Courtney Walch was so thrilled, she was nearly in tears.
At the same time, two of her newbie rinkmates weren't quite grasping the significance of what had just occurred. So Walch tried to calm herself long enough to explain to them just how rare it is to score eight points in a single end of curling.
Eight rocks, eight points. An eight-ender. Most curlers go a lifetime without experiencing one.
For Walch and her team -- father Mike, husband-to-be Brett Wickstrom and friend Lee Lorrance -- the eight-ender happened on Feb. 16 during the Tri-Mill Bonspiel at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club.
Wickstrom and Lorrance were the ones who needed some educating.
"They had no idea how big of an accomplishment it was," said the 23-year-old Walch. "I was almost crying and they didn't even understand. They were like, 'OK, this is cool, we scored every rock.' And I was like, 'You guys have no idea. This is on my bucket list.'"
Walch is in her sixth season of curling. In past years, she had occasionally been on teams that had placed all eight rocks in the rings. But, never did her team hold last-rock advantage and the potential eight-ender was always wiped out.
This time, Walch had the final stone and she made it count.
Even if she was a little jittery coming out of the hack.
"I was so nervous," she said with a chuckle. "I just wanted to hit the broom and throw the right weight. And the boys [Wickstrom and Lorrance] had to sweep their little hearts out to keep it straight."
Walch had to play a hit and roll to score the eight points.
"It wasn't an easy shot but it wasn't super-hard," she said. "I just didn't have much room for error."
The eight-ender for Walch and company came in the third end of a game against the Tim Hamilton rink. In the first two ends, Hamilton had built a 5-0 lead. Ultimately, the Walch foursome won 12-7 and later in the weekend celebrated a 'B' event championship.
For Walch, the memorable moment was made even more special by the fact she and her dad were able to share in it.
"It was a great experience to have with your dad," she said. "We do curl regularly on Friday nights with each other but this was the first time we had teamed up as third and skip in a bonspiel. That's one thing I will always remember doing with my dad."
