News 2005
April 29, 2005:
Ice Cup: Are they also nice - on ice?
Four nice ladies from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania US have formed a team to play in Ice Cup. Even before coming to Akureyri they have put a spell on the webmaster of curling.is and he will be going with them to Grimsey and passing the Arctic circle the day after Ice Cup.
Sue
Haigney (middle) is the skip and probably responsible for them even thinking of going to Iceland. It all started
when she signed the guest book on curling.is and got a reply from the webmaster. From that point their destiny was
clear. Sue has been curling for many years (but will not say how many). She owns and teaches at a Montessori Pre-School
in Wayland, Massachusetts (home of Broomstones Curling
Club – see photo). She enjoys her house on Cape
Cod,
playing golf and her new puppy, a Golden Retriever named "Rosie". She is only 8 weeks old (Rosie that is) and she
(Sue that is) hates to leave her for ten days but....curling calls! Because of recent shoulder surgery, Sue will be
"attempting" to use the stick and throw lead or second rocks and skip the games. She has always lifted her stones
but her team mate Gwen Krailo is determined she will teach her how to do the "no lift" delivery in Iceland... a long
way to go to try a new delivery!
The
vice, Judy Melzer, comes from a city of chocolate, Hershey, Pennsylvania. She curled at a club there but
unfortunately that club had to close. Now she curls in Philadelphia Curling Club and does not mind the drive. Quite a distance, but curlers don’t mind. She is the past President of the USWCA (United States Women's Curling Association) and now serves as
Chairperson of the Membership Committee of USWCA. She is an avid (and good) golfer and besides her house in Hershey,
loves her house on a lake in the mountains of Pennsylvania , and of course, her Welch Springer Spaniel, "Reggie".
Judy is vicing in the Ice Cup.
Gwen Krailo (left), the second in this team of ladies, comes from Nashua, New Hampshire where she curls at Nashua Country Club – but she also curls at Broomstones Curling Club in Wayland MA although that means a lot of driving. This is Gwen’s 15th year of curling. She doesn’t jus curl, she is also a certified curling instructor, curling official and Ice Technician. She conducts annual “Learn to Curl” programs at Nashua CC. As an official she has been at 10 regionals (several times as Chief Umpire), 6 National championships, 3 World championships, and the Olympics. Gwen has been secretary of curling at Nashua for the past 12 years. She is currently 2nd VP of the Grand National Curling Club and, in two years, will be the third female president of the organization.
Sue Porada (right) has been curling for about 10 years. The first Open House she attended at Broomstones, she didn't sign up because she hated the thought of walking/sliding on ice, which has always been her main reason for not ice skating. Then two years later, she again went to a Broomstones Open House and got hooked on curling! Sue is active in the Broomstone's Ladies Curling Club and has served as Secretary and as Ladies league Coordinator. Sue is a retired manager from Hewlett Packard and is back on contract with the company as a training project manager. When Sue is not working or curling, she loves to travel with her long time man friend (he is too old to be called a boy friend)!
The ladies all curl in what they call "the circuit" - that is, Bonspiels that bring together curlers from their part of the United States. Over the years they have gotten to know each other from all of these 'spiels and have hooked up as a team for Ice Cup.
They have not said much about winning but more about having fun when in Iceland. Lookin at their photos and noticing how the lines on their jackets glow, one might think that they are ready to curl in the dark – so surely no team should underestimate them. Although they are nice ladies one can not count on them being as nice – on ice!