MOOSE JAW — February’s U18 national curling championship in Saskatoon will be a family affair for Moose Jaw’s female team, as the group has two sets of sisters being coached by one of their mothers.
Nationals take place from Sunday, Feb. 16 to Sunday, Feb. 23, with The Friendly City’s Team Hogeboom representing Saskatchewan on the female side of the tournament.
The group qualified for nationals after winning provincials in early January.
The U18 girls team includes skip Kaylee Hogeboom, third Payton Fisher, second Abby Hogeboom, lead Kelsey McQueen and alternate/lead Callista McQueen. They are coached by Barb Owens, the Hogebooms’ mother.
Moose Jaw is also sending a U18 boys team to nationals; the group — which placed second at provincials — is comprised of skip Dayne Heisler, third Blake Montgomery, second Riley Cushway and lead Laine Burnham. Their coach is Rod Montgomery.
Moose Jaw’s Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans (ANAVETS) Club No. 252 recognized both teams recently with a $500 cheque.
‘Quite the honour’
Kaylee Hogeboom said it was “quite the honour” to compete at nationals, especially since she is graduating high school and it is her last year of competitive curling in Saskatchewan. So, she thought it was great to attend this event as Team Saskatchewan.
This is the first time the A.E. Peacock Collegiate athlete and her team have attended nationals — this is their second year together — as they finished fourth in 2024. Their goal at nationals is to make playoffs and hopefully win.
“We’re so excited. It’s such a wonderful opportunity … ,” said Hogeboom, who has curled for 11 years.
With a smile, the Grade 12 student said it’s interesting to have her mother be the coach, while it helps with communication and discussing strategies since she learned everything she knows from her mom. This also makes it easier to have conversations at home.
“But … as it is with family, it is a little bit different. And I would consider myself to be very much like my mother, so that’s a little hard to navigate,” Hogeboom smiled. “But, overall, it’s a really good dynamic.”
The skip said competing with her younger sister offers a similar dynamic since they work well together and know each other, which is a strength. But, as with most sibling relationships, “sometimes there’s a little bit of trouble, but nothing too serious.”
Hogeboom added that it is great to have two sets of sisters competing together since it makes being a team easier as they know each other already.
Coach Owens agreed that there are “dynamics” and challenges with coaching her daughters, but they’re thrilled to compete together because of how special the situation is. Meanwhile, she was proud of how the team handled itself.
“… We put a lot of pressure on these teenagers. They’re in some really high-pressure games (and) high-pressure situations,” she added. “And I’m incredibly proud of the way they’ve responded.”
Callista McQueen, in Grade 12 at Peacock, has been curling for four years and thought competing at nationals was exciting after such a short time on the pebbled ice. She noted that she’s been curling with Kaylee since Grade 9 and that’s also been great.
With a laugh, McQueen said it’s been good curling with her sister — who’s younger by 13 months — and, even with the occasional sibling spat, she wouldn’t change that situation since she likes having Kelsey around — a sentiment that Kelsey echoed.
Meanwhile, they also play basketball together, so both acknowledged that they’re together “a lot.”
“But it’s nice to experience these new opportunities together. And it’s good because I feel like I have someone to talk to,” said Callista, adding while they were nervous, they looked forward to this once-in-a-lifetime tournament.
Don Purrington, the ANAVETS’ president, said the organization was thrilled to support the curling teams since the youths were the future leaders of Canada, and, could potentially represent Team Saskatchewan or Team Canada as adults.
To support both teams financially, email [email protected] and [email protected].
