— Submitted photo
The Corner Brook native got her start in curling when she was 11 years old, getting her feet wet in the junior ranks after being introduced to the game through tagging along to the curling club with her dad, the late Mr. Jack Myrden, who was an avid curler in his day.
Almost 40 years later, Myrden is throwing rocks in Duncan, B. C., a place she has called home since driving across Canada in 1978 with a handful of Newfoundlanders joining her in the cross-country trek.
Getting a chance to curl on the national stage at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts — the national women’s curling championship — was something that she thought a lot about after she caught the bug throwing stones in Corner Brook.
It never materialized for her. She competed in a number of provincial Scotties tournaments since moving to B.C. but she admits she didn’t have any success. She had a lot of fun and learned a lot about the game, but she realized there would be no Scotties in the cards for her.
A few years back, a national tournament for club teams was born and that caught her attention.
She figured her ticket to the national stage could come through with this new concept, which today is known as the Travelers Curling Club Championship.
It ended up she was bang on.
Myrden, a 48-year-old with three children and three grandchildren, is in Halifax this week competing on the national curling stage for the first time.
She is the skip for the British Columbia women’s team at the 2014 Travelers Curling Club Championship that got underway Monday at the Mayflower Curling Club in Halifax.
Myrden’s rink had a bye for opening day of the championship so she had a few minutes to talk about her game with The Western Star via telephone before hitting the ice for a practice session.
She was very happy to be in Halifax, knowing she is in for a real treat with the best club teams in the country vying for the crown.
Life couldn’t be any better for her from a curling perspective. She talked about how exciting it was to be wearing her B. C. shirt and team jacket with her name on the back.
“It’s a dream, truly. It’s just amazing,” White said of throwing stones on the national stage for the first time.
Myrden and company went undefeated with an 8-0 record at the provincial Travelers playdowns in Richmond back in April to earn her berth in the national tournament.
She’s full of confidence heading into her first draw. She firmly believes her rink can win it all and that means she will have to beat a Newfoundlander or two because Susan Curtis of Corner Brook is in the house as the Newfoundland and Labrador representative and the Nunavut entry is comprised of four native Newfoundlanders.
“It’s one rock at a time. Just throw it like we know how,” she said.
Myrden is planning on visiting her mom Audrey and sister Sherry White after the tournament wraps up Saturday. Coming home is something she has done on a regular basis since she pulled up stakes.
She misses her home even though she has lived on the west coast for a longer period of time.
“It’s in my heart,” she said of her native city.
Myrden had the bye on Day 1 of the tournament. Her journey to the top begins today at the Mayflower Curling Club.
