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. :-)

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