A women’s curling team that competes in Airdrie’s Super League is riding high, after winning the 2019 Curling Alberta Optimist U18 Provincial Championships, held March 14 to 17 in Medicine Hat. The championship-winning rink is composed of skip Jessica Wytrychowski (18), lead Emily Kiist (17), second Micayla Kooistra (17) and third Olivia Jones (16). Because of the first-place finish, the team will represent Alberta at the 2019 U18 Canadian Championships, to be held April 2 to 7 in Sherwood Park, Alta. “We were ecstatic,” said Wytrychowski, a first-year student at the University of Calgary. “It’s my last year curling in U18, so I was just happy that I finally get to represent Alberta. We were so proud of each other because [we all] have been wanting this for so long.” Team Wytrychowski went 3-1 in pool play in Medicine Hat, outscoring its four opponents 33-19. The rink then earned its berth to the championship draw with a 6-4 win over Team Bakos, of Crestwood, in the page playoff. The gold-medal draw was another tight showdown with Team Bakos. With the score tied 2-2 in the eighth end, Wytrychowski managed to earn a single with the final throw to secure the championship. “I just had to make sure – I’d thrown so many rocks – that I didn’t change anything up,” she said. The rink’s success at provincials came despite each member living in a different city or town – Wytrychowski is from Calgary, Kiist is from Okotoks, Kooistra is from Strathmore and Jones is from Edmonton. While none of the curlers are from Airdrie, the rink trains and competes here and its coach, Joe Brown, lives in the city. He said the four curlers formed as a team just last year, but added the young women had competed against each other in previous years. “You just kind of hope that your instincts are correct in the types of people you run into and compete against on the road, that they might one day be a future teammate,” Brown said. According to Brown, all four curlers quickly became friends, and their friendship manifested into team chemistry and success on the ice. “We just committed to being together as much as we possibly could, given the travel and logistics,” he said. “We set out a calendar of competitions we wanted to hit, and tried to have a good balance of practice, rest, school and competition in order to peak at the right time – and it seems to have worked out quite well.” Throughout most of the winter, the league competed in the Airdrie Curling Club’s weekly Super League. Wytrychowski said playing in the highly-competitive Super League was a valuable learning experience for the rink. “We were the only ladies team in the league, and we were competing against some of Alberta’s best men’s teams,” she said. “We didn’t win many games, but it sure taught us some good lessons. We got to try shots that we wouldn’t normally play.” In the lead up to the national championships, Team Wytrychowski is continuing its intense training and competition regime. Preparation included competing at the Mark Kennedy Junior Classic, March 22 to 24 in St. Albert. Considering the strength of Alberta in Canadian curling – and the fact this year’s national championships will be held in Sherwood Park – Wytrychowski said she feels the other teams will be itching to defeat the Albertans in their home province. “If you look at any Scotty’s or Brier, Alberta is usually in the final,” she said. “We know we have a big target on our back. Everyone is going to come out gunning for us, so we just have to make sure we remain focused and we don’t let it get to our heads.”
