So much to talk about in the World of Curling
Let’s start with some Big News. The Quebec Men’s Provincial
Championship will be held in my home club – Glenmore – in February. Yay!
Curling Quebec has made the decision (or had the decision
made for it) that Quebec Provincials will no longer be held in an arena with
the Scotties in January. I think it was time. While arenas provide a larger
venue, increased crowd capacity and some experience in arena conditions to the
team that will represent us at the Brier, the cost was just too high. An arena
typically costs around 30K to rent and maintain for a week, versus a curling
club that is essentially free. Also, good luck trying to pry an arena away from
our hockey-starved kids and grownups in a populated area like Montreal or
Quebec City. Convincing an arena to give up its ice for 10 days in the middle
of hockey season is a huge ask, so we often ended up in arenas in remote parts
of the province.
Not sure how many provinces still have their provincial in an arena - I am sure the Prairie provinces as well as Ontario still have the scale to be able to reasonably fill a small arena - but I am pretty sure most provinces have abandoned the idea (if they were ever even held in an arena).
Not sure how many provinces still have their provincial in an arena - I am sure the Prairie provinces as well as Ontario still have the scale to be able to reasonably fill a small arena - but I am pretty sure most provinces have abandoned the idea (if they were ever even held in an arena).
The other big advantage of moving to a club lies in the
ambiance. While I believe that a full arena is a great venue, a half-full arena
often looks depressing. The days of Guy Hemmings filling the Sorel arena for
his comeback win against Bob Desjardins are sadly a relic of the past. While some recent events have been somewhat well attended, there is definitely no danger of a sellout crowd at a Quebec Provincial finals in an arena.
So the provincials are back at a curling club – and MY
curling club! Glenmore will do a great job. Ice conditions are probably the
only worry – Glenmore often has trouble keeping ice for 10 ends, especially with competitive male sweepers. For sure the ambiance/atmosphere will be awesome. There will be
crowds fighting for viewing space. It will feel more like a party. The fact is
that nobody wants to hang out at an arena; it’s cold and uncomfortable. But
hanging out at Glenmore in February with a beer by the fire…MMMM.
The other big advantage of the move is we can now hold the
event in February, instead of early January. This will be a big plus for
whoever wins, as they will not have to wait over 2 months before playing in the
Brier, as was the case before. This delay is brutal, and there are very few
practice events that are available to make sure you stay sharp in the weeks
before the Brier.
And my Mom can come and watch a few games!
RIP Moosie
Ray Turnbull passed away a few weeks ago. For those too
young to remember, Ray was the knowledgeable voice of curling on TSN before
Russ Howard. Vic-Linda-Ray set the gold standard for smart curling commentary.
Vic Rauter provided the dramatic sports reporting (as he does so well in a number of other
sports), while Ray and Linda Moore provided the knowledgeable debate and
passion. The lifeblood of our sport is in the storytelling – and Ray was one of
the best. He was a key contributor to the fabric of the game, and did a lot to help develop the watch-ability of curling.
What about us?
Well – we have played some okay curling over the past three
events – all around the Ottawa area. We did not qualify at the Fall Open, after
losing to a pretty bad American Team (sorry if you guys are reading this!) and
then we lost the semi-finals at the Moosehead Fall Classic to eventual winner
Francois Gagné.
Then we went 3-3 in Gatineau – just a bit short of making
some money, having played 6 really good teams. Gatineau was a very strong spiel as usual, featuring many teams that we will see in the Olympics in the spring. We got to play the Japanese Olympic Team (and the Swiss team - but I missed that one), who came to play with a a documentary film crew in tow. The evolution in the scale and scope of curling with the game's inclusion in the Olympics still amazes me.
We are off to a slow start, but it feels like we are getting
better every week. Just need to make a few more shots here are there. It is
strange – last year we got off to a hot start, and had already won about $5000
at this point in our season. This year, it feels like we are playing better,
but not getting nearly the same results. We will continue to practice and be
patient.
What's up next? ROAD TRIP! We are off to that vacation
paradise in the north known as the City of Gold – namely Val d’Or. They are
running an excellent tournament, and amazingly a lot of the top Quebec teams are
taking the 6 hour drive North to play in the event.
The fact is we are hungry to put any event on our calendar that can provide decent ice, decent competition and decent money without having to get on an airplane. Not that it is not fun to have Air Canada break my curling brooms or lose my luggage, but the fact is flying to a bonspiel is a very expensive proposition, one that is often only attainable for the most well-sponsored teams.
Val d’Or definitely brings back bittersweet memories for me.
I lost the Provincial semi-finals to JM Ménard there a few years back -in a
game that still causes me to wake up screaming in the middle of the night.
Hopefully the City of Gold will reserve a kinder fate for me this time.
Also worth watching in the coming weeks is the Olympic Pre-Trials
in Summerside, PEI. This is an event that qualifies the final 2 men’s and women’s
teams in to the Olympic Trials held in December. So this is your last chance to
be among the final 9 teams to go to the Olympics. The only Quebec team still in
the hunt is Jean Michel Ménard – aka the best amateur curling team in Canada. I
am cheering hard for JM in this one – I kind of feel like he is carrying the
banner for all those curlers who still believe you should sit and have a drink
with the other team after every game, who still believe you should play a
ladder game in your club every week, and who still believe that curling is a
game you play, not your job. Seriously hope he gets through - the field is remarkably wide-open.
