Sweeting’s sweepers revved up for Scotties
Courtney and Pidherny may be Canada’s best
Rachelle Pidherny was taking advantage of a rare interview opportunity earlier this week to tease Joanne Courtney.
“We always like to joke that Jo is never wrong. ... She’s bossier,” Pidherny said with a laugh as Courtney feigned hurt feelings in the background.
In truth, Pidherny, 27, and Courtney, 24, are a strong, smart tandem within Val Sweeting’s Alberta rink, which begins play in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Canadian women’s curling championship in Montreal on Saturday, against the Yukon/ Northwest Territories’ Sarah Koltun.
The two drew rave reviews for their sweeping prowess as Sweeting got lots of TV time during the Canadian Olympic pre-trials and trials, as well as the provincial final.
Although Courtney is throwing third rocks this season, the team kept her broom paired with Pidherny by having versatile Dana Ferguson call the line on Sweeting’s shots despite stepping down to second.
“It’s taken a long time for us to find our groove together,” said Pidherny, the lead. “It would be really hard for me to sweep with someone else now.”
Courtney and Pidherny talk all the way down the ice, helping each other judge the speed of the stone and manage it to the desired destination.
“Jo and I take a lot of pride in our sweeping,” said Pidherny, who is originally from Smithers, B.C.
“We work on our technique all the time — even throughout the season — and, in the off-season, we’re at the gym every single day because you cannot sweep properly without being strong.”
Courtney, known for wearing a hairband that leaves her hair piled up high on her head, has been receiving compliments for her sweeping since juniors, when she reached the final four times in five appearances at the provincial championship.
“I’m kind of naturally a stronger build; I did gymnastics as a kid,” she said.
“I started to think I actually had a bit of talent (sweeping) when I got to work a little bit with Marcel Rocque when I was 18.
“He came out to a practice to give us some pointers and he got really into it, and I kind of felt, ‘Hmmm, this is something I’ll kind of be known for.’ ”
Rocque, of course, was known for his sweeping ability with the Randy Ferbey team, which won four Canadian and three world titles between 2001-05.
“The way he approaches it and the pride he takes in sweeping is something both Rachelle and I try to emulate
“It’s a long taken time for us to find our groove together.” RACHELLE PIDHERNY
when we’re on the ice,” said Courtney, who has been at Saville Community Sports Centre’s national training centre since she was 16.
Pidherny started to take extra pride in her sweeping after Kevin Martin second Marc Kennedy helped out at an University of Alberta Pandas practice.
Rocque wins junior crown
Kelsey Rocque and her Saville Centre team of Keely Brown, Taylor McDonald and Claire Tully will represent Canada at the world junior women’s championship in Flims, Switzerland, Feb. 26-March 5.
Rocque downed B.C.’s Kalia Van Osch 7-6 in last Saturday’s final at Liverpool, N.S.
Fellow U of A student Carter Lautner lost Sunday’s junior men’s semifinal.
White to defend senior crown
Reigning Alberta senior men’s champion Wade White of the Crestwood Curling Club will defend his title in the provincial championship Feb. 12-16 at Calgary. Also qualifying out of last weekend’s NACA playdown were 2011 Alberta champ Brad Hannah of the Saville Centre and the Crestwood’s Kevin Gunderson.
“It kind of ignited a fire inside of me, and I wanted to become the best,” she said. “So I started hitting the gym and working on the technique and consulting with Marcel in the camps and Marc Kennedy and getting tips from them.”
Two years ago, she finally started to feel “like I had the actual strength to do (the technique) properly for an extended period of time.”
“The sweeping thing” was definitely on Sweeting’s mind when she started putting this team together for the 2011-12 season.
Initially, she recruited Courtney (Calgary’s Crystal Webster) and Pidherny (Ferguson), who had both played for different teams at the previous season’s provincials.
Ferguson, who played every position at the U of A, joined the Sweeting team the following season.
The 26-year-old development coach at the Saville Centre is best friends with Pidherny, having played together in four Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships. Courtney, who played in the Canadian juniors when she was 17, was with them for two CIS seasons. Pidherny also played in the 2009 Canadian mixed.
Sweeting, who became the youngest skip (22) to win the Alberta women’s title in 2010, is the only member of the team with Scotties experience.