Chantele Broderson, 17, as part of Team Alberta will be attending the Optimist U18 International Curling Championships next month.
Fresh off her win this past weekend at the Northern Alberta Curling Association Juvenile Provincials in Edmonton, Broderson told the Lacombe Express the competition was not only a qualifying round, but also a true success.
“We curled the best we have all season,” she said on March 2nd.
Team Broderson, skipped by Broderson, with Kate Goodhelpsen as third, Brenna Bilassy at second, Madysan Theroux as lead and coached by Skip Wilson competed against five of the toughest young female teams in the province from Feb. 27th to March 1st.
In the round robin format, Team Broderson was pitted against five teams.
“We went five and zero,” said Broderson of the win.
In the first draw, Team Broderson took on Team Dixon of the Calgary Winter Club, landing a 9-4 win. On the second draw on Friday night, Team Broderson was matched with Team Sturmay of the Airdrie Curling Club, totalling a 6-3 win.
On Saturday, Broderson squeezed a win away from Lauren Marks of the Leduc Curling Club, with a total of a 6-4 in draw three. Team Broderson also came out on top in draw four with a 5-4 win from Team Skrlik of Falher.
The fifth draw, held on Sunday saw Team Broderson hammer Team Smith of Fort St. John 9-1.
With a distinct winner, playoffs were not required to determine who moves on to compete in the international championships.
This was the first time Broderson attended the juvenile provincials, but it was not by far her first provincial competition. Team Broderson previously attended the juvenile playdown, one of the other qualifying competitions for the international championships.
“It was our second provincial of the season,” she said.
Broderson said she’s excited to be heading to the international championships, especially as a skip for Team Alberta. “It’s going to be nice to have my first Alberta jacket, and have my first provincial win,” she said.
Team Broderson will be matched against teams from all over Canada, many of which they haven’t met yet on ice.
The Optimist U18 International Curling Championships will be held on April 1st-5th in Edmonton.
Teams from all of the provinces and territories of Canada, the United States and Japan will be competing.
The championships will be held partly at the Jasper Place Curling Club and Saville Community Centre, which is Broderson’s home club for the season.
This year Broderson joined the U of A pre-varsity team specifically as a skip.
“I was pretty much slotted in,” she said of the move that saw her replace previous team skip Danielle Schmiemann.
Last year, the team saw Broderson compete with her Lacombe-based team at the junior provincials and her fate was basically sealed. Now skipping with the elite team in Edmonton, Broderson is aiming to accelerate her career in the junior circuit.
“First I plan to finish out the season and then attend the University of Alberta next year,” she said.
She is also not ruling out competing in the Winter Olympics or the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in the future.
Last November, Broderson and her team attended trials for the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
“We ended up being second, ranked out of four teams,” she explained.
Team Broderson then competed against another team out of the Saville Centre, losing in the final and on the chance to attend the Canada Winter Games on behalf of Team Alberta.
But if Broderson did end up attending the Canada Winter Games, she would have missed out on the chance to attend the Optimist U18 International Curling Championships, a world-class competition and opportunity for a young curler with a career on the rise.