Sunday, March 11, 2012 Tue DALLAS PosT PAGE 11 Sports Local curling enthusiast officiates at nationals By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com Alison Piatt is an avid curler. Not the hair-twirling kind. She’s more interested in the Olympic sport of curling - a game where players hurl stones across sheets of ice towards a targeted area. It’s like a slippery version of shuffleboard. Piatt, of Pikes Creek, is so dedicated to the sport, she even volunteered (“I had to pay to volunteer,” she said) to officiate at the 2012 USA Curling Nation- al Championships at the Ice- Works Skating Complex in As- ton, Pa. It was the first time the sport had been held on the east coast in recent years. Previous events The timer Alison Piatt, of Pikes Creek, had to man during the 2012 USA National Curling Championships in Aston, Pa. in February. Each draw, or game, lasts 73 minutes, and Piatt had to keep a watchful eye on the clock. have been held in Fargo, N.D.; Kalamazoo, Mich.; Broomfield, Colo.; and Hibbing, Minn. Because of the closeness of the event, Piatt had planned to volunteer in any capacity she could until she learned of the of- ficiating courses in January. “It was a great opportunity for me to learn the rules and learn more about the sport,” said Piatt, who runs the Anthracite Curling Club in Wilkes-Barre and the Misericordia Curling Club. She completed two classes in one day in Philadelphia and had to record hours of service on the ice before she could be certified as an officiator. Little did she know her practi- cal experience would come from the event in which curlers from across the country face off to qualify for the world competi- tion, to be held in Switzerland in March, and the 2014 Olympics. Piatt manned a clock during each 73-minute draw, or game. The clock acts as a record for of- ficials in the event players com- mit an error and a draw needs to be repeated. “Though I was intensely fo- cused on the clock because you don’t want to mess it up, it was great to watch this really high level of excellent curling,” she said. Piatt travels often to play her favorite sport — most recently she traveled to Rhode Island to visit a fellow curler and partici- pate in a tournament. For na- tionals, it was a no-brainer for her to get involved. “I enjoy officiating,” she said. “It’s another way to be involved in the sport I'm so passionate about.” She said it was also great to see regional curlers do well at the event — players on the men’s team from Ardsley, Pa. and Plainfield, N.J. had qualified for the world championships. “It’s exciting to see that from a person who's from a small area and has a small curling club that locals will compete at the world competition,” she said. Piatt said it was a different kind of experience - she’s usual- ly comfortable in an ice rink, but this time she had the chills. “I live in northeastern Pa. and I like to curl, so I'm use to the cold,” she said. “But it was so cold - like two pairs of socks and two jackets cold.” Piatt plans to continue offi- ciating when she can because it will help her learn more about the game she loves. “It’s both helpful to me and to my club here and it will only make me a better curler,” she said. SPORTS BRIEFS Softball organization seeking players Wyoming Valley Vipers travel softball organization is looking for a few players. Pitching is a plus. If interested, contact Jim Dunn at 333-4398 or 332- 8027. @® hosts . futsal/soccer league TN SS Back Mountain Youth Soccer will host an indoor Futsal /Soccer league contin- uing through March for ages U6 to high school age at the Penn State Lehman Campus gym. FIFA futsal ball and rules will be used. Games will be played on weekends. All area intramural and travel teams are welcome. All area individual players seek- ing a team can sign up online ! well. @ will be set to ) sure fair competition. 2 3 1 More information and sign up sheets are available online at www.bmysa.org. Gymnastics program begins registration Shooting Starz Gymnas- tics, 250 Johnston St., Wilkes-Barre, will accept enrollment for 2012 on Feb- ruary 25 and 27, April 14 and 23, June 11 and 25, August 18 and 27, October 15 and Octo- ber 29 and December 22. For more information, please contact Joelle Rose at 822-1212. Basketball league sets tryout schedule Firm A.C. Basketball will hold tryouts for the spring 2012. The full tryout sched- ule is listed online at www.firmacbasketball.com. All tryouts will be held at the Kingston Rec. Center, 655Third Ave, Kingston. Cost is $40 which includes a t-shirt and the option to attend all of the tryouts. For more