There was a lot of curling crammed into a five days from Nov. 25-30 in Leduc, Alta. Teams from across the country competed in the 2019 Canadian Curling Club Championships, including a men’s and women’s team from the Yukon.

Both teams saw success while in Leduc, making it to the bronze medal games.

The men representing the Yukon were, Tyler Williams, Kevin Yost, Matt Johnson and Trent Derkatch. The women’s team was Peggy Dorosz, Laini Klassen, Kandice Braga and Inge Brown.

To be able to go to the Club Championships, the men’s team had to compete in a play-in at the Whitehorse Curling Club against five other teams. The women’s team was the only one eligible to go.

Teams can only have one player who has played in a provincial men’s, women’s or seniors event that season or the previous season or in a Grand Slam of Curling event that year or the previous year.

Dorosz said it gives the grassroots curlers a chance to curl at a National level. Williams said it was the top club curlers from the country.

The Championships featured 14 teams, from all the provinces and territories plus Northern Ontario.

The teams were split into two pools.

The women’s team conceded their first game against Quebec before rattling off four wins in a row. Dorosz said they faced good competition.

“At the club level teams are much more even across the board,” said Dorosz. “We felt equal to the pack. That’s the great thing about this tournament.”

Dorosz said the team’s goal before playing a game was to make it out of the round-robin. Four teams advanced from each pool.

“We exceeded that expectation,” said Dorosz.

With a chance to play for a gold medal on the line, the team played Alberta in the semifinals. Although they dropped the contest to Alberta, the eventual winners of the championship, 8-3, Dorosz said it was the team’s best game.

“Our strongest game was against Alberta,” said Dorosz. “They definitely won that game and deserved to win but we made them work for it.”

In their bronze medal draw, they once again played Quebec, who they conceded to in their opening game.

“We thought we could go out there and pull it off,” said Dorosz. “It was a good game.”

Quebec came out on top 9-5.

Throughout the championship, Dorosz said the team got better.

“The first game you are getting a feel for it and there were some nerves involved,” said Dorosz.

“We were able to regroup and continued to get better. The whole team worked together and developed together.”

Representing the Yukon, Dorosz said was a proud moment for the team.

“We were definitely motivated to do our best and represent,” said Dorosz. “Nobody likes to miss a shot and the intensity is up. I was real excited and proud to represent the Yukon.”

The men’s team opened their tournament with an 8-6 win over B.C., in a game that was broadcast on YouTube.

“I was worried about that first shot on the TV sheet,” said Williams. “The camera is right in your face by the hog line. Once you get into the game it becomes natural.”

Williams said team’s began to notice the Yukon side after their first draw.

“Our first game did that,” said Williams. “A lot of others watched the game (on YouTube). It surprised a lot of people.”

Like the women’s team, Williams said the team was looking to get out of pool play.

“I thought we had a realistic chance to get out of the group and that was a good goal for us,” said Williams. “We went 4-2.”

Williams said the team showed improvement from start to finish.

“We got better as the week went along,” said Williams. “We gained confidence along the way. When we looked at our pool we figured the teams would be tough. We beat B.C. and Manitoba.

“When we beat Manitoba, a powerhouse in curling, we started believing.”

Williams said the teams best game came in the semifinal against Ontario, a game they eventually lost 7-4.

“We had a 4-3 lead with hammer and we made them make shots,” said Williams. “They earned it.”

In the bronze medal game, they fell to Northern Ontario 12-0.

“By that point, we were gassed,” said Williams. “They scored three points in the first and it’s tough to come back from that.”

Both Dorosz and Williams said it was special to have two Yukon teams at the championships.

“My favourite moment was after our Saskatchewan win,” said Williams. “The women were playing at the same time and we both beat Saskatchewan. There were big high-fives and it was beyond that moment.”

“You do have a partner team with you to support you through the week,” said Dorosz. “We got to celebrate together.”

Williams believes the Club Curling Championships have been beneficial to curling clubs in all jurisdictions.

“This event has done a lot for competitive club curling,” said Williams. “It pushes everyone in the club to get better.”

The championships are an annual event. A team competing in it cannot go two years in a row so the Yukon will have new representation for next year’s tournament.