All Posts

On this cold January evening I am staying warm indoors. While the music is playing in the background, I am relaxing in my lazy boy chair, with my senior dog close by to keep me company. As I look down at my right knee, elevated and wrapped in a hot compress, my two tabs of ibuprofen are finally kicking in. I ponder how I could have avoided my predicament of reactivating this old curling injury. In hindsight, I realise that I should have spent more time doing my usual active pregame stretches and actually do some static post game stretches after my curling game today.

Ironically, the importance of stretching was one of the topics covered at a mid season 3 day curling camp that I recently attended in Welland, ON. After camp I came back home with a lot of new curling tips , which I have been methodically incorporating into my curling games and also into my practice sessions. I have also kept in touch with 3 of my classmates and new curl friends, Cathy, Linda, and Shelley. We exchange updates on what we have been practising and some of the challenges that we have faced or overcome in our curling games.

As I reflect on our last day of camp, I do so with a smile on my face. As teammates and I played against another team of advanced curlers. Everyone got a chance to ascend, every end, into a new position. Erin, the Pro on our sheet, stayed in the house as she helped each new skip with strategy and broom placement.

By the last end in this game, my teammates and I were down by 3 points, without hammer. This prompted Erin, the Pro, to call for a team huddle in which we unanimously agreed that we had to play offensively and try to steel points. We started by placing a tight center guard , which later was promoted into the house. As the game unfolded, our offensive strategy paid off and we won the game by a point. We managed to steal 4 points in the last end.

As we were getting off the ice after the game, one of my teammates whispered to me and said ” we really weren’t that good” The lesson learned is that we had to outplay our opponent. Also, having a plan and implementing it paid off for the team.

Meet my teammates from left to right in photo;
Cathy McCallum (North Bay curler) played lead in the last end and help set up shots. She’s a helmet wearing senior who played her ukulele after camp dinners. Don’t ask her how old she is or ” it will cost you”. She has been working on calling out her rocks final destination prediction as she’s sweeping.

Linda Hooper (London curler) shot maker, and jokester. She jokingly asked if using her car seat warmer on the way to her game counts as a warm up? Uh, no. She creatively came up with some of the names we now call ourselves including Hot Shot Hotties, and curlfriends. She intends to upgrade her equipment soon by purchasing new shoes which will inevitably help her with her slide.

Shelley Upton (Welland curler) team leader with home ice advantage. She has been trying to get used to using two grippers while sweeping. Another new challenge has been placing her broom in the right place for extra curly recently sharpened rocks.

Andrea Smith (Almonte and Carleton Place curler) team cheerleader and enthusiatic sweeper. I have been in 2 bonspiels in January and will be in 2 more in February. I have been to a few practice sessions where I have been working on take out weight, angles, balance and rock rotation.

P.S. You can teach an old dog new tricks.

Is there an official term for the area from the hack to the hog line? I don’t know if there is, but I’ve been calling it the “Zone of Infinite Possibilities”.

When I’m in the Zone, the distractions of the outside world fade away. The rising voices from the other skips as they urge their teammates to sweep harder, the crash of rocks from the other sheets, they all seem to disappear once I place my foot into the hack.

My sole focus is on my skip’s broom. In my mind’s eye, I’m imaging my next shot. On the broom. Perfect weight. Sweepers walking down the ice, ready to sweep, but it’s not necessary, the rock stops exactly per the skip’s call. That’s the possibility I’m hoping for. But I know it’s one that rarely occurs.

When the rock leaves my hand and crosses the hog line, that’s when reality returns. I can hear the skip urgently calling the sweepers to hold the line or to sweep for distance. It’s a team sport so when the whole team is involved in making a good shot, that’s one of the best possibilities. One of the worst possibilities is when the rock leaves my hand and there’s silence. The rock is either too slow, too fast, or nowhere near the broom. No amount of sweeping is going to save it.

And of course, there’s eventually going to be a Plan B shot. A possibility beyond anyone’s imagining. A missed shot that plays with everyone’s emotions. Recently, there was a situation where our team had the last shot, with our opponent sitting two points. The actual shot was nowhere close to the called shot, but our rock ends up ticking off a guard, then raised our own rock into the house, knocking out their two rocks and all of sudden we scored four points. Sheepish elation for us, shocked frustration for our opponents.

Anything can happen when you are in the Zone of Infinite Possibilities!

My daughter and her teammates started curling when they were very young, through the Little Rock’s program. For the past five years, they’ve joined forces and faced many challenges both on and off the ice, with one goal always in their sights. They wanted nothing more than to represent New Brunswick at nationals. Last year they missed advancing to the provincial playoffs by a measure. To say they were gutted is an understatement but they pulled themselves back up more determined than ever. They tackled their issues from every angle. Three weekends ago the stars finally aligned and, after tirelessly practicing and competing together for five years, they pulled off a magical provincial championship win in front of a packed Sunday night house at the Gage Golf and Curling Club. Talk about a pivotal “core memory” moment in their lives.!! There wasn’t a dry eye in the building. The curling community that was there for them through all of their ups and downs was there to hoist them on their shoulders in their biggest celebration. In three weeks they’ll step onto the ice in Saskatoon, fr the U18 nationals, proudly waving their NB flags. When they they’ll know that their hard work truly did pay off, their province is proud of them, and that curling truly is the best sport there is.

