Ready to represent the province
Redcliff-born curling duo will play for Team Alberta in the 2017 Travelers Cup in Kingston, Ont.
A pair of Redcliff-born curlers are getting ready to represent their province on the national stage for the second time in three years.
Samantha Davies and Avice DeKelver were both born and raised in Redcliff, and recently qualified for the 2017 Travelers Curling Club Championship in Kingston, Ont. In 2015, their team won a bronze medal, a dream come true says DeKelver.
“Last time going felt like a once-in-a-lifetime chance, so to do it again is incredible,” she said. “If your team wins a medal, you aren’t able to qualify for the next year’s tournament. This year we were able to win the south zone and then provincials to qualify again this year — we’re all really excited.”
DeKelver, 29, is the team lead and Davies, 30, is the team third. The pair has been curling together for roughly 20 years, and have been playing with their teammates Kendra Nakagama and Nanette Dupont since the beginning of 2015. Davies says the team feels good going into this Travelers Cup.
“In 2015 we were still pretty new as a team,” she said. “Even then, we were able to win bronze. Now a couple years later, we feel good going in. We want to compete with all of these clubs from around the country and we want to have fun doing it. This isn’t something we do too often, so we always want to enjoy these tournaments.”
Both women say they enjoyed their time growing up in Redcliff and curling at the Redcliff Curling Club, and both say representing Alberta is a dream come true.
“Growing up and playing in Redcliff, and now in Lethbridge, it was always something I dreamed of,” said DeKelver. “When you’re a kid you watch these big tournaments and dream about playing in them. Being able to play as a club and represent Alberta is just amazing. I love the province we live in and I want to go out there and win.”
For Davies, she is determined to come home as a winner.
“It’s first place or bust,” she said. “Just like any other tournament or game, we expect to win. Being on a club team, we don’t travel around too much, so doing something like this, meeting so many new people and going somewhere different is always awesome — especially when you’re doing it with someone you’ve known for so long.”
Team Alberta’s first game is Tuesday at 9 a.m. Eastern against Team Northwest Territories.
All games will be streamed online on www.curling.ca. For a full schedule go to www.curling.ca/championships/broadcast/