The kids are all right.

Teammates Kelly Mahoney, Bailey Horte, Kelsey Meger and Nicole Gauvin returned from Kelowna, B.C., after representing Whitehorse's curling community at the 2011 International Children's Games last weekend.

Silver medals. Check.

Not bad for the girls' – each 14 years old – first international tourney.

"It was our first time traveling, so we had lots of fun, and everyone was very friendly, so you got the chance to meet a lot of people,” Mahoney said.

"We were pretty excited that we actually won something after lots of training.

"Everyone was happy because we played a lot of great games, and all of our games were fairly close, and we thought we put in a lot of work and it paid off.”

The girls were joined in Kelowna by the Whitehorse boys curling team, who placed fifth in the international event.

The girls opened the tournament with an 8-6 win over Kamloops on Friday, which they followed with a 9-3 win over Kelowna.

On Saturday, the Yukoners downed Abbotsford, B.C., 10-0.

"That really boosted everybody's confidence, and we thought, ‘Maybe we can actually win this,'” Mahoney said.

Later Saturday, the team lost to Waterloo 10-1 and Coquitlam 9-5 after securing third place in the semi-finals and a shot at a medal.

The girls lost to Coquitlam 8-3 in the semis, but rebounded for a 6-4 win over Kelowna for the silver.

"They really stayed focused,” girls coach Rhonda Horte said. "They did a really good job representing us.”

As did the boys team.

They started Friday with an 8-4 loss to Seoul, Korea, followed by a close 4-3 loss to Chesterfield, U.S.

The boys started the next day with a 14-2 win over Abbotsford and a second loss to Seoul, this time 7-3.

Their 1-3 record brought them into the consolation game, which they won, 5-3 over Waterloo, Ont.

"There was some really good competition, and even though everybody couldn't speak the same language, you all seem to understand everybody,” Whitehorse boys player Bailey Muir-Cressman said.

"It was very interesting to play against Korea. We all got along, and we actually learned a lot from each other.”

The Yukon contingent nearly missed out on the experience – which also included a day at H20, Kelowna's water park, and a dance.

The coaches found out about the CIG in November. As you can imagine, that late notice prompted quite a scramble.

"We just thought it was a wonderful opportunity for the kids to be able to go to an international event,” Horte said.

"It was pretty awesome to watch the kids. They've curled together for a lot of years. We had to do a little bit of juggling of positions to find kids that were all of the same ages, but we were lucky that we had children within our club that were able to go.”

This year marked the fifth time the Children's Games happened in winter and the first time it was held in North America, Horte pointed out.

Usually the Games are hosted in Europe.

"It was a great fit,” Horte said. "We found out last minute, because they were looking for more curling teams to compete, and we found out in middle of November through the Yukon Curling Association, and we were just able to make it happen for the kids.”

Mahoney added that competing against curlers from other parts of the country – and world – will go a long way in their development in the sport.

"There's almost no other teams our age here in Whitehorse besides the boys, so it gave us experience to curl with more kids our age and show us that we have worked a lot and we are as good as some of the teams Outside.”

The girls were joined by team leader Sian Molloy, while the boys were joined by team leader Shawn Kitchen and coach Dean Klassen.