Live from the Universiade! – Final Update

So our run is over after an 11-7 loss to the Czechs in the TB. We got down early, battled back to tie it up after 5. Then gave up a 4 in 6 but got it back to only one down after 8. In retrospect we probably played the 9th a bit too aggressively for the steal when a force would have been OK too and gave up another 3 which effectively ended our championship.

Curling Venue at the 2011 Winter Universiade

Once again we did not play our best against this Czech team but I have no ıdea why that is. They were the better team on this day so it ıs hard to get too mad about the outcome. Disappointed… absolutely because we knew we had it in us to win gold and to come back to Canada without any medal will take some time to get over for sure. After some time I am sure we will be proud of how we came back from our 2-3 start to win 4 in a row to make the TB and even how we battled back in this game after being down 8-4 after 6, but right now its tough to be content with any of those things. The overall games experience has been amazing though and we are so thankful for being given this opportunity in the first place. There are so many people who have made this experience possible for us and we sincerely thank all of them. – Our parents who drove us to our home club and clubs all across Ontario so many weekends every winter all throughout our childhood – The Canadian Curling Association who not only supported us financially but also accepted us into the La Releve program allowing us access to amazing resources which helped us in Turkey as well as also giving us some pretty sweet uniforms we will have forever! – The CIS which co-runs the University Nationals with the CCA for all of their support before and during the games – The support from the members of the Cataraqui Golf & Country Club ın Kıngston where we played out of last year and where our National Championship banner flies – The members of the Rideau Curling Club in Ottawa where Andrew and I now curl were extremely generous to us considering most people in the club had never even met us! – Queens Athletics has also been a supporter throughout our university curling careers ıncluding our trip here – The Dominion Insurance Company of Canada also assısted us which shouldn’t come as a surprise since they sponsor so many dıfferent levels of curling – Brian Sullivan of Sullivan Bay in Brantford was also very generous donating customized Canadian shirts for us to wear and trade here in Turkey – Balance Plus gave us a good deal on the red and white brooms we used here in Turkey – Our family and friends who made the trip here to cheer us on and those who sent us messages via email or our Facebook page THANKS! The support during our hıghs and lows got us through this long championship. We had the best fans in the stands hands down! – Last but certainly not least we owe a huge thank you to our coach Dick and our team leader Wendy. As Andrew said last night there probably aren’t two people who love curling more and we were so lucky to be able to compete in this championship with their assistance. We first met Dick at the Trillium Curling Camp many years ago but never thought that he would end up coaching us. But that happened when we showed up in Edmonton at Nationals last year without a coach and he jumped right in. He has done so much for us throughout the year over email and in person during our training camps, and always knowıng when to tell us a joke to lıghten the mood. Thanks for all your efforts Dick! When it comes to a team leader most people probably think that they aren’t REALLY needed for a championship since we already have a coach. After the past week and a half we have realized that a team leader ıs ESSENTIAL at a championship like this. There are SO many lıttle things (and some bıg) that come up a championship like this, especially in such a foreıgn country wıth a different culture, that without Wendy we would have never been able to just focus on the curling. There are probably so many things that Wendy looked after for us that we don’t even know about and we really want to thank her. What we will remember most about Wendy when we look back on the experience are the times spent laughing over nothing usually back at the cafeteria at 11pm after she had been watching curling since 8am at the arena. Or when we would be warming up and we would catch Wendy sıngıng and dancing to the Katy Perry songs being played in the arena (we have this on vıdeo!). Thanks for everything Wendy! So we have three more days here so we will take ın some of the other events and perhaps do a tour or two. The curling closing banquet is on Saturday night after the final so I am sure that wıll be a fun time!