It's been a wild and unexpected 24 hours for a local athlete.
Wanting to play on arena curling ice, last night Leanna Delich and her teammates on Team Chilton went out to throw stones after the Under 18 Canadian Curling Championship games were finished.
They found themselves next to Olympic and World Champion curler Brad Gushue, who offered to play a game of four-on-one with the young athletes.
This morning, Delich was called on to help out Team Northern Ontario, who has been battling sickness this tournament. At a moment's notice, she went from heading to class at Timmins High and Vocational School to making her debut at a national tournament.
“It was an amazing experience. I love to play curling so that’s one of my passions and I always wanted to represent Northern Ontario so coming out here and getting to play and sparing — it was pretty amazing,” she said, filled with emotion after the game.
Northern Ontario's Team Toner plays out of Sudbury and has been battling adversity at the tournament being hosted by the McIntyre Curling Club in Timmins until Saturday, Feb. 11.
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Team Northern Ontario third Valerie Ouimet was out sick yesterday and the team played with only three players.
This morning, two players weren't feeling well and coach Lee Toner was figuring out how they were going to ice a team.
Ouimet was feeling better, but the skip Mia Toner stayed home for their morning game. Another player was about 75 per cent and OK to play, but the team still needed another player, he said.
Teams have the option to go to the tournament with a spare, but Lee said it's a bit more expensive.
“You know, when you bring a person who hasn’t been a part of the team into the team at a big event it’s a little trickier," he said.
Delich ended up fitting in great with Team Toner.
She normally plays second and played lead for Team Toner. Ouimet, who is usually the third, was skip.
"(Leanna) came in and she was a bit of a spark, a smiling face at a time when we didn’t have a whole lot to smile about. The girls kind of took her under their wing and it kind of distracted them from everything else that was going on. I was really proud of the girls for taking Leanna in, saying ‘Come on, you’re part of the team. We need you,'" he said.
Team Chilton competed to play at the national championships. They placed third at the qualifiers, where the top two teams earned a spot at the Timmins event.
Delich was very excited to hear she'd get a chance to play.
“I had maybe 30, 40 minutes to try to get all ready. So I was on my way to school and then I got the call and rushed over here. And my brain was like ‘oh my god, I get to play on national ice … on TV too’,” she said.
After the game, her coach Steve Meunier was still pinching himself about getting to see his player at the national event.
“Seeing her go out there at a moment’s notice and perform with the Toner team and play as well as she did under that pressure, on TV, being micced up with a microphone and just executing the shots that she did. As a coach, it makes me feel wonderful because everything that we try to impart on these young curlers, she was able to use today. She used every tool in her toolbox and she did outstanding. She fit in like she was on that team,” said Meunier.
Games are being played at the McIntyre Community Centre in the curling club and arena all week. Pool play wraps up on Thursday, Feb. 9, when the playdowns start. The championship games are on Saturday, Feb. 11.
An adult pass for the week is $100 and it's $60 for seniors. Single-day passes are also available. They're available online or at the arena box office.
Some games will also be streamed live on EastLink. Curling Canada + is also carrying some games on its new streaming platform.
The full schedule and details of the Timmins event are available here.
