Taylor Reese-Hansen, Jordan Koster, Mariah Coulombe and Sydney Brilz are about to go where no Camosun College student-athlete has gone before -- the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association/Curling Canada national championships.
The foursome, skipped by Reese-Hansen, will be the first curling team from Camosun to compete at the national championship.
But don’t think these four are just heading to Leduc, Alta., for the experience. They already have plenty of that. Reese-Hansen, Koster, Coulombe and Brilz are fresh off winning the B.C. junior title and representing the province at the Canadian Junior Curling Championships in Shawinigan, Que., where they finished with a 5-4 record.
The squad is coached by Curl BC high performance director Melissa Soligo.
“Last summer, I was talking with the team members and somehow college came into the conversation. When I learned that they were all students at Camosun, I told them that I would love to coach them, and that’s how it all got started,” Soligo said in a statement.
Reese-Hansen is enrolled in Camosun’s Bachelor of Athletic Therapy program; Koster is in criminal justice; Coulombe is in Applied Business Technology and Brilz is aiming for an Associate of Arts Degree.
The event in Leduc runs from Saturday through Wednesday, and while this year’s event will be the 14th CCAA national curling championship (the event started in 1984 and ran through to 1990; it was revived in 2012 and has since been staged annually), it will be the first time it will be staged in cooperation with Curling Canada.
Rugby juniors ready for the Irish
Canada’s U-19 men’s rugby team will head overseas to test their game against some of Europe’s future stars and eight Island players will sport the Maple Leaf.
Canada’s junior national team will tour Ireland, playing five games starting this Saturday against Ireland Clubs and Schools squad.
Nicholas Carson (Castaway Wanderers), Peyton Eagar (Nanaimo Hornets), Hunter Grant (Westshore Valhallians), Harrison Hooke (Castaway Wanderers), Samuel Kahn (Castaway Wanderers), Jim Newman (UBC), Gui Sala De Melo Costa (Shawnigan Lake School) and Brandon Schellenberger (Castaway Wanderers) will be among the 32 players representing Canada after they made the cut at a training camp in Vancouver last weekend.
The Canadians, under the guidance of head coach Dean Murten, will also play Ireland Clubs and Schools on March 28, Leinster on March 30, Ulster on April 2 and Munster on April 5.
Island Race Series heads to Sooke
The 2018 Island Race Series is winding down but not before runners head to Sooke this weekend for the popular TriStars Sooke 10K.
The race will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday and start and finish at Edward Milne School.
It’s the 18th year Sooke has hosted the 10K and registration for this year’s race can be done online at islandraceseries.org or on race day.
The final race in the Island Series is the Synergy Health Management Bazan Bay 5K on April 8.
Senior men’s softball set for first pitch
With spring just arriving it’s time to dust off the glove and bat, especially if you’re over 55.
The Victoria Senior Men’s Softball Day League is gearing up for first pitch and looking for a few more players for the six team league. Games are played on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday mornings from May to mid-September at Centennial Park in View Royal.
Interested players can contact Chris at 250-388-4792 (cnelson48@shaw.ca) or Earl at 250-652-1538 (saerhenderson@gmail.com).
