Alysha Buchy and her Kimberley-based rink may have returned from the 2015 Tim Hortons B.C. Juvenile Women's Curling Championship in Lake Cowichan (March 5 to 8) without the results they hoped for, but it doesn't mean their trip was without importance.
The Kimberley rink, skipped by Alysha Buchy and rounded out by Haylie Farquhar (third), Kaila Buchy (second) and Arissa Toffolo (lead), finished sixth at the eight-team provincial championship, but they still played their hearts out and left it all on the table as they earned valuable experience.
"There's nothing better than experience," said coach Tom Buchy. "With these girls going through the two events they went through [high-school provincials and juvenile provincials] plus the zones, they've gained so much experience. Next year, when they're in certain situations, they'll say, 'Yeah, we've been here. We know what to do.'
"All in all, they played well and they played hard. That's curling."
The girls opened the tournament with a 9-4 victory over the Huitema rink from Kelowna. After that, they dropped back-to-back matches, including a 10-3 loss to the Drexel rink from Coquitlam/Peace Arch/Cloverdale.
The Drexel rink went on to finish the event with an undefeated record of 5-0, claiming the provincial championship.
In what ended up their final outing, the Kimberley ladies dropped a heart-breaking 7-6 loss to the Withey rink (Prince George) in extra ends.
That marks the end of the curling season for the Buchy rink.
With skip Alysha Buchy aging out of the juvenile category before next season, coach Buchy expects the girls to make the jump to the junior women's division in the fall.
"We'll prepare them for the next step up to juniors, which is that much tougher," Buchy said. "There's some pretty good teams in junior, but [the girls] will all be a year older and more experienced.
"For their first year [curling together] the girls did extremely well. They handled the pressure really well and conducted themselves very well on and off the ice. They're a great group of kids. Winning or losing, they always were really even keel."
The girls wished to extend their thanks to the community and the following supporters for helping them chase their goals this season: Kimberley Curling Club members and executive, Silpada Designs representatives Liela Cooper, Laura Cooper and Becky Hoglund, the Kimberley Elks Club, USW 1-405, Selkirk Secondary School, Selkirk PAC and Selkirk Beverages.