RDP curling ready for another year, Kings looking to defend gold

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Turn the page to this year, the Kings and Queens will be returning most of their core. The men’s team will be looking at another ACAC Championship and the women’s squad will be wanting to improve on their silver medal from last year.

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Second Reece Brigley and third Daniel Humbke are key returnees to this year’s Kings team explains Brad Hamilton, who is a three-time ACAC Coach of the Year.

“They are both great guys and bring lots of energy so they will be a huge part to this year’s team. They were a part of the team that won the ACAC last year and they want to do the same this season. Brigley and Humbke did not get to go nationals last year, so they are motivated to get back to that.”

For the Queens, Hamilton says Homan, Raniseth and veteran lead Jaycee Bourke will bring a lot of competitiveness to the team. Raniseth participated at the U18 and U20 nationals last year where she won silver in the U18 division and bronze in U20. For Homan, this is her second year in the ACAC which brings an extra year of experience to the team. This makes a life a whole lot easier according to Hamilton.

Bourke is currently in her fourth year so she will bring a lot of leadership and be a veteran-presence on the pebble. She is the only curler on the current team that has participated in a Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championships.

The Queens added one new curler in Cuyler Desormeau, who is a local-third and enrolled in the Bachelor of Science Nursing program. On the other hand, the Kings brought in two competitive curlers in skip Nick Woznesensky, who competed with the men’s team a few years ago, and lead Sam Goody, who is a firstyear college curler enrolled in the Kinesiology Fitness and Health program.

“All of these curlers have played in competitive curling, so they have been in those big games with lots on the line. Typically, the athletes that have played U18 and U20 have more competitive experience then the ones who just play high school.”

RDP will have a team in the mixed division this year that will consist of four new curlers to the mixed curling event. The Kings and Queens did not participate in the mixed division last year, but they expect the curlers to still be competitive in an event that is new to them.

Hamilton and his coaching staff have some pretty high standards for the upcoming year and are looking forward to adding more hardware this year.

“The coaches are pretty competitive. Our goal every year is to make provincials and then roll the dice once we get there. The one hard or cool thing about college curling is you never know who is going to be good this year until you show up. Based on being around the college scene for a few years, our men and women should be competitive especially with all the returnees.”

The Kings and Queens will start their season on November 25 with the Fall Regional in Airdrie hosted by SAIT and will go until November 27. The Winter Regional will take place in Edmonton on January 20-22 and just over a month later, the ACAC Championships will be hosted by Lakeland College on March 3-5.

Depending on the results at the championships, the Kings and Queens have the chance to participate at the CCAA Championships in Sudbury, Ontario on March 16-23.