Alyssa Connell and her Prince George Golf and Curling Club teammates can rightfully call themselves road warriors.
Without the luxury of home ice to play on for the first half of the season, (due to ice plant issues) they've travelled to Quesnel twice a week to practice. Including travel time, it's meant six-hour days to and from Quesnel.
They've competed at bonspiels in 100 Mile House and Vernon.
Now they're on the road again. This time, 900 kilometres south to Parksville to compete in the 2015 Tim Hortons B.C. Junior Women's Curling Championship that begins Sunday and continues until Jan. 3.
Connell is backed by third Bailey Eberherr, second Jordan Henson and lead Erin Ross, The team is the lone representative from northern B.C.
"They've been working pretty hard this season," said coach Rick Fewster. "We've been going to Quesnel twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays for a couple hours each time. On Thursdays they compete in an open rec league against men's and ladies' teams."
The team is a new rink that Connell formed in the summer.
Connell, Henson and Eberherr competed at the 2014 B.C. Winter Games as well as at the 2015 Canada Winter Games qualifier in March. Ross, who used to play second for Carly Connor's juvenile girls team, joined the lineup in the off-season, as did Fewster.
"They're a new team, they've played around each other, but never together," said Fewster. "They approached me in the summer and asked a whole bunch of questions. It was an interview process on both sides."
The combination has worked.
They won a junior/juvenile bonspiel in 100 Mile House Nov. 30 and also competed at the Rick Cotter Memorial Junior Classic in Vernon Nov. 15-16. That event featured the top junior teams in B.C., most of which will be in Parksville.
"We've done a lot of travelling, and haven't had practices as much," said Fewster. "They've put in a great effort and it's hard to develop when you don't have ice [at your home club]. They're a young team but they're looking great though, and they all play their positions effectively. They have all the shots in the bag."
Connell's was the only team from northern B.C. that entered the northern playdowns in Prince Rupert at the end of November.
Connell and company will be in a tough field of eight in Parksville. Rinks include Team Daniels, which qualified in the Coastal A Event and is made up of three gold medallists from the 2014 junior provincials. Sarah Daniels, skip, Marika Van Osch, third, and Megan Daniels, lead, will be hoping to repeat last years success alongside their new teammate, second Dezaray Hawes.
(Sarah Daniels, Hawes, and the Thompson-Okanagan duo of second Cierra Fisher and Sydney Hofer make up Team B.C. that will compete at the 2015 Canada Winter Games in February in Prince George.)
The 2013 Canadian junior champions, Team Brown, will also be competing after they qualified at the Okanagan playdown. The team from the Kamloops Curling Club is skipped by Corryn Brown and includes third Erin Pincott, second Samantha Fisher and lead Sydney Fraser. It is the same rink that won the national title two years ago and took silver at last years B.C. junior championships.
Shawna Jensen, who was a bronze medallist in 2014, will this year skip a team made up of curlers from three different locations - Powell River Curling Club, Juan de Fuca Curling Centre and Delta Thistle Curling Club. Jensen will be joined by third Katherine Silversides, second Michaela Douglas, lead Rebecca Douglas and fifth Sarah McCrady.
Vancouver Islands Team Coulombe, from the Victoria Curling Club and Juan de Fuca Curling Centre, will also be competing at the championship. The rink is made up of skip Mariah Coulombe, third Bailey Tinkler, second Jordan Koster and lead Sydney Brilz.
Team Zucchet represents the Chilliwack Curling Club. The foursome consists of skip Kirsten Zucchet, third Cailin Cooke, second Everly Royea and lead Jasmi Jani.
Also from the Coastal region is Team Egan from the Coquitlam Curling Centre. The team is skipped by Briana Egan and is rounded out by third Caitlin Campbell, second Janice Pang, lead Angelique Miller and fifth Sienna Yang.
They will be joined at the championship by Team Fisher, representing the Vernon Curling Centre, which made it through the Okanagan A and B Event. The team is made up of skip Fisher, third Hofer, second Kylie Tokairin and lead Jaelyn Cotter - daughter of 2014 Brier star Jim Cotter.
"We have a relatively young team with two 16-year-olds and two 15-year-olds," said Fewster. "In Parksville, some of the competition is at the end of their junior careers. We're hoping we can compete against them. We're very excited to play them and look forward to seeing how we stack up against the big teams."
The junior women's event is being held simultaneously with the junior men's provincial championship.
