Nantyr curlers sweeping for gold
By Chris Simon

Photo by Ellen Gofforth The Nantyr Shores Secondary School girls varsity curling team will be competing at the OFSA championships over the next few days.

Nantyr's curling elite will be gunning for a provincial championship starting today.

During the next four days, Nantyr Shores Secondary School's girls varsity curling team will be participating in the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association championships in Peterborough.

The four day event will feature 40 teams from across the province.

The girls are excited to participate. None of the five team members - skip Courtney Gilder, second Kaitlyn Veitch, vice Melissa Preece, lead Ashley Gofforth or spare Katie Cormack - have been to the provincial championships before.

The school's girls curling team had never previously earned a GBSSA title.

"There aren't an awful lot of Nantyr teams that do go to OFSAA," said Veitch. "Not a lot of them make it ... we balance each other out, we're all really strong."

Each of the girls have been curling for at least five years. And they've been playing together on the varsity team for the last three years.

Their experience showed throughout the season, as they went 9-1 and recently earned the Georgian Bay Secondary Schools Association championship in Cookstown.

"In high school curling, a lot of teams might have one or two terrific curlers that carry the weight," said coach Jane Dewar. "When your team is this fully experienced and together, they're playing right from the first draw. They love the game."

She says the girls display professionalism and competitiveness every time they play.

"They are really intuitive," said Dewar. "Each of the girls is a skip outside of this, so they know the game.

"They're really fierce competitors, but with so much grace. Every choice they've made has been selfless and for the benefit of the group."

The parents have also been incredibly supportive of their children, says fellow coach Jeff Shadlock.

"They come from a good curling background," he said.

"It's always great to have the parents backing. It makes it a lot easier for us, and a true joy when they're always committed to the sport."

Preece says each team member works hard. However, they also get along well, and often crack jokes during games. It helps keep the atmosphere loose and fun, despite the pressure to succeed.

"We get along really well," she said. "We talk to each other off the ice. Our communication blew out other teams. We were constantly communicating, saying where the rocks were, what the ice was doing, telling each other every bit of information we could so we can better our next shots. We can help each other on the ice; we're comfortable enough with each other to just be honest."

Each player also complements their teammates well.

"We play our positions really well," said Gilder. "If we were just thrown in with no team dynamic, it would go along. All the things put together make us work. We know how important every position is, because if one things off, it brings the whole team down."