Next week the Vankleek Hill Collegiate Institute (VCI) Rebels Girls Curling Team will be heading to North Bay to compete in the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association provincial curling championships, which run from March 22 to 25.
It’s the second year in a row that the girls’ team has made the finals. Kelley Allen, who coaches the girls at the Vankleek Hill Curling Club, told The Review that the team had a strong showing at provincials last year, but fell just shy of making it into the finals.
This year’s team is composed of four returning members, including Allen’s two daughters, Cathy Allen, who is the team skip and Caitlin Allen who plays third. Meghan Courtemanche is the team’s second and lead position is being shared between Natasha Fortin and the team’s newest member, Kyla Baranowski. The team will be joined at provincials by VCI Curling Team Coach Dan Tremblay, who has been training the team since it was formed three years ago.
All five of the girls received additional training through the Vankleek Hill Curling Club’s Little Rocks and Junior programs.
On Friday night more than 160 people came out to support the team at a spaghetti dinner fundraiser that was held at the Vankleek Hill Curling Club. A live cake auction raised $240 for a single cake, while a silent cake auction raised an additional $100. The entire event raised an estimated $2,500 which will be used to offset costs associated with travel, accommodations, meals and uniforms for OFSAA.
