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Kimberley's curling champs return home

Fresh off their BC high school championship, the Buchy team recounts their weekend
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Alysha Buchy

It’s back to school again for the Provincial High School curling champions Alysha Buchy, Kaila Buchy, Haylie Farquhar and Arissa Toffolo.

The girls won the provincial championship last weekend and Alysha and Haylie dropped by the Bulletin office to talk about it on Tuesday.

It was an exciting win, Alysha says.

“This is our first big win, our first provincial. We’ve won zones of course but nothing this big. It felt amazing. My sister cried.”

That last was said with sisterly affection and a bit of teasing.

“I screamed and jumped up and down and then realized there were still people playing. Oops,” said Haylie.

The High School Provincials don’t have playoffs, you just have to win the round robin, which team Buchy did. They beat all but one team, putting together a 6-1 record. The team had come close last year, placing second and came into this year with confidence.

“We didn’t expect to win, but we thought we had a chance,” Alysha said. “It was pretty cool to win. There were some pretty good teams there.”

“Our coaches always say, don’t think of the outcome, just think of the game,” Haylie said. “You could be up six and still lose by two. Stay with it.”

The girls have to listen to their coaches because in addition to coaching, they are their fathers.

Tom Buchy, Dave Toffolo and Grant Farquhar all have a hand in coaching the team, although this past weekend, Farquhar was on his own as Buchy and Toffolo were playing in the Provincial Mixed playdowns.

And the dads try to be just coaches on the ice, Alysha said.

“It’s usually pretty good, he’s just a coach. But I do have to get him lunch because he’s my dad.”

“When your dad is the only coach, there is some personal pressure,” Halie admits. “I think if I miss a shot my coach will be mad and my dad will be mad. But it’s positive too. I curl with my dad and he expects certain things but he knows my quirks too.”

As for the dads, they are both proud of the team.

“They played extremely well,” Farquhar said.

“It’s fantastic,” said Buchy. “They’ve worked so hard. It’s very rewarding for them to come out on top.”

As Alysha graduates this year, there will not be an opportunity to defend their title, however Alysha is sticking around and will attend the College of the Rockies. This means the team can stay together and shoot for the BC Juniors next year.

In addition to the community support mentioned in a previous article last week, the team would like to thank the Kimberley Elks Club and Frank Vanden Broek - Sunlife Financial.

 



Carolyn Grant

About the Author: Carolyn Grant

I have been with the Kimberley Bulletin since 2001 and have enjoyed every moment of it.
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