Between a rock and provincials

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This article was published 21/12/2015 (3826 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It looks like love of curling might be genetic. Laura Burtnyk, daughter of two time Canadian champion Kerry Burtnyk, is hoping follow the family tradition.

Her team recently qualified for the Canola Junior Provincial Championships, which will take place Jan. 5 to 10, 2016 in Rivers, Man.

Although her father was a world-renowned skip, Burtnyk only recently took on that position on her own team at Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club (940 Vimy Rd).

“It’s definitely been a drastic change,” Burtnyk said of the switch from sweeper to skip. “I’ve never been able to call my own game… I love sweeping, that’s one of my favourite parts of the game, but I do like skipping. I like being in control.”

Burtnyk said she and her teammates Hailey Ryan, Jenny Greig and Rebecca Cormier have had a somewhat rocky season as a new team, but they are gearing up and ready to take on provincials.

“We’re definitely cracking down on practices,” she said. “We’ve increased the amount of time on the ice, whether it’s individually or as a team. Our coach, Scott Grant, he’s a great coach. He really works hard not only in the technical and strategy aspects but also in developing our actual physical skills in the game and I feel like we’ve come a long way from the start of the season.”

The 20-year-old athlete said she misses playing with her sister Rachel, who recently aged out of the junior league. The two have been playing for most of their lives, and are both are attending the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba.

 “I was curling since I was five years old so it’s coming up to 15 years for me,” Burtnyk said. “It runs in the family. Some people look at you a little funny when you say you’re a competitive curler, because obviously it’s not the most trendy sport in the world, but growing up with my family, I’ve really developed a passion and love for the game.”

She said that becoming one of the best curlers in the world is her ultimate goal. Short-term, she wants Team Burtnyk to take home a win from provincials.

“Christine Mackay (Fort Rouge Curling Club) is definitely someone we’ve struggled with this season, and definitely Kristy Watling (East St. Paul Curling Club),” Burtnyk said. “She’s a great junior team and we have had really close games with them… those two games are probably going to be highly ranked going into the provincials.”

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