Yellowknife rinks win titles at NWT Seniors Curling Championships

What's old is new again when it comes to seniors curling in the NWT.

No pun intended.

But the two rinks heading to the Canadian Seniors Curling Championships in Chilliwack, B.C., later this month are exactly as they were one year ago. Sharon Cormier and Glen Hudy led their rinks to victory at the NWT Seniors Curling Championships in Hay River earlier this month. Cormier defeated Debbie Stanley of Hay River in a best-of-five series in three straight games to book her place in Chilliwack while Hudy beat out Paul Delorey of Hay River in the men's final to punch his ticket.

For the women, Cormier won all three of her games with very little trouble but she said there were moments.

“We played three very strong games but we did have some scares that could have made things a lot different,” she said.

Cormier's rink is almost a carbon copy of the one that played in last year's nationals save for Wendy Ondrack, who joined the team as lead this season following the retirement of Debbie Moss.

It was the first time Cormier had a chance to play at the newly-constructed curling club in Hay River and she said the ice was similar to what you would experience at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

“The ice was great, very keen, almost like what you would get in an arena setting,” she said. “The rocks were brand new as well so there was lots of swing to them, which I like.”

One year ago, Cormier's rink was within reach of the championship round but missed out by just one game.

She said the goal this year is to get to the championship round but she knows it won't be easy with plenty of experienced players among the other rinks.

Those players include Sherry Anderson of Saskatchewan, the defending champion, Glenys Bakker of Alberta and Sherry Middaugh of Ontario

“There's going to be some tough games,” she said. “It's at a curling club so the ice will play heavier than an arena setting at the start of the week and it usually gets more keen as the week goes on. It won't take long to figure out the ice after a few practice rocks.”

The women will be in a pool with Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Alberta, B.C., Quebec, and Northern Ontario while the men will be up against Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Alberta, Quebec, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.