It is July and the ice has long since gone, but that won't stop us from sharing with you and in-depth look at our Crusader Curling season. We requested a write-up for yearbook from Coach Dennell Anderson and she shared more than we had space for! So here is her summary of the season for all those out there who are pinning for the rings....only 8 months until the rocks crash in the rinks once more!

SPAA was held as a one day bonspiel on Friday, February 9, which wound up being another long day for these young curlers. With games running behind and no breaks in-between, some teams wound up playing 3-4 games back to back. We loaded the bus and were off to Two Hills at 7:15 a.m. for the first game of the day at 9:00 a.m. not getting home until after 10:00 p.m. The Crusader Boys' team consisting of Skip Kaiden Evans-Anderson, 3rd Zane Cribbins, 2nds Carson Vogel and Hunter Nelson, Lead Dustin Pinder played against St. Paul. This was a very close game - 1 point ends, great take outs, perfect draws, but the boys wound up losing by 1 point. With only 2 of the 3 teams able to move on to Zones it was crucial for the boys to win their next game against the hometown team of Two Hills. They put up a good battle, but weren't able to out play this great team, so their fight for Zones is over until next year, where I think they will be coming out hard making their shots and putting some wins on the board.

Our girls team consisting of Skip Brooke Krider, 3rd Mackenzie Evans, 2nd Madison Krider, and Leads Keanna Radcliffe and Tessa Pindroch. They played their first game at 11:30 a.m. against St. Paul where they were tied in the 8th end, losing by 1 point in the 9th. Talk about fabulous shots, they had quite a few in that game! They got off the ice had a quick snack and were back on the ice to play Two Hills. They had a great game playing hard and came out with the win. Now they had to go straight back on the ice to play the B final to determine who was winner, by this time the girls have been curling for 5hrs (2.5 hrs/game). We had to play St. Paul and again it was a great battle between the two teams. With exhaustion setting in and making some great shots they just weren't able to pull this one off, but that was ok because they were guaranteed to go to Zones either way. With a couple days rest, the Senior High girls headed off to Zones in Lloydminster on Feb 13&14. SPAA was great preparation for them because they came to Zones flying. Winning all 3 of their round robin games against Bonnyville, Paradise Valley, and Two Hills which put them 1st place in their pool! A great start to Valentine's Day!

Now we are in the semi-finals playing against St. Paul again (for the 3rd time in just as many days). They played hard, made some pretty wicked shots, but were not able to defeat St. Paul losing only by a couple of points. We then came up against the Lloydminster team for the bronze medal game. We lost to the home town team, placing 4th overall. Not to bad for a team that only started last year while most of the teams at this level have been curling since grade six. But look out next year - these girls are hungry for the banner, with all their grit and determination it will not surprise me if they achieve it! Way to go FGM we are proud of you. Very proud Coach, Dennell Anderson

The Crusaders would like to give a big shout out to Mrs. Dennell Anderson and Mrs. Lori Nelson for coaching the teams, Mr. Don Anderson for assisting when he could, and the following sponsors for helping make the season a great one: Elk Point Oilmen Association, BPOElks #460, Elk Point Lions, B&R, Don Anderson Trucking, Pinder Cattle Co., and Prairie Tech.

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