Deep in the Black Pool at The Heather

Team Lumax is in the Black Pool for the Seniors.  It may seem dark, but they are no longer the Dark Horse they might once have been.  After curling in the Scotties folks know Team Lumax means business.  Every game matters.  Only two teams from the Black Pool will make it to the play-off round that starts on Saturday.

Lumax curls 8:30 am and 4:00 pm draws - Thursday, Friday, and finish with a morning draw on Saturday.

Special thanks to the OK Tire Squad who gave Team Lumax some practice games over their last practice weekend.  The Provincials start with Practice Ice  and the Banquet on Wednesday and then Team Lumax will be into the groove of the Tim Horton's Senior Women's Championships.

Thursday 8:30 - Collyer of Killarney
Thursday 4:00 - Fast of Stonewall
Friday 8:30 - Fowler of Brandon
Friday 4:00 - Cowling of Hamiota
Saturday 8:30 - Isaac of Charlswood

Live Linescores can be followed online at the CurlManitoba Site.

Peaking - Around the Corner

Almost two weeks have passed since Team Lumax returned to The Valley after their achievements at the 2011 Scotties in Altona.

Most certainly the team went to Altona with fairly lofty goals, but from the beginning, last October, the team's sole intention was to make their mark at the Manitoba Senior Womens Curling Championships.  These games are looming now, a mere two weeks away.

Midway between the two prestigious events Team Lumax is in training:

Curling: All five team members are playing between five and seven games per week.  The Swan River Curling Club has been fantastic in support of the team, pulling the women in to spare, offering practice games, and staging bonspiels.
Practicing Skills:  The team is taking a closer look at hit weights, differentiating several kinds of weight needed to have the full repertoire of shots.  The team is practicing repetitive shots:  tap backs, angle doubles and run-backs, freezes, nose-hits, hit and rolls, .... over and over again so Bev can ice each team member accurately.  She is watching and analyzing everyone's release, honing her expectations and ability to build ends.
Throwing Rocks: Draws. Draws. Draws.  Sliding.  Releasing.  The team throws during the noon hours. The team is improving its consistency  Shots are becoming routine.
Strategy: Team Lumax knows they must not be forced to single points as often as they were in the Scotties.  Most of the time the force was  a result of a miss,  often early in the end.  The team needs to be able to earn some deuces with the hammer.
Communication within the team is also improving.  The Lumax team is in its first year together.  These women have decades of curling under their belts, with other teams, and it has taken time to find solid chemistry that works for the common good of the team.  Knowing when to let the blood run high, and when to pull back and simmer, in spite of the excitement or disappointment of an outcome, is an art.  The women are knitting their personalities and are nearly ready to take their package to The Heather.

Excellence in sport is about Peaking.  And Team Lumax is Peaking, right around the corner.

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The Swan River Curling Club and its hundreds of curling members have been so supportive of Team Lumax, from the clubrooms to the change rooms to the ice service, the team gets nothing but good will and encouragement.  If you are in The Valley this weekend head down to the club on Sunday to watch the first annual Mixed leagues' Glow Curling.
It will be a blast!

Playing with men.

A quick nod to Bev, Florine, and Molly who gave Team Lumax a game in November, but since then, the five women of Team Lumax have been playing with men.

Practice games are an important part of a training regime.  Execution in a game situation is not the same as what a curler can achieve on practice ice.  So Team Lumax has decided to play with the men.

So far, the team is 2-2-1 starting with a loss to Campbell/Mosiondz in November.  In January it was Death by tuck draw, victims of Scales.  Team Lumax has had 2 games with Tall, achieving a W and a Tie. Watkins went down to Lumax as well.

The team is hoping for six more practice games (outside regular league play).  Any teams wanting to challenge five Manitoba Senior women, fresh off a dynamic interaction of games at the Scotties, make it be known. Tuesday 7pm Friday 7pm. Pick a date.

Thanks to MERVS for stepping up for the team.  Your crest is on our jacket. :-)

CLICK TO ENLARGE THE LIST OF OPPONENTS. 

