The UW Women’s Curling team secured a silver medal at the OUA Women’s Curling Championship.
“It felt great to win silver at OUAs this year. After coming just short in the quarter-finals for the last couple OUAs, making the final and winning the silver was a great accomplishment and something we’re very proud of,” said Katie Ford, the skip of the team.
UW hosted 14 other OUA schools when the championship resumed this winter, after a long pause due to the pandemic. The team finished 3-1 in pool play and earned two victories in the quarter and semi-final matches.
“This season has been tricky. Like last year, COVID disrupted our season mid-way through which made preparations for the OUA very limited. I think we got just under two months of practicing as a team before the government shutdown everything down, and then just over two months when everything opened up in the new year,” Ford said.
UW beat McMaster University 9-4 in the quarter-final and Brock University with a score of 8-2 in the semi-final. The final game ended with a score of 4-2 in favour of Wilfrid Laurier University.
“This season has been quite the challenge for us, but we worked really hard to make the most of the practices we had together and spend time connecting off the ice to become a more cohesive team when OUAs rolled around,” Ford said.
There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the championship because of COVID-19 and government restrictions.
“We didn’t even know if OUAs were going to happen this season because USPORTS curling was cancelled early in the year, so there was a lot of uncertainty, but regardless, our team came out to practice every week no matter what because we love to play curling and even if the OUA didn’t happen, there is always room to get better for next year,” Ford said.
Ford believes that this win was a team effort.
“I wouldn’t be a great teammate if I didn’t mention just how proud I am of my fellow teammates. It’s been such an honour to curl with these ladies and they set me up so well throughout OUAs,” she said. “This may be my last year with the team, but the future of UW varsity curling is in great hands with Adrienne, Caitlyn, Shannon, and Kyra, and our amazing coaches Taylor, Bridget, and Jamie. This silver is just the beginning for the program and I can’t wait to see what they continue to do.”
