The nickname âMiss Octoberâ would normally carry negative connotations for someone who plays a winter sport — suggesting a hot start and cooling down when it matters most — but that isnât the case for Kendra Lilly.
The 27-year-old from Sudbury, who throws third stones for Northern Ontarioâs Team McCarville, has earned the somewhat dubious moniker because sheâs the featured athlete for that month in the 2019 Women of Curling Calendar.
“Oh, it’s not too bad,” Lilly said. “I was just happy to be any month really.”
Did Lilly ever think publisher George Karrys would ask her to appear in the fundraising venture?
âAbsolutely not,â she said with a laugh. âWhen he asked I was like, âAre you sure? Me?â I donât know, never thought in a million years but itâs pretty cool.â
Once the initial shock wore off, Lilly didnât have much hesitation about going through with it.
âI donât really like having my picture taken so only that,â she said. âNow that itâs done and just being able to raise money for a good cause is a good feeling.â
Lilly is among 15 athletes who posed for the 2019 Women of Curling Calendar with each curler donating a portion of proceeds to a charity of their choice. Lilly is supporting the Alzheimer Society Sudbury-Manitoulin North Bay & Districts.
âI think that disease hits home and I see how it affects the families and everyone else around them,â she said. âI just wanted to help raise money for them.â
The calendar has alternated back and forth in recent years between featuring male and female curlers and ranging from risquĂŠ (e.g. last year Colin Hodgson wore an apron … and nothing else) to something more classy. Lilly opted to steer closer to the latter rather than the former with her featured picture.
âOur team, we just have a big focus on fitness and being active, so mine was outside just in workout gear,â Lilly said. âDoing something a little bit more risquĂŠ wasnât really my type so I just wanted to do something that showed that we focus on fitness and I think it did. I think the pictures turned out well.â
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With that in mind, Lilly set out to the great outdoors of Northern Ontario and down the uncharted path.
âThey kind of put it in your own hands to do whatever, so I had a cousin of mine, Keshia, take the photos,â Lilly said. âShe had reached out to me and said, âHey I can do your photos for you,â so we met in a little town where she lives — Espanola, outside of Sudbury — and we just pulled right off of the highway. There were some rocks and then we went up this big path to back in the bush. It was a little dangerous but it was worth it for the picture.â
Things didnât go off without a hitch, of course.
âMy best friend came and she had an allergic reaction all over her feet,â Lilly said. âOur photographer had some problems too, so it was a lot of fun.â
Lillyâs main takeaway from the whole experience was learning she has horrible posture.
âShe was saying like your back is still hunched and Iâm sitting there trying,â Lilly said with a laugh. âIt was uncomfortable but itâs good to put yourself out there and to raise money, so itâs a good feeling.â
As for the final pictures, well, youâll just have to purchase a calendar to check them out.
The 2019 Women of Curling calendar ($29.95 CDN) is available online at womenofcurling.ca or you can pick one up in person during the Tour Challenge from the Goldline Curling pop-up shop located at Tournament Centre.