Buurma gearing up for Scotties

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This article was published 15/01/2011 (5631 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After winning the Zone 5 Scotties qualifier in mid-December, Carberry curler Betty Buurma headed to her husband’s native Germany for an extended Christmas vacation.

She returned to a competitive environment last night for opening-day action in the annual Brandon Ladies Bonspiel, which runs through Sunday at the Riverview and Brandon clubs.

"I took off to Germany Dec. 18 and didn’t get back till Jan. 4," Buurma said with a laugh Friday. "It was a nice break, but it was good to come back and get back on track, so this bonspiel is good timing.

"After the Christmas break, we’ve had games and practices, but not a bonspiel. This gets us into shape for the Scotties. We’re hoping that we match up against some of the other teams that are going (to the provincials) and get some really good games."

After trudging through the snowstorm that blanked the Westman region, Buurma went up against Judy Seafoot in Friday’s late draw in the 75th edition of the Brandon bonspiel.

Buurma, 46, and longtime lead Suzie Scott, 45, of Carberry have united with a couple of young guns this season in former junior teammates Quinn Roberts of Brandon at third and second Jen Kienas, a Sandy Lake native who is an education student at Brandon University.

"Quinn and Jen are both 25 and they curled together in 2005 in junior provincials," said Buurma, a business owner in Carberry. "We’re mixing experience with youth and we’ll see what happens. We’re really pumped that we’ve clicked and everything has fallen into place."

The latest addition to Buurma’s team is coach Darryl Andrews.

"He’s going to come with us to the Scotties, so we’re very excited about that," Buurma said of the provincial women’s championship, set for Jan. 26-30 at Altona.

"(He’ll) keep us focused and help us along. We’ve always wanted a coach, but trying to find someone who has the time to do it is difficult. We wanted to work on a couple of things, and we’ve started practising with Darryl already. He’s another set of eyes. If one of us is having a little bit of a problem in a game, in the fifth-end break, he can come out and say, ‘I see this.’ When you’re involved in a game, sometimes you just don’t see it."

Buurma and company posted a strong showing in Brandon during the November berth bonspiel in which Janet Harvey of Assiniboine Memorial punched her Scotties ticket.

"We had some really good games," Buurma said. "We had four extra-end games and it came down to last rock — whoever had the hammer won the game. We won a couple and lost a couple. That was kind of our first real test and we really did well."

Buurma and Scott are going to the provincials together for a third time, including trips in 1999 and 2004.

"I’m hoping that we can get in there (this year) and be a bit of a spoiler," Buurma said with a chuckle.

EXTRA END: Games continue all day today, with the final of the Brandon Ladies Bonspiel scheduled for Sunday at the Brandon club at 3 p.m.