Someone named Galusha won a bonspiel, but it鈥檚 not the one you would immediately think of when you think of people with the Galusha surname.

Sydney Galusha is who we鈥檙e talking about. She was the skip of the winning rink in the 32nd Annual Koe Family Boxing Day Bonspiel at the Yellowknife Curling Centre on Dec. 26. She and her team of Brooklyn Hewitt, Kerry Galusha and Samantha White ended up atop the standings once all the games were completed and the points counted.

The younger Galusha was succinct when asked about how it felt to win her first event as a skip.

鈥淧retty cool,鈥� she said.

Her mom was equally proud.

鈥淪he was awesome 鈥� all of the girls were,鈥� said Kerry Galusha. 鈥淭hey carried me to victory and she got to tell me what to do.鈥�

The format of the event remained the same as it has since the original one: absolutely no stacked teams. Every team had to have at least one junior curler and one beginner to the sport. Each team was guaranteed three games of four ends under a modified scoring system. In addition to teams scoring points in an end, bonus points were earned for winning an end and for winning a game.

In their final game versus the Naugler family, Sydney had an open draw for four in the last end and stuck it, giving her crew enough points to finish first overall. The Chiasson family ended up in second place.

Was the skipper nervous? Maybe just a bit.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 really nervous, except for the last game,鈥� Sydney said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 do anything special, just played the game how I know.鈥�

Mom said skipper learned a thing or two from the big kids.

鈥淚 gave her a few tips on strategy, but she knows what to do,鈥� said Kerry. 鈥淪he鈥檚 always practising with us (Team Galusha).鈥�

This year鈥檚 bonspiel was understandably smaller due to the ongoing pandemic but there wasn鈥檛 any special exemption needed, said Lynda Koe, who organized the event. It was a great time, she said.

鈥淓veryone had a good time, like they do every year,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so easy to run because the community supports it every year and everyone enjoys it.鈥�

That support also extends to the business community, which provided plenty of prizes, she added.

鈥淲e had 17 businesses donate something to us,鈥� she said.