ST. PAUL – The mixed curling team from the St. Paul Regional High School won a set of bronze medals at the Alberta Schools' Athletic Association Curling Provincial Championship held in Brooks from Feb. 27 to March 1.
Leading up to the provincials, the team had no idea they would even win a medal.
“I thought we were going to be a competing team, but not a playoff competing team,” said team member Zach Germaine. The team lost its first game and, “We thought it was going to be a hard weekend.”
Head Coach Troy Bohn said the team went into the provincials with no expectations, and he told the athletes to just go have fun and learn from the experience.
“Because it’s a really good learning opportunity.”
But after the first loss, the team kept pushing – and started winning. They ended up in the semi-final, ending the round robin with three wins and one loss. The team was now seeded in second place.
During the semi-final game, “We came up short by one rock,” said Bohn. However, the team ended up winning the bronze medal game.
Bohn congratulated both teams from St. Paul Regional High School that competed at the provincials. In addition to the mixed curling team, the high school also had a team compete in the girls' category.
Just being able to compete at the provincials is already an achievement of its own, explained Bohn, who is also involved with the St. Paul Curling Club. Teams were often competing against curlers from larger centres like Calgary and Edmonton.
Bohn also thanked co-coach Jean Coach, as well as Angela Noel, who helped coordinate the curling program at the high school.
“The Brooks’ organization committee also did a great job hosting that event. The ice was spectacular,” said Bohn.
For Germaine, he said members of the team are more confident to play again next year and are aiming higher.
“We have no graduating players,” he said, explaining it will just be about the team members, and perhaps future members, improving their game.
Looking back at the provincials, “It was great, and it was real fun,” even outside the tournament, added Germain. But come game time, “We were serious. . . We played together really good.”
