There are all kinds of emotions going through members of the 100 Mile Curling Club blind curling team, which will soon be competing at the Blind Curling Western Canadian Championships. Despite the big job ahead of them, one thing is certain - they are focused.
The team has been practising diligently with their sighted coach, Hugh MacGillivray and his assistant Ken Moore. Both are curling club members who have nurtured the team from a group of newbies looking for a challenge to a team of serious curlers with more talent than they will admit.
Their road to westerns came via provincial championships, which they slammed in January, taking out the same Prince George team that just recently competed at Canadian nationals.
At westerns, 100 Mile will be without team member Lori Fry who played second at provincials. Prior commitments will keep her at home but the team spare Marilyn Vinson is raring to go.
The team includes an interesting mix of ages, with lead Katelyn Vanderburgh the youngest at 21, and Vinson at the other end of the scale at 60.
Her brother, Jim Vinson, who plays skip is 57, and third Chris Zonruiter is 24.
All are legally blind, with less than 10 per cent of their vision, and rely heavily on coach and sighted guide MacGillivray to help them in lining up their shots.
Team members can see, with varying degrees of clarity, only a few feet up the ice. It's MacGillivray's job to stand on the ice in front of them with his broom lined up with the skip at the other end. The idea is that if the rock is aimed at MacGillivray's broom, it should reach the desired destination.
Getting ready for westerns has meant bumping up practices from once to twice a week. Fry says it wasn't in the team budget to pay for more than one session a week, so they are grateful to the curling club, which graciously offered the extra ice free of charge.
"Twice a week is pretty important because it helps to maintain consistency. You can get rusty over a week's time."
The team also took on a group of senior members of the club for a practice game, which Fry says was a good challenge.
Jim Vinson, who competed at westerns 10 years ago with a Vancouver team, is feeling pretty confident his team is ready to rock.
"We're good. Everyone knows what they need to do."
Vanderburgh is fairly confident she will be able play her best, but says that it won't be easy.
"There's lots of difficulty when you can't see. You have to imagine the other end."
Marilyn Vinson expects her biggest hurdle to be fatigue, which comes with limited eyesight.
"It's an extra strain that takes lots of focus and effort. It tires you out."
While the team may have a little extra confidence in knowing that they can beat a team like Prince George, Zonruiter says anything can happen.
"I just want to go and have fun, and hopefully win a few games."
The Blind Curling Western Canadian Championships take place March 2-5 in Winnipeg, Man.
