Addison and DJ Neill are not your average athletes

Addison (she/her/hers) is 16 and is a Sophomore at Natick High School.

DJ (he/him/his) is 13 (will be 14 in May) and is an 8th Grader at Kennedy Middle School.

 The siblings started to curl at ages 4 and 6, respectively. They learned of the sport through their father, who has been curling for over 40 years.

 The Neills curl out of Broomstones Curling Club in Wayland. They are both “Skip” (aka captain) of their respective teams of 4, and both teams are headed to curling nationals this year!

 Addison’s team of 4 (names below) recently won the GNCC U18 Junior Women’s Championships.  

 

GNCC stands for Grand National Curling Club, and it’s equivalent to a regional qualification.  

They competed for the U18 national title in Fort Wayne, Ind., at the end of March.  

DJ’s team of 4 (names below) were the regional winners/qualifiers for the U21 National Curling Championships in Stevens Point, Wis., in April. 

Addison’s team of 4 (one name substituted) will be competing as well, although they weren’t winners of the qualifier.

Addison’s team for U18 Nationals:

Skip – Addison Neill, Natick, MA

Vice – Julia Pekowitz, Wellesley, MA

Second –Kailey Price, Worcester, MA

Lead  – Kailee Pendleton, Windham, NH

 

Addison’s Team for U21 Nationals:

Skip – Addison Neill, Natick, MA

Vice – Julia Pekowitz, Wellesley, MA

Second –Kailey Price, Worcester, MA

Lead  – Alexa Pekowitz, Wellesley, MA

 

DJ’s Team for U21 Nationals:

Skip – DJ Neill, Natick, MA

Vice – Benjamin Skoog, Marlborough, MA

Second – Elijah DeRomanis, Webster, NY

Lead – Stephen Colandrea, Averill Park, NY

Alternate – Joseph Calabrese, Fairport, NY