A Season With Meaning For Erin White

Erin White curling

Erin White curling with Fanshawe College – Photo by Fanshawe Falcons Athletics

Erin White had a personally successful season. She won an OCAA bronze medal with the Fanshawe College Falcons, securing a spot at Nationals, and was named a championship second team all-star.

“My experience curling at Fanshawe College has been like no other, I got the chance to train with a really great coach; Berry Westman, who helped me develop and become the curler I am today, he helped us with skills on and off the ice,” said White.

“Another great thing about curling at Fanshawe was the team, we weren’t just a team though. We were a family, the men’s team, women’s team and the mixed doubles teams made up a big family of curlers, which meant a lot to me. Having that support everywhere you go and on or off the ice helped me get through a lot.”

This season however, had another special aspect to it. White was curling in honour of her Nana.

“Mary Lou Ellis, was the reason why I got into curling,” White explained. “Lou is my Nana and one of my biggest supports for curling, she got my sister and I into curling when we were younger. She was there for us when we would compete for our high school games and would always make sure we were cleaning our rocks before throwing them.”

“When I got to college she would always ask me about how curling was going, my second year playing for Fanshawe was my first year on the women’s curling team and my first year going to Nationals she wanted to know everything. Nationals that year took place in Leduc, Alberta and my nana would watch the scores and try to keep up with my games but would always want me to text her after the game to keep her posted no matter what time it was. But however this past year I had lost her and to commemorate everything she has done for me to get me into curling I dedicated this year of curling to her.”

Her performance this season would undoubtedly make her entire family proud. For her personally, the opportunity to compete at Nationals is something she calls ‘life changing.’

“I would describe the experiences that I have had at Nationals life changing,” the Chatham product explained. “Every trip to Nationals was life changing in its own way, the first year I went to Nationals we were a strong team and very close, and we ended up winning gold that year. Last year at Nationals, was great not only for the team I was apart of, but for the teams we were competing against, I made a lot of friends and had a great time even though we didn’t win anything that year. And finally, this year at Nationals was great for a lot of reasons even with everything that was happening in the world. I wasn’t just competing for Fanshawe College, I was doing it in memory of my Nana, the person who got me into curling and the one who inspired me to continue playing. With that in mind I had a lot of fun playing for Fanshawe and with the team I had this year, its definitely a sport that can bring people together, and that’s why I curl because no matter how competitive you are you can still enjoy the time spent against your.”

With such a spectacular and meaningful season behind, White knows she and her teammates were the lucky ones who got to finish their season before the COVID-19 outbreak.

“I feel very lucky and heart broken for those who don’t get to finish their season. It sucks not being able to finish something you started and have put some much time and hard work into and I can understand if some students and athletes are upset for not getting the chance to complete what they have worked so hard for over the past few months, or even years on.”

TAGS
Share This

COMMENTS

Wordpress (0)