Virden’s Jace Freeman will skip his rink at what is billed as “the most popular junior curling event in the world.” The OVCA Junior Superspiel will be held in Ottawa Nov. 3-5.
“I am really looking forward to playing against some of the best junior teams in the world in Ottawa,” the son of Graham and Roxanne Freeman said. “Some of the competition includes the 2023 Canada Winter Games champions, members of the 2023 U21 finalist team, and the American national junior team. It will be a great test of our abilities and I know we can definitely play with the best of them if we just play our game.”
The rest of his rink includes lead Luke Robins, second Nick Senff and third Ryan Ostrowsky, all from Winnipeg. Senff is the son of former Virden resident Danny Senff and the grandson of Maureen and Bob Senff.
Hayward Succeeds
The Shaela Hayward rink won the Heather Manitoba Junior Curling Tour event in October. The Carman skip is the daughter of former Virden resident Darcy Hayward. Her mother, Diane, has long coached her and currently guides the rink. Ron Westcott has also joined as co-coach and team mentor. As of Monday, the Hayward rink has made it to the finals of the two other junior events they have played in this season.
“We’ve been working hard at fine-tuning our game this year and it’s paying off,” Hayward said. “We had some tough losses last year and are focused on learning from those losses and coming out on top.”
The rink played in a women’s event earlier this season. Hayward said it supplied “great competition and experience.”
"One highlight was playing Kate Cameron in that event and having a close game being one up coming home without,” she said.
Hayward has won the last two Manitoba high school girls curling championships. The rink will try to three-peat. As well, Hayward is gearing up for the U18 provincials to try to earn a berth to nationals.
Love Injured
After suffering an injury in the spring, Virden’s Michael Love Jr. is not on the field this season for the Winnipeg Rifles. The junior football team hopes the former Virden Collegiate Institute standout can contribute in the future.
“Big bodied kid and he seemed to have a passion for football,” Rifles head coach Geordie Wilson said.
