Staff
It was like a scene out of “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” with Kris Sinclair and her rinkmates standing in for Steve Martin.
The Fort Frances rink had to take the long way around to get to Copper Cliff (outside of Sudbury) for the Dominion Northern Ontario women’s curling club provincials this past weekend—and didn’t get so much as even a chance to practise before their opening game.
But when they finally did get there, they made the most of the experience despite finishing in a tie for fifth in the six-team field with a 1-4 record.
“We didn’t know what to expect, but it was a lot of fun,” said Sinclair, who qualified for the provincials at a regional event in Atikokan back in March along with her team of third Lisa Penner, second Cathy Gruttner, and lead Cyndy Strand.
“It was a very well-run event. They did a great job,” she added.
Sinclair and her rink were just glad to get there after an arduous journey to Sudbury, which was supposed to begin last Thursday.
“We weren’t able to get a flight out of Fort Frances on Thursday,” she explained. “So we had to drive into Thunder Bay instead.
“Then our flight from Thunder Bay [on Friday] was an hour-and-a-half late leaving and it was not a real good flight . . . pretty bumpy all the way.
“By the time we landed in Sudbury, it was 11:30 a.m. local time and we had to play our first game at [noon],” she continued. “So we had to race from the airport to the curling rink and play right away.
“We missed all the pre-event meetings and we didn’t even get a chance to practise.”
The result of their last-minute arrival was a 5-3 loss to Annie Macsemchuk (Kakabeka Falls) which, amazingly, Sinclair’s rink still had a shot at winning in the dying stages.
“We were down three coming home, but we had a shot to make three and tie it up in the eighth [last] end,” noted Sinclair.
“But instead of hitting their rock full, I just brushed it and we only got one.”
Next up was Stephanie Sammon (Sault Ste. Marie), whom Sinclair led 6-4 after seven ends.
But Sammon tied it with a pair in the eighth, then grabbed victory out of certain defeat with a steal of one in the extra end for a 7-6 victory.
“We just didn’t capitalize when we had the chances the whole event and we gave up a lot of steals,” Sinclair admitted.
The local crew finally broke through against Brenda Johnston (Sudbury) in their final game Friday, earning a 9-6 extra-end decision that came down to Sinclair’s final rock.
They had led 6-3 after five ends, but gave up singles in the sixth, seventh, and eighth to create a tie. But Sinclair made the shot she had to with her last rock to score three and secure the win in the extra end.
Sinclair then battled hard against eventual champion Patti McKnight (New Liskeard) in her first game on Saturday.
But with the score tied 2-2 after three ends, McKnight kicked into overdrive to score a deuce in the fourth, then steal a single in the fifth and three more in the sixth to bring an early end to the contest, which ended 8-2.
Things started well for Sinclair in her final game against Geraldton’s Karen Saarimaki as she picked up singles in the first and second to lead 2-0.
But Saarimaki, who ended up losing in Sunday’s final to McKnight, blitzed Sinclair for seven points over the next three ends thanks to a deuce in the third and then steals of three in the fourth and two more in the fifth to lead 7-2.
The Fort quartet didn’t wave the white flag—scoring singles in the sixth and seventh ends. But Saarimaki ran Sinclair out of rocks in the eighth to seal the 7-4 victory.
“We’re just real glad the Dominion Insurance Company of Canada threw their support behind this event and they’re hoping to get even more teams involved next year,” noted Sinclair, who rated the competition a notch below that of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts but a step up from regular club play.
“We’re grateful for the support of the Fort Frances Curling Club and some of the businesses in town who really helped us out,” she added.