Oh! and Seven

Analysis of The Scotties Experience - Execution Execution Execution

Everyone on Team Lumax made good, and even great shots throughout the week.  But execution was the fundamental downfall of the team.  The team needed their errors to be on the advantage side of the miss.  Lots of hits rolled out instead of grabbing the rings.  Lots of draws drifted through instead of staying in play, in potentially useful positions.  Accuracy and finesse hit weights also fluctuated, leaving the team disappointed when an opportunity arose.  Team Lumax didn't capitalize on a few opportunities that could have put a double-ewe on the standings.  But, a look at the line scores illustrates that there were successes.  The team took four teams to a full 10 ends.  They conceded twice after 9 ends, and once Team Lumax was run out of rocks in the 10th.  Team Lumax has endurance. The team came from behind to put on pressure to even-up the scoreboard.  Team Lumax has grit. The team stole ends and forced their opposition multiple times.  Sweeping calls and judgement improved as the week advanced.  Game strategy became tighter and more apparent and the game-clock, which had been a worry before the event, was managed and is not expected to affect team play at the Provincial Senior Womens in three weeks at The Heather. 

CLICK ON THE CHART to take closer look at the line scores for the seven round robin games.

Team Lumax enjoyed their Scotties experience and especially their gracious host, Edna Letkeman who was there for the team all week, with a smile and full support.  Team Lumax also wants to extend special thanks to Dale Wohlgemuth, their Team Sponsor from novozymes, who drove to the Winnipeg Airport and ferried team member Betty Kotyk back to Altona so she could benefit from the Scotties experience as the team moves forward toward their goal of the winning Manitoba Senior Women's Curling Championships. 

Tuesday Jan.25... Robbie Burns Day

We had our practice ice today, and after that, we did our skills test.  We're pleased that we all were inside the 4 foot area.  Later in the week, this could come back to help us if we are in a 3-way tie. It was a nice start.  The ice has LOTS OF SWING! 6 feet!  Who knows if it will straighten out as the week goes by?  And it's pretty keen, very nice underfoot.

Our cresting was all approved and our lead sponsor, novozymes, has stepped up to help us get Betty here on Thursday.  Thanks so much Dale.

We have two games on day one - Wednesday - noon and 8pm.  The host committee is so cheerful.  The opening banquet was fantastic and we are happy, healthy and eager for a good week and a strong showing.  Thanks for following.

Team line-up for day 1: Skip - Bev, 3rd - Lois, 2nd Sandra, Lead - Nancy.  Betty will arrive on Thursday.

Brandon Ladies Bonspiel

Friday Results:

It's the 75th Annual Brandon Ladies Bonspiel.  Team Lumax had their first game tonight - Friday, 8pm at the Riverview Curling Club on sheet 3 - designated sheet 11 for the 'spiel.

The first game of the 'Spiel was against Team Norma Purdy of Brandon.

Victory for Team Lumax.  Final Score 8-6.

Next game 11am Saturday at the Brandon Curling Club against the Betty Buurma team,who will be in the same group as Lumax at the Scotties in two weeks.   Win or lose - 3rd game 4pm, followed by the banquet at Riverview.

JUST CLICK ON THE TEXT BOX TO READ THE GAME SUMMARY.

Saturday Results:

Team Lumax was on the ice at 11am against Carberry's Betty Buurma, another team heading to the Scotties in Altona.

Victory for Lumax  7-4. 

 The team moved on in the A-Event to the four o'clock draw where they met  the Collyer from Souris, a team they will be up against at the Seniors at The Heather in February.  

Loss for Team Lumax - 6-7.  

The team dropped down to the D-event and is on the ice Sunday at 9am with a long road back to the victory podium. The team is playing steadily.  The 75th Anniversary Bonspiel Banquet was great and the fellowship has been second to none.  Lots of laughs, for sure.


Sunday's Results:

Lumax Vs Merko

Most 'spiel's are three-day affairs if you are lucky enough to make it into the outward throes of the draw.  In the case of Team Lumax, their loss on Saturday night put them back into a round of 16, meaning two wins would get them into the championship game in the E-event.  Victory Lumax: Score 7-0

In Sunday's semi final, Lumax was up against a young squad with Kelsey Russell at the helm.

 Victory Team Lumax:  6-2

JUST CLICK ON THE TEXT BOX TO READ THE GAME SUMMARY.

The final was against veteran Brandon team skipped by Brenda Linski who came off a close victory over former Manitoba Champion, Mary Adams.   

Loss Team Lumax 5-4

During the 'spiel, Team Lumax met one team heading to the Scotties (W) and a team heading to the Seniors (L).  They ended up at the bonspiel with a record of 4-2, both losses on the final stone.  Coach Jerry Mosiondz was on hand to review strategy in post game scrums.  Lead Kristin Clark who stepped in for Betty Kotyk played well for the team and made some contacts for her future curling endeavours in Carberry.  Special thanks to Brandon Curling Club's pillar, Ray Smart, who sat in on all of Team Lumax games and like Jerry, and provided valuable feedback on technique and strategy.  The team was honoured to be part of the 75th Annual Brandon Ladies Bonspiel.  It was a cash spiel, and the team earned their entry fee back and a bit more.  The bonspiel committee took a post game photo of Team Lumax that will be added to this post, when it arrives in the email.  The team was satisfied with their performance.  Next event:  Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts - Jan.26-30 in Altona.  Follow along.

