For a curler living on the Gold Coast, success requires a passport.
With no dedicated curling facilities in Australia, Bond University Elite Athlete Jessica Wytrychowski spent most of May training and competing in New Zealand for the 2026 Australian National Curling Championships.
She returned home as a two-time Australian champion.
The Juris Doctor student claimed gold in both the Women's and Mixed Doubles competitions.
For Wytrychowski, the achievement marked an unexpected return to the sport she thought she had left behind when she moved from Canada to study law at Bond University two years ago.
"When I moved to Australia, I decided to commit to my career in law and more or less take a break and retire from curling," she said.
"But I quickly figured out that retirement doesn't work for me."
Curling has been part of Wytrychowski's life since childhood. Growing up in Canada, she first became fascinated by the sport after seeing players on the ice at her local curling rink.
"I wanted to curl from the time I was three years old," she said.
After getting into the sport at age six, she progressed through the ranks, competing at a junior level before representing the University of Calgary.
Continuing that journey in Australia has presented a unique challenge.
Australia does not have a dedicated curling rink, meaning athletes must travel overseas to properly train and compete on regulation ice.
For Wytrychowski, that meant balancing full-time law studies with off-ice training on the Gold Coast before spending weeks in New Zealand preparing for the national championships.
"Because I have trained for so long in Canada, it really does come back to muscle memory for me," she said.
"My training here is mostly in the gym, focusing on strength, balance and making sure my body can perform at its best when I compete."
The support of Bond University's Elite Athlete Program helped make this dream a reality.
"Bond University has been fantastic," she said.
"The BESPie program has allowed me more flexibility when I'm competing, and they've been really supportive in helping me balance my athletics and my studies."
With graduation approaching later this year, Wytrychowski plans to complete her Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice before pursuing a legal career in Australia.
But despite juggling the demands of sport and full-time study, one thing is certain: her brief retirement from curling is well and truly over.