Lewis draws Hearts

Richmond rink off to the nationals after winning B.C. title

Don Fennell, Sports Editor

But the journey really began last June.

That’s when Lewis moved to B.C. from her native Regina, Sask. and formed a team with Sue Allen, Denise Blashko and Krista Bernard. They’ve been working on a winning formula ever since.

“We get along very well,” said Lewis, whose Richmond rink won the B.C. championship with a 5-4 victory over the host Sherry Heath rink.

“(Our) personalities bring out the best in each other on the ice. We lucked out.”

Lewis, 27, brings a positive and upbeat attitude to the rink, according to Allen, who plays lead.

“She always has a smile on her face and is very friendly and bubbly.”

The team had many meetings last summer, while getting to know each other. They often talked about the sport and curling strategy, which helped them develop good communication and chemistry on the ice.

“None of us had seen each other throw but we went from there,” Lewis said. “The first couple months we were throwing well but not winning any games. I kept joking to my team that we were a December to February team and we were.”

They’ll be hoping to be a March team as well—at least for a few days as the national Scott Tournament of Hearts (which begins Feb. 23 at Brandon, Man.) doesn’t wind up until March 3.

Lewis has been to three previous national championships, last year as a fifth (spare) for Saskatchewan and in 1998 playing third for Cathy Trowell’s rink.

An employee of WestJet (which also sponsors her team), Lewis grew up in a curling family and has played the game competitively since she was 12. She has three sisters who are also keen on the sport.

“(In Saskatchewan) it was either stay indoors all winter or go curl,” she laughed.

“My family loves curling. My parents flew into to watch us in Vernon and my sisters were watching on the internet. It was hard to watch when all you know is the score and they were biting their finger-nails right down. My whole family is going to Brandon.”

Lewis, whose 7-2 round-robin record earned her an automatic berth in Sunday’s final, never trailed in the championship game against Heath although it was close throughout. But while she said her own heart-rate was high, she was trying to ensure her teammates stayed calm.

“I was telling Krista (Bernard) to ensure the girls were taking deep breaths to relieve some of the tension and they all started laughing,” Lewis said. “They said, ‘you tell Kristy to take a deep breath.’”

Playing in a 10-team round-robin, Lewis said it was important to get off to a good start and “get those first couple wins under your belt and focus form there.”

The team went to the provincial championships in a positive frame of mind and aiming for number one, after going undefeated at the Coastal playdowns. But Lewis said they never lost sight of the importance of focusing on each game and each shot.

“If you look too far ahead you can almost overwhelm yourself.”