Left to right, Coach Laurel deGoeij, Skip Rachel Rice, 3rd Taylor Reese Hanson, 2nd Micaela Stevenson, Lead Leah Anthony, and alternate Emma Baker.

Left to right, Coach Laurel deGoeij, Skip Rachel Rice, 3rd Taylor Reese Hanson, 2nd Micaela Stevenson, Lead Leah Anthony, and alternate Emma Baker.

Kitimat curlers make a clean sweep

A Kitimat girls curling rink swept circles around their competition in Smithers at a regional high school zones championship.

A Kitimat girls curling rink swept circles around their competition in Smithers at a regional high school zones championship.

Their skillful play at the high school junior girls and boys zones playoffs means the rink will take to Kamloops shortly to test their might against provincial competitors.

That tournament begins February 28.

Coach Laurel deGoeij said their top performance in Smithers can be partially attributed to facing a relatively new team in the Bulkley Valley community. However the Kitimat rink has experience in high-level competition. They attended provincials last year and placed third, said deGoeij.

This year is deGoeij’s first year as the coach.

Looking ahead to their eventual performance in Kamloops, she said the girls are feeling confident.

“It’s certainly going to be stiffer [competition],” she added.

Kitimat Northern Sentinel