Favorite Reporter

Favorite Reporter

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

An Ode to Fall



Some people complain about the end of the summer. Some gripe when the nights gets chilly, when the leaves turn yellow. But not I.

Some look mournfully towards a sky full of southward-flying geese. Some grumble about the leaves they need to rake, the windows they need to seal or the winter tires they need to install. But not I.

Some lament the period before Christmas, when the frigid winds howl, when the golf courses cover their greens with hay and tarps. But not I.

Some regret having to defer shorts and t-shirts and flip flops to the back of the closet, while digging for gloves and scarves and boots. But not I.

Cause its CURLING SEASON BABY!!!

I love this time of year. 
I love rustling through a pile of dried up leaves on the sidewalk. 
I love when women put on leather boots and scarves. 
I love when TSN2 starts running old Brier games to fill content. 
I love sorting through my curling bag, unopened since the spring and sifting through my musty-smelling curling shirts.   
I love walking onto the fresh air of the curling ice, and seeing the freshly-painted rings. 
And I love talking about curling again, after a good five months of barely thinking about it. With anyone who will listen.

BRING. IT. ON.

I don’t love seeing that I forgot to pay off my bar tab from the end of last year.



My season kicks off this weekend at Glenmore at the Equinox Open, and annual event that has served as the kickoff to many a curling season. It is a good chance to shake off the rust and get some good games in on good ice.
We are starting late this year again, I feel that we are already behind some of the other competitive teams. But nobody wins the province in September, and the curling of meaning is still many months away. For me the road to the Brier begins alone on a sheet of practice ice. 



SOME NEWS:

It’s been a long time since my last blog, so here is a pile of updates and news that you need to know:

I Can No Longer Bitch About Curling Quebec:
As many of my loyal readers surely know, Curling Quebec has often been a target of my griping and ranting over the past few years. Well I can gripe no more…if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!
Yes I have joined the Dark Side. Not sure why I feel like Anakin Skywalker being lured by seductive power of the Empire (that was for you fellow Star Wars nerds out there), but I have been elected to the Board of Directors of Curling Quebec (yes there was an actual election!).
Now that I am a DIRECTOR, I now posses power over all things curling. I am now expecting free beer, an entourage of minions and some fanfare every time I enter a Curling Club. Worship Me Mortals!!!  
Some other big changes at Curling Quebec over the summer. Marco Ferraro has left the building. The embattled former Head of Curling Quebec stepped aside in early September, and was immediately replaced by Marc-André Robitaille (his friends call him Marco!). Marco is a great guy, and has been Director of competitions for a year. He brings some level-headed stability to the role that was somewhat needed at this stage.
So Goodbye Marco Ferraro! I will resist the temptation to speak ill of the departed. Suffice it to say that Marco always governed CQ with purpose and passion. Unfortunately his passion sometimes got in the way of building positive relationships with the curling community, but I do believe that his heart was always in the right place. Let us see what his replacement can do!
Marco Robitaille has been replaced by none other than Alanna Routledge as the new Director of Competitions. Alanna is of course most famous for playing 3rd for me at mixed Nationals, which of course means she is experienced at dealing with stupidity. This should serve her well!

My Men’s Team has an Awesome New Sponsor:
We have joined Team Hardline, and will be sweeping with IcePads this winter. We are excited to get some support from a great bunch of guys, and hoping that the magic sticks they will give us will make my excellent-sweeping front end even more proficient at dragging my draws to the right spot.

So the guys from Hardline will be on Dragon’s Den (the Canadian show where a bunch of rich investors audition potential companies upon which to heap cash in return for a piece of their company). I have no idea how it will turn out (the show was taped in the Spring, but the boys have been sworn to secrecy until the episode airs). However, since taping the show, Stan and Archie have been spending money like the guy who just won the half-and-half at the Brier! 
They have signed on Reid Caruthers and Mike McEwen, two of the biggest names on the Tour to play with their equipment, and seem to have really stepped up their marketing. Anxious to see what is next!

The CCA is Caving (a bit) on Relegation:
The Mixed and Senior championships will no longer feature the horrible idea that is relegation. They will now adopt the same format that the juniors use. It would take me a page to explain it, but it means that everybody who gets invited to their National Championship gets to play – so I like it. 
I like to credit my blog for having solved this one! It remains to be seen how this will play out at the Brier and the Scotties, which will both have their first ever relegation tournaments this year.

RIP Bruce Lerner:
The Curling World lost a friend this summer with the passing of Bruce Lerner, long-time Montreal-area curler. I was out of town when it happened, but I think it would be appropriate for us all to raise a glass next time we are in a curling club, and remember.

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