WHAT’S HAPPENIN’ IN THE HOUSE:
Tonight: Is our second last game before play offs! Boy, our season went by fast!
Next Week: Curling is cancelled.
Other NEWS: Playoffs will be played over 3 nights, single knock-out format - Wed April 15 - Teams 3-6 will playoff, the winners advancing. Monday April 20 teams 1&2 will play the winners from April 15, the winners advancing to the finals on Wed April 22nd.
Big THANK YOU to Erin Gilmore, Miki Toker, Carolyn Montgomery, Ellen Whelen, Helen Stephenson, Katarina Fernandez, Kerry Wylie & Sara Sils for volunteering to organize our Closing Social! Please ensure you share your appreciation to them. We know it will be a huge success!
Get to know your new WNW Games Convenor: Erika Brown!
WNW Women’s Curling League — A Note from Your New Conveyor
Hello WNW Members,
I’m excited to be stepping in as your new Conveyor! Evelyn has promised to mentor me in year one so I can learn the ropes.
I’ve been an Oakville Curling Club member for 20 years and have played in the WNW league since 2017. You may also know me from the weekend mixed ladder, where I play alongside my partner in curling and life, Ian Tetley — your club GM.
Away from the club, I work as a Physician Assistant in family medicine and REALLY REALLY love playing and being a sports fan. Our three sons chose hockey as their sport for the last many years but as the youngest is now off to university, our focus is back to the pebbled ice.
I’m looking forward to getting to know more of you over the coming seasons. Please don’t hesitate to introduce yourselves and share any ideas you’ve been thinking about. Our WNW mission is to build community through our great sport of curling, and I’d love your input on how we can continue to do that.
As we roll into Blue Jays season, remember — summer league is only a few short months away!
Warmly,
Erika
And again from last week WNW Board Representative:
Welcome Jane Donville!
I began curling in Oakville 12 years ago, and currently play in WNW and in the Weekend Mixed Ladder.
I am a physiotherapist by training, and spent many years working in different aspects of the healthcare industry.
Most recently, I was on the senior leadership team at the Canadian Red Cross, but am no longer working full-time.
I am the proud mom of 3 adult children, and love to spend time hiking, cycling and travelling.
I look forward to supporting the league for the coming years!
Even More News: Have you seen these trophies?? Do you recognize the hands holding them? They have not been located and we need them for our league winners. Please drop them off in Casey’s office or let us know where you have seen them.
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JOKE OF THE WEEK:
APRIL FOOLS!! WE DO HAVE CURLING NEXT WEEK!!
STUFF THAT MAKES US CURL BETTER:
What to do with sharp rocks?
RECIPES AROUND THE RINGS:
Blackberry Chicken Salad
PSA: Dinner salads don't have to be boring, and this blackberry chicken salad is my favorite example. It has all of the important components: a well-seasoned protein, creamy feta, a little crunch from toasted walnuts, and a burst of sweetness from juicy blackberries. It comes together quickly—the majority of your prep can be done while the chicken is marinating. It makes for a really great meal prep for easy lunches throughout the week.
Variations:
I love this salad as is, but feel free to switch it up! Leave off the chicken if you're looking for more of a side salad, swap out the blackberries for strawberries, or use goat cheese instead of feta. Same goes for the jam—use your favorite leftover jar to create the easy vinaigrette!
The dressing:
The dressing is a simple vinaigrette that gets a little excitement from blackberry jam. Make it ahead (and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week), then use on a variety of other salads or even as a marinade over chicken. If you're making this for meal prep, keep the dressing separate from the rest of the salad until you're ready to eat it!
Ingredients
Chicken
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp. chili powder
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 (6- to 8-oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Dressing
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. blackberry jam
- 1 tsp. honey
- Kosher salt
Salad
- 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 cups packed baby spinach
- 1 Persian cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 6 oz. blackberries
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta
- 1/4 cup walnuts, toasted
Directions
Chicken
- In a small bowl, combine lime juice, oil, oregano, and chili powder; season with salt and pepper.
- Place chicken in a resealable bag and pour in marinade. Let chicken marinate at room temperature at least 30 minutes or refrigerate up to 2 hours.
Dressing
- In a medium bowl, whisk oil, vinegar, jam, and honey; season with salt. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Make Ahead: Dressing can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.
Salad
- In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Cook chicken, turning occasionally, until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 165°, 8 to 10 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
- Divide spinach between bowls. Top with chicken, cucumber, onion, avocado, blackberries, feta, and walnuts. Add dressing and toss to combine.
See the recipe on the web
NEXT SEASON INFORMATION:
As we are nearing the end of our season, we already have a notice of a request for a spot for a new team! We have also received some requests for individual replacement players! Therefore, we are asking that you start letting us know your team's plans for next season.
Next Season's plans
If we remain at the current 36 teams -
- We can run as we did this year - 2 draws with 4 divisions of 9 teams played over 9 weeks each with each team getting a bye and then the 3rd draw with 6 divisions of 6 teams played over 6 weeks with each team getting a bye (total of 3 byes over the season) and then play offs using the 6 divisions.
- We can run it with 6 divisions of 6 teams over 4 draws -each team gets a bye in each draw - 4 over the season - (this would mean 20 regular games instead of 21). Play offs would use the 6 divisions.
Under both these options, the last regular game will be March 31 and playoffs Apr 7,14&21.
If we get an influx of new teams, we could accept them and grow the league or choose not accept them and keep the league the same size as this season.
If we decide to accept new teams I believe we would need to play some games on the only other available evening, which is Sunday.
We have already requested that we share the 5pm Sunday Night draw time with the men's leagues. That would mean we would also need to use the 9pm draw time, this would work out to only one (1) 9pm draw per team for the entire season.
If we lose teams, we would revert back to 4 divisions of 8 teams with 3 draws. Hopefully this won't occur.
This is just info for now. Decisions won't occur til early August, once registration is complete.