Jill Shumay will likely always hold special memories of curling in Balgonie, as the most recent trip there had her skip the Saskatchewan women's curling championship team.
Shumay skipped her Maidstone rink of Kara Johnston, Taryn Holby and Jinaya Ayrey to a 5-0 record through round robin play. The seventh ranked team heading into the championship then lost the 1A versus 1B page playoff to Stefanie Lawton.
After regrouping from the loss, Shumay went on to beat Amber Holland's team in the semi final and face Lawton once again for the championship.
If you would tell any curler they could be tied with the hammer in the 10th end everyone one would take it. That was the situation Shumay found herself in on Sunday. She scored one point in the 10th end to win the SaskPower Saskatchewan Women's Curling Championship.
The last time Shumay was in Balgonie for the women's provincial championship she was the third for Lawton's rink. That was in 2003.
Returning to skip couldn't have been more rewarding. The Maidstone rink is in their second season together and after they qualified for provincials through the C event at northerns in North Battleford Jan. 13 they will be looking to continue this ride of success at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Kingston, Ont. Feb. 16 to 24.
Shumay will be adding to her team, as they plan to fill the vacant coaching position and find an alternate curler, as Johnston is pregnant and due in April.
