Taylor Rocca
Kimberley’s Buchy rink is headed to the 2015 Tim Horton’s B.C. Juvenile Curling Championship in Cowichan following consecutive wins over Invermere’s Hessel rink Dec. 13.
Skipped by Alysha Buchy, the Kimberley ladies defeated the Hessel rink 8-0 and 10-2 in back-to-back contests Saturday in Invermere, claiming the Zone 1 - Kootenays regional playdown title in juvenile girls (under 16) competition.
“What we’ve been working on since the start of the year is getting something out of every shot, placing the rocks in a place that will cause trouble,” said co-coach Tom Buchy Tuesday afternoon. “Good placement of the rocks and just trying to minimize our misses.
“The girls they played really well.”
According to Buchy, Arissa Toffolo got all her rocks in play as the rink’s lead, setting up nicely for her teammates to follow suit.
“She got every end started and put her rocks in positions that caused problems for the other team,” coach Buchy said. “The other girls followed up and made their shots. It was nice to see.
“It’s so beneficial when your lead is playing well. Good things can follow and Arissa really set the ends up good.”
With Alysha Buchy skipping and Arissa Toffolo as lead, the Kimberley rink is rounded out by Kaila Buchy (second) and Haylie Farquhar (third).
The regional playdown was a best-of-three series. Game three would have been played at the Kimberley Curling Club Sunday afternoon, but wasn’t necessary after the girls swept their opponents Saturday.
This is the second year the Buchy rink has curled together and the weekend win marked the first competitive bonspiel of the season for the girls, who had only competed in funspiels up to this point.
Tom Buchy and Dave Toffolo, who both curl together as a part of the Kimberley rink headed for men’s provincials, co-coach the juvenile girls rink. Alysha and Kaila are the daughters of Tom, while Arissa is the daughter of Dave. Grant Farquhar, father of Haylie, is the third co-coach of the group.
Apart from competing in Curl B.C. competition, the girls also compete together as a high school rink. Next up, they’re slated to hit the ice Jan. 17 in Cranbrook for high school playdowns.
The 2015 Tim Horton’s B.C. Juvenile Curling Championship is scheduled for March 5 to 8 on Vancouver Island in Cowichan.
The girls practice together every Monday at the Kimberley Curling Club.