Done and Out (but proud of how far we came)

Oh man.

Yesterday was a tough day. We lost our final round robin game (which started at 8 AM, which meant we had to be at the club at 7:15, which means we started driving at 6:20, which means I got up at 5:00) and were in a 4-way tie. The top two teams were also tied, but that just put them both in the semifinal. We were in the 4-way tie for the next two semifinal slots.

So we went to lunch at a place just down the street, and I had a salmon salad which was delicious and which contained vegetables (the night before we had eaten pizza and wings). Then we waited for the last round robin games to play out. Sooooo grateful that we had a 4-way tie instead of a 3-way tie. A three-way tie would have meant TWO tie-breaker games. Our game against team Hampton started at 5:30 PM and went until about 8 PM, when we conceded after 9 ends. We had already lost our round robin game to team Hampton, and they are very good.

Then they bought us drinks and we hung out and talked and laughed for an hour or so and had a good time. They are very nice people (most curlers are, I’ve found) and I enjoyed it.

I’m happy I did not have to set an alarm for 6 AM today, but sad we didn’t make it to the next round. HOWEVER, I am fired up to work hard and practice and get better at curling and work with my team to sometime make it back to the national championship. Because this has been an amazing experience. And I have already improved over the course of the week. I think my takeout shots have gotten more accurate on average. I think my draw shots have become a little more consistent. And I have swept HARD and kept going ALL THE WAY and PUSHED and HURRIED and I am grateful for my work with my trainer developing the stamina and the reserves that I needed to draw on (Thanks, Nicole!)

And it’s been interesting to experience the northern Minnesota weather. Today I woke up to 11°F and there is a brisk wind. Yesterday when we left the club it was in the teens and also very windy, and still snowing. The day we arrived it was beautiful and in the 40’s. I went for a nice walk on Sunday and didn’t need my coat. The first morning we woke up to snow on the ground, we saw a fox out the windows! So neat! But then it kept getting colder, and it snowed again, and I had to be very careful driving us back to the cabin last night because at these temps salt does not work and there were a few patches of black ice on the roads. So yeah, interesting weather. The low temp tomorrow is supposed to be -1°F at our cabin.

Partial screen shot of my phone showing the temp as 11° but feels like 2°

We leave Sunday, and everyone flying out is on a 9 PM flight out of Minneapolis-St.Paul, so we don’t have to rush. I’ll be staying in a hotel by the airport until Tuesday morning when I get an early flight to Houston to work at the National Science Teachers’ Association conference. I’m hoping to find a place I can get a massage and a mani-pedi Monday morning – if any salon or spa is open on a Monday. I worked my body hard and my fingernails are a wreck of brittleness from the dry cold.

Thank you to all of you who supported us. I hope to be able to ask for your support again at this level of competition!

OMG!!!!

At the end of game 8, we are now 5 wins and 3 losses. We are pretty much guaranteed a 10th game – either a tie breaker or a semifinal.

This has been a wild ride. We were going to be happy with a single win. Our skip Sarah has been making amazing, and I mean A-MAYYYYYY-ZING shots! We won two games today.

And, the local area newspaper covered the competition, which is cool. I am not in the article at all or in any of the photos, but it is still cool to see.

Phew!

This morning’s game was a real nail-biter, and had to go to an extra end! And Team Maywalt pulled off the win in the 11th end! Phew!

I was sitting out, not because there was anything wrong, but because we are each sitting out games (except Sarah) to give our alternate Jen more than just a couple games subbing in for Mary. I was pacing and nervous for the whole second half! I’m so proud of my team for pulling through!

Our record this tournament is now 2 wins, 3 losses. We play again tonight at 7 pm Central time, against one of the Colorado teams. It will be on sheet 6, which will be streamed. Assuming the stream works. If it DOES work, you can get to it here:

https://www.usacurling.org/upcoming-events-link/2022-club-national-championships

Tomorrow morning at 9 am Central we play the team from New Jersey on sheet 3, and tomorrow at 2 pm Central we play the team from Michigan on sheet 8.

In other news, it snowed ALL DAY yesterday, making the roads exciting. Today the roads are much better. And it isn’t terribly cold. Here I am outside the curling club in Eveleth, MN, where the competition is being held:

Streaming Info!!!!

They are only streaming games on two of the 8 sheets at the club where Nationals is. One of the sheets is the one we are playing on at 9 AM Central Time tomorrow, Monday March 21.

Click here: https://www.usacurling.org/upcoming-events-link/2022-club-national-championships

We’ll be on sheet 7, playing against team Collins from Chicago.

HOWEVER,

Our skip, Sarah Maywalt, plans to stream our games on other sheets on her YouTube Channel. I’ll post reminders here also. https://www.youtube.com/user/SarahMaywalt/

Packing

So much stuff had to be packed. After the curling competition, I am going to Houston, TX for a conference. So I had to pack all my conference stuff in addition to all my curling stuff.

Here is some of my curling stuff:

Clockwise from bottom left: my hat, my curling pants, my curling shirt, my curling jacket, my curling shoes.

It all fit in my large suitcase, so yay!

The Schedule is Available!

You can find the schedule for the Club National Championships here:

https://www.usacurling.org/upcoming-events-link/2022-club-national-championships

I curl!

I’ve been curling regularly since 2014, except when I tore my left plantar fascia and was in a boot, and March 2020 to October 2021. In December of 2021, my team won the Pacific Northwest Region’s Women’s Playdown, and thus we qualified for USA Curling Club National Championships! We will be competing March 20-27 at Curl Mesabi, in Eveleth, MN.

L to R: Mel, Sarah, Fran, Mary

That’s my team. Team Maywalt, for the purposes of competition, because our skip Sarah’s last name is Maywalt. I play vice (third), Mary plays second, and Mel plays lead. Not pictured is our alternate, Jen, who we added for our trip to Nationals.

I honestly never expected to be going to a national curling competition.

Anyway, please come here for updates on our travel, images of the Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota and the World’s Largest Free Standing Hockey Stick, game results, and if possible game streaming information so you can watch along!

Thank you!