information and a registration form, e-mail firmacbasket- ball@gmail.com. Blast fastpitch teams seek players The Ul2 and U14 Endless Mountains Blast fastpitch teams are still looking for a few qualified players to fill their 2012 rosters. Those interested in U12 should contact John Keefe at 885-5808. Interested Ul4 players should contact Bill Kern at 498-5991. The Endless Mountains Blast is a travel fastpitch : ftball organization based in annock. Additional ormation can be found at http://www.eteamz.com/ endlessmtblast, or by e- mailing ronh@sbsmod.com. 4 CEs Knicks’ Jack Farrell, right, drives to the Suns’ Michael Starbuck, right, goes in hoop past Suns’ Michael Starbuck. DYB Champions for a layup. wo Knicks’ Aiden Conrad launches a ESR 3 1 A SN three-pointer against the Suns. Sun's Todd Phillips, left, drives to the basket as Knicks’ Jack Farrell defends in the grad championship game at the Dallas High School gymnasium on Sunday afternoon. 7TH/8TH GRADE BOYS CHAMPIONSHIPS Spurs 55 Magic 38 Sukhmail Mathon poured in 30 points to lead the Spurs to a 55-38 win over the Magic in the championship € ners. Lee Eckert led the Magic with 19 points while Nico Deluca added 6 points in a losing cause. Conner McCarty and Frankie Bevavi- Paul Zablotney added 10 points for the winners and Spencer Bowanko add- ed 8 points and numerous assists. Chris Menning also played well for the win- no played great defense for the Magic. ets. 5TH/6TH GRADE BOYS CHAMPIONSHIPS Raptors 32 Hornets 30 Michael Anderson scored 14 points to . lead the Raptors to a hard fought 32-30 victory over the Hornets in the title game. Josh Lupole added 10 points for the Raptors while Zack Bloom, Zack Palfey and Zack Hill all played excellent defense for the winners. The Hornets were led by Andrew Kovalick with 15 points while Derek Answini chipped in with 9 points in a losing cause. Nick Whitesell, Blaine Rex and Cole Wyffels BILL TARUTIS PHOTOS/FOR THE DALLAS POST e 3-4 Dallas Youth Basketball played excellent defense for the Horn- 3RD/4TH GRADE BOYS CHAMPIONSHIPS Suns 48 Knicks 25 : Todd Phillips exploded for 38 points as the Suns defeated the Knicks 48-25 in the championship game. Ethan Capita- no and Michael Starbuck each added 5 points for the Suns while Nathaniel Spare and Cooper Kelly played excel- lent defense for the winners. Jack Far- rell led the Knicks with 19 points while Aiden Conrad and Drew Lojewski also played well for the Knicks. LA a aa lS ES SA DMAC RESULTS The Dallas Mountaineer Aquat- ic Club had a strong showing at the Northeast PA Age Group Swim League District Champion- ships, earning 69 medals (first - eighth place) and 48 ribbons (ninth - 16th place). The event was held at the Wilkes-Barre CYC on Feb. 26 (boys) and March 4 (girls). FIRST PLACE Annalise Cheshire 50 Freestyle & 100 Freestyle Ava Baur 10 & Under 100 Freestyle Jordan Bond 6 & Under 50 Freestyle Dominic Augustine 14 & Under 200 Freestyle Hunter Kline, Madison Feder- ici, Julia Sabol, Ava Baur Girls 10 & Under 200 Medley Relay SECOND PLACE Abby Zolner 12 & Under (2) 100 IM & 50 Fly Ava Baur 10 & Under 50 Freestyle Kaylin Augustine 14 & Under 100 Back Jordan Bond 6 & Under 25 Breast Porter Luksic 14 & Under 200 IM Gabriel DeLuna 6 & Under 25 Breast Tyler Manzoni 12 & Under 50 Breast Tyler Manzoni, Donovan McCall, Troy Reinert, Thomas Manzoni Boys 12 & Under Free Relay Ethan Meuser, Tal Richards, Tanner Manzoni, Gary Weaver Boys 8 & Under 100 Medley Heather Shively, Madison Hurst, Abby Zolner, Annalise _ Cheshire Girls 12 & Under 200 Free Relay Lauren Finnegan, Krista Vivian, Julia Baur, Felicia Brittain Girls 14 & Under 200 Medley Relay THIRD PLACE Kaylin Augustine 14 & Under 50 Free Madison Hurst 12 & Under 50 Fly Julia Baur 14 & Under 100 Fly Jordan Bond 6 & Under 25 Back Dominic Augustine 14 & Under 100 Fly Porter Luksic 14 & Under 100 Breast Amanda Puza, Lauryn Lombar- do, Emma Thomas, Lauren Hurst Girls 8 & Under 100 Free Relay Jordyn Miller, Jessica Ravert, Taylor Cercone, Peyton Ross Girls 12 & Under 200 Medley Relay FOURTH PLACE Madison Federici 10 & Under (2) 100 IM & 50 Breast Julia Baur 14 & Under 100 Freestyle Madison Hurst 12 & Under 50 Back Julia Sabol 10 & Under 50 Back Jarod Willis 14 & Under 200 Free Gary Weaver 8 & Under 25 Free Porter Luksic 14 & Under 100 Fly Thomas Manzoni 12 & Under (2) 100 Free & 50 Fly Tyler Manzoni 12 & Under 50 Back Mikail Krochta, Evan Sabecky, Garrett Pall, Conner McAndrew Boys 12 & Under 200 Medley Relay FIFTH PLACE Lauren Finnegan 14 & Under 200 Freestyle Hunter Kline 10 & Under 50 Back Jordyn Miller 12 & Under 50 Back See RESULTS, Page 12