In October of 2010, my husband and I joined our local curling club in Milton, Ontario. Neither of us had curled previously, outside of one or two experiences with friends/work. The curling club was close to home, and it seemed like a great way to be active and social throughout the winter. Immediately, we knew it was the right fit for us and we settled into a Friday night social draw.
Two weeks after joining the club, I found out I was pregnant. Right away I started researching if curling was a thing I could do while pregnant and the first result I found was about Kristie Moore, who had recently been an alternate on Team Canada at the Vancouver Olympics at 5 months pregnant. This seemed promising, so at the first appointment with my doctor I asked if I could still curl, to which he replied, “probably??!”.
I decided to stick with it and spent my first curling season expanding not only my curling skills, but also my belly. By the end of the season, getting into (and out of) the hacks was a bit of an adventure, and hitting the broom was always a miracle as my belly was perpetually in the way. But even with those struggles, everyone in my draw was incredibly supportive and always looking out for me. My daughter, Claire, was born in June and I was able to get right back on the ice the following October.
Between then and now, many other exciting things have happened. I spent another season pregnant, this time with my son, Rory (although his April birthday meant that I didn’t quite make it to the end of the season). I joined more draws when time allowed for it, I helped run my school’s curling team, and both of my own children joined our club’s Lite Rocks program.
Claire is now 12-years-old and is part of the bantam program at our club. She’s always looking for opportunities to be on the ice more, and offered to spare in the women’s draw that I also curl in. Our draw was short a player this year, so she was offered a full-time spot. Now, I get to spend every Tuesday night on the ice with her, and I can’t help but to think back to the beginning of my curling career, which was also spent with her. I couldn’t have known at the time that the baby I was carrying on the ice would become a curler herself. Curling has given my entire family the opportunity to spend quality time together in a welcoming environment, and I couldn’t be more thankful.
