United States, and we are ready to curl. Check out our game at 7PM against Anderson from Philadelphia and EMAIL US at teamwalker@usacurl.org, pleaaase.

PS. Pregnant women know exactly what they are talking about when it comes to cheesy gordita crunches from taco bell.