In wake of the Canadian men’s gold and women’s bronze in curling at the 2006 Torino Olympics, some University of Calgary students have recently proven they may have what it takes to be on the next winning squad. The U of C women’s curling team traveled to wonderful Winnipeg to win one on the ice at the Canadian University Curling Championship.
Katherine Fisette, Brittany Gregor, Heather Hansen, Hayley Pattison and their coach Colin Blyth took on the best curlers from across the country Mar. 22-26. Despite a close 8-7 loss to Lakehead University in the first round, our ladies gripped their brooms and cleaned up their act to place second in their pool going into the elimination round.
In the quarter-final the U of C team swept the University of Saskatchewan out of the running 9-4. They continued dominating against Thompson Rivers University to take the semi-final and advance to meet Lakehead again in the final.
Our ladies wanted nothing to do with another loss, going hard for a 9-6 victory. The win gives them the opportunity to compete in the 2007 World University Games in Torino Jan. 17-26.
The win couldn’t come at a better time as curling is slated to be sanctioned by Canadian Interuniversity Sport for the 2006-07 season. The implications of this will include more competition, better sponsorships and a CIS sanctioned and better-organized national championship.