We're in the Red and Under the Radar

The Scotties, aka Provincial Scotties Tournament of Hearts, January 26-30, 2011, is a 16-team split round robin.  All teams vote to seed the teams from strongest to weakest.  Team Lumax was seeded low, because they are an unknown quantity. They are happy to be entering this prestigious event, under the radar.  The team is relaxed, fit and confident, taking The Scotties in perspective, as a training event toward their ultimate goal:  Manitoba Senior Women's Championship.  No women's team could ask for a better training event.  The team believes they can pull off more than a couple of upsets in Altona, two weeks from now.

JUST DOUBLE CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE THE DRAW

Team Lumax is in the Red Group.  Take a look at the draw. (click on it)  A link to "live scoring" will be posted here soon so fans can follow Team Lumax's games, end-by-end.  Just make a note of the draw times and come back to click the link.  Sandra Tibble will be curling the first four games of The Scotties for the team because lead, Betty Kotyk does not get back to Manitoba until the Thursday evening.  She'll join Team Lumax for the final three games.

Friday at 8pm, the team has their first draw of the Brandon Ladies Bonspiel.  In Betty's absense, they have picked up a young competitive curler, Kristin Clark from Carberry to throw lead for the 75th Annual Ladies' Spiel in the Wheat City.

Thanks for following along, and take note of our new supporters:  The Corner Orchard and Reimer and Co.  The Valley really has come on board in support of Team Lumax.

The Other Four

No indeed.  Team Lumax certainly is not on this journey alone.

Sandra Tibble threw lead for Team Goethe at the 2010 Scotties in Killarney.  And she has stepped up to serve as Scotties Alternate for Team Lumax this year.  She is guaranteed action too, because the team will be short a curler for the first few draws in Altona.  No worries though Sandra is a coach and the pillar behind SRCC's Junior program.  She's curled in national (non CCA) events and has represented our Zone in the provinical mixed.

Linda Kindrat is the Seniors Alternate for Team Lumax.  She has been a dedicated league curler in Swan River for decades and now is active, thrice, (or more) per week in the both women's and senior leagues.  She works her technique and can be seen playing any position.  And she's off to The Heather with Team Lumax.

Jerry Mosiondz is the Coach of Team Lumax.  He is certified to coach both Curling and Hockey.  He has coached multiple levels of hockey in The Pas and in Swan River.  His daughters play competitive hockey and curled competitively through Juniors, with Jerry on hand.  He has developed a training schedule and regime for the team.

Barry Tall is the official Advisor to Team Lumax.  He can't get away to provide support during Team Lumax's provincial events because he has to stay home to make ice.  But he is always at the club, for every practice, and afterward to discuss strategy, to give feedback on technique, and to keep the team focused.

Next week - the team's second training event, the Brandon Ladies Bonspiel.  Again, please recognize Team Lumax's newest community sponsors Swan Valley Co-op and Merv's Audiotronics and the Fan Builders too

Full Esteem Ahead

Team Profiles – Bev Lumax Team

Bev Lumax

Bev Lumax is a farmer, an educator and an athlete. Her birth name was Watson. She is also a square dancer. Bev plays league, has a national championship and provincial participation. She's a bullet. Our skip.

Lois Mosiondz

Lois is an accountant. She's a sports nut with a family fully immersed in women's, and youth hockey. And I mean the whole family! She was born a Thompson. Her roots are toward the north. She has skipped at provincials and of course, has several coaches and other provincial players in her family. She skips in league, and also sweeps. This is her first year with Bev.

Betty Kotyk

Betty. Not Elizabeth. Born Kopecky in the East Valley. She knows the Ag industry sector well, through her work. She has been with Bev for many years. 2010 Dauphin Ladies Bonspiel Champion. Deadly.

Nancy McLennan

Writer. Educator. Throws 3^rd for Lois in league. Also known as Nelly Mills. Curling coach and umpire. Her first trip to provincials. Is the marketing person for the team. First year with Bev. Flaky.

Next week – Meet the Alternates. Meet the Coaches.

And as always come back to acknowledge our community supporters. Thanks today to Wildflower for their photography services.