It鈥檚 not too often that one gets second chances in life.
Tyler Klymchuk and Corey Chester are hoping to take full advantage of theirs and so, too, is their coach Todd Troyer.
The trio 鈥� along with Sanjay Bowry and Rhys Gamache 鈥� form Klymchuk鈥檚 sa国际传媒 junior men鈥檚 championship rink that now takes aim at the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Curling Championship at MacDonald Island Park in Fort McMurray, Alta., starting today.
Klymchuk skipped a team to the 2010 national event in Sorel-Tracy, Que., while Chester and Troyer were part of Josh Hozack鈥檚 rink that represented the Victoria Curling Centre at last year鈥檚 Canadian championship in Napanee, Ont.
Troyer won the event way back in 1988, playing for Mike Wood鈥檚 Victoria rink, which then lost the world junior final to Peja Lindholm of Sweden.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e really excited to be going and glad to be back,鈥� Troyer said of the group. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always great to go to a Canadian championship.
鈥淭yler has that experience of being there before and the front end [Gamache at lead and Bowry at second] are experienced players, not having gone to a nationals, but I think their skills will come through.
鈥淢y expectations are, we are going to try and play our best. We don鈥檛 know the entire competition. I know there are some teams there from last year [Nova Scotia, Quebec and Saskatchewan], so we know there are some skilled teams, and Alberta is always very good.鈥�
Klymchuk鈥檚 split Langley/VCC rink will compete in Pool A as the Canadian juniors move to a new format with 14 total teams. Klymchuk鈥檚 foursome is lumped in with newcomer Nunavut, Ontario, Yukon/Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, P.E.I. and Alberta.
The two pools of seven were seeded based on wins over the previous three years at nationals. The top four teams (and ties) in each pool advance to the championship round and bottom three drop to a seeding pool.
Each team will play six round-robin pool games and championship-round teams will play 10 in total. The top rink advances straight to the final, while second and third meet in the semifinal.
鈥淒o we have what it takes? I think we do,鈥� said Troyer, whose rink begins play tonight vs. Nunavut.
鈥淲e put this team together to try and take a good run at provincials and we were fortunate enough to win it,鈥� said Klymchuk, the skip, who at 20 attends Kwantlen Polytechnic University, studying business, and works part-time at the Langley Curling Club. 鈥淲e鈥檇 love to try and win this one as well.
鈥淲e just want to go in there and play our best and I think the outcomes will take care of themselves. Our biggest expectation is to go in there and play well as a team.鈥�
Which they have done all season, practising both on the Island and mainland.
鈥淲e worked hard this last month in preparation,鈥� said Chester, 20, who throws third stones and is a member of the VCC along with Bowry. 鈥淚 think the experience from last year depicted what we鈥檝e had to do this month in order to prepare, so we鈥檙e feeling good.
鈥淭here are no expectations, really. We鈥檙e going out with the same mindset that we had in Coquitlam [at provincials] and it worked for us.
鈥淚 would like to think we can win it. What we put in to this year was to get to that next level, looking for the best competition in men鈥檚 and junior and I think we鈥檝e achieved that.鈥�
The foursome has also worked with sports psychologist Christie Gialloreto at PISE in order to gain an edge.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just trying to keep some momentum from provincials,鈥� said Bowry, 19, who is a political science student at UVic. 鈥淥bviously, you鈥檙e playing 13 other provincial winners, so it will be a tough event.
鈥淓very team is in the same situation and anything can happen at a national event. We just have to take it one game at time. That鈥檚 all I have my mind on.鈥�
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