Life has a way of creeping up on you.
A lot has changed since Dailene Sivertson of Victoria was one of sa国际传媒鈥檚 best junior women鈥檚 curlers. For starters, she is now Dailene Pewarchuk following her marriage last summer to husband Dustin Pewarchuk.
The 2007 Canadian junior bronze medallist, 2010 Canadian junior silver medallist and 2011 world junior silver medallist also finished off her CPA studies in accounting as part of her catching-up-on-life sabbatical away from curling last year.
Skip Dailene Pewarchuk returned in September at 26 to continue her career on ice, with a new rink, but the same passion she always brought to the game.
A key signpost along the way is the sa国际传媒 women鈥檚 open event beginning Friday in Vernon. The top three will advance to the Sportsnet-televised sa国际传媒 Scotties championship taking place Jan. 17-22 at the Glen Harper Curling Centre in Duncan. The provincial champion will advance to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Canadian championship Feb. 18-26 in St. Catharines, Ont., which is also the first step in the points process of selecting the Canadian women鈥檚 representative for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
There is a lot of mixing and matching now between clubs and communities in high-level curling. Pewarchuk鈥檚 new Victoria Curling Centre rink consists of third Patti Knezevic of Prince George, second Adina Tasaka of Vancouver and lead Rachelle Kallechy of Victoria.
鈥淲e are on the road so much anyways at this level in competitions, that it really doesn鈥檛 matter where your teammates are from,鈥� said Pewarchuk, who played in the 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts nationals in Red Deer as second on the silver-medallist Kelly Scott rink.
Elite rinks spend as much time on the road playing as they do getting together at a common club to practice.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the way the sport is moving. It鈥檚 more about finding the right mix that works together [rather than all having to be from the same city or club],鈥� said Pewarchuk.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a building and learning process. Our team dynamic is getting to where we are building consistency for the long term. This group is a good fit for every one of us and we are all working well together.鈥�
The most important connection must be between skip and third. Pewarchuk and Knezevic knew each other from past tournaments. Knezevic was runner-up in sa国际传媒 to Kelley Law in 2007 and Kelly Scott in 2013 before winning the sa国际传媒 title in 2015 and advancing to the Scotties nationals. When Pewarchuk and Knezevic discussed forming this new rink, they hit it off immediately, rendering the distance between their respective homes on the Island and Prince George largely irrelevant.
鈥淚t all came together seamlessly, from personality mix to talent mix, for us,鈥� said Pewarchuk.
Meanwhile, the Van Osch sisters from Nanaimo, who have had success at the junior and senior national levels, are set to make their statements for 2016-17 beginning Friday in the open qualifier in Vernon. The Nanaimo/Richmond rink of Kesa Van Osch, Kalia Van Osch, Shawna Jensen and Amy Gibson will certainly bear watching on the road to the sa国际传媒 Scotties championships in Duncan.
Kesa Van Osch鈥檚 rink was 2012 Canadian junior bronze medallist before winning the 2014 sa国际传媒 women鈥檚 championship and placing fifth nationally at the 2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a great and fun rivalry and we have battled each other for years,鈥� said Pewarchuk, of the fellow-Islander Van Osch sisters.
鈥淭hey are on a roll and are having a great season.鈥�
Also taking part in Vernon this weekend is the Lindsay Hudyma rink from Vancouver/Victoria which includes Holly Donaldson, Stephanie Jackson-Baier and Carly Sandwith; and Sarah Wark from Victoria, who now heads a Vancouver rink.
The others in Vernon will be the Gushulak rink from Royal City/Vancouver, Russert rink from Kamloops, Shimizu rink from Richmond, Slattery rink from Vernon, Mallett rink from Golden Ears and Gyles rink from Cloverdale.
There is also a second-chance open qualifier, which takes place later this month in Abbotsford.
IN THE HACK: Island curlers had success at last weekend鈥檚 Coastal Playdowns at the Comox Valley Curlinig Club. Kyle Habkirk鈥檚 Victoria Curling Centre rink punched its ticket to the sa国际传媒 junior championship by winning the B side in Comox. Habkirk鈥檚 rink includes Victoria products third Duncan Silversides, second Ryan Cassidy and lead Alex Hovarth. On the women鈥檚 side, Victoria鈥檚 Mariah Coulombe skipped her rink of Taylor Reese-Hansen (Kitimat), Jordan Koster (Courtenay) and Kirsten Zucchet (Chilliwack) to one of three provincial berths. The sa国际传媒 championships take place Dec. 27 to Jan. 1 at Royal City Curling Club in New Westminster.
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