The Day I Knew

I had never previously skipped in any OCA zones before, but I was given the chance by my skip this year and I was determined not to let him down.I had always been to afraid to skip for one reason and one reason only,I was afraid that if it came down to it, I would be unable to draw the button to win a game. Regardless we entered the big mixed event, The Heart to Heart.We began the spiel playing a friend of mine. We were fortunate enough to steal one to win the game. The next game didn’t play as easily. We bantams were playing an experienced junior team.In the last end, on my first rock,I was faced with a run back to remove one of the other teams stones and sit 2 for the win.I narrowly missed it but got a good read on the ice, should I be given an opportunity to try it again. I didn’t. On their skip’s last rock, he attempted to remove one of our rocks that could have been angle raised into the house.I remember turning to my trusty vice and asking her for a play-by-play. “He did the angle raise for us,”was her eventual reply.We had qualified for the A event. We were to play an experienced team with provincial and national experience.
The next morning, my mom got her Tim Hortons coffee as usual and I,my large chocolate milk and chocolate glazed doughnut. We arrived at the club and the air felt different, like it was where I belonged. We took to the ice and the sixth end came around.After a missed double on my first; I would be left with a difficult back four-weight tap to button to count 1 instead of give up 3.I slid out and waited for the rock to curl. It ran dead straight until the far hog line when it started to move and lose speed. The sweepers jumped on it and “smack” a perfect angle-raise to the button. It was at this point in time that I knew that, if needed, I could call upon draw weight and throw a rock to the button. It was the day I knew I could skip. We didn’t win that game or the next but what I got from that week was much more priceless than a win.

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