Looking back to our families participation in a Curling Day in Canada event 2019 at the Kakabeka Falls Curling Club just outside Thunder Bay, Ontario, we really had no idea how big of a role curling would play in our lives going forward.

Our family of four attended the Curling Day in Canada “Try Curling” event hosted by the Kakabeka Curling Club to give our daughters, Isabella and Lyla, a chance to try out a new activity. The girls were 8 and 4 years old at the time and were warmly welcomed to the ice by the great volunteers at KFCC.
We threw some rocks and had a lot of fun as a family before deciding on the ride home to sign Isabella up for the Little Rocks program the following fall.

Fast forward six years and curling has become a huge part of our lives.
We are at the curling rink 4-6 times per week between participation in adult curling leagues and the awesome Junior Curling program at the club.
Isabella and her junior girls team (Team Wright) recently competed in the Northern Ontario U18 and U20 provincials while Lyla curls each week and recently was the youngest member on the winning team of a local bonspiel.
Both girls are looking forward to the upcoming Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay where they will attend games and participate as Future Stars and where we will volunteer our time to help this great event take place.

Our family is grateful to be a part of such a welcoming community of people brought together by a sport that is so accessible for participants of all ages and abilities.
Multiple generations of our family now gather together to enjoy the sport of curling and we look forward to continued participation at a variety of levels and ages.

Who would have thought showing up to a Curling Day in Canada event would make such a big impact on the lives of our family.

Thank You to Curling Canada and the Kakabeka Curling Club for putting on these events and encouraging families to discover the sport of curling.

Curling is so much more than sending rocks down the ice. In 2010 I had the opportunity to watch Curling and wheelchair Curling during the Olympics and Paralympics in Vancouver. I had never closely watched the sport before. I noticed the strategy, the skill and how difficult it was to get a curling stone into that perfect spot. This game was hard. After watching a few games, I began to understand how the scoring worked. As I sat there and watched I wondered could I play this sport? How did one even start? Were special skills required? I’m not really an athlete, I thought.

A few years later an opportunity came up to learn about Wheelchair Curling from Curl BC. I immediately jumped at the chance. I attended an introduction to wheelchair curling session put on by Curl BC, Sonya Gaudet and Gary Cormack who introduced participants to how to use a push stick and deliver the curling rock down the ice. We were then invited to join a curling league at a club of our choice. Simple right?

As a brand new wheelchair curler I didn’t really know how the rules worked or where to start, but relied on new friends and teammates who were willing to let me join their Curling Team with my wheelchair and borrowed stick. I had a lot of fun that first year trying to send my rock down the ice and my teammates sweeping and encouraging me along. I was so impressed by how kind everybody was. I was the only wheelchair curler in that Sunday evening league, but everyone at the Langley Curling Club made me feel welcome. I didn’t know how much I still had to learn, but I was hooked.

Another year later, some friends and I from the South Fraser Active Living Group were all looking to do something together. We decided that all of us would like to participate in wheelchair Curling. Where would we play? How could we all learn to play as a team? Who could teach us? What gear would we need?

I realized that wheelchair Curling is not as straightforward as some other sports. We didn’t visit a sporting goods store, and buy some gear or sign up for lessons at a club. A little more creativity was required. My friends. Marney, Kim, Aaron and I were so fortunate to meet many experienced wheelchair curlers at the Richmond Curling Club who were willing to play with us and teach us the game of wheelchair curling. That was a really good thing because I now learned wheelchair curlers don’t deliver their stones from the hack.
We turned to Tetra for help with our gear. They crafted holders to hold our sticks on the wheelchairs, sticks that suited our abilities and support poles that suited our personal needs.

As we began playing the wheelchair curling game, we learned about the differences between regular curling and what we were playing. Wheelchair Curling has no sweepers and not much yelling.

We were so lucky to be taught wheelchair Curling from many past BC and Canadian champions. They generously shared their knowledge and encouraged our skills. Even more friendships were born, and we all had a great few years playing together in the Worksafe BC league in Richmond. It was a challenge playing when the other curlers could regularly sweep our stones out of play, but we learned a lot, improving our skills and confidence along the way.

We were commuting for more than an hour, each way sometimes for our new passion, and that was tough in the winter. Was there somewhere closer?

Marney approached the Delta Thistle Curling club to see if our South Fraser Active Living Group could have wheelchair curling practices there. They were welcoming and supportive of us joining their Curling club. Our enthusiasm for Curling kept growing and soon we had others come and learn about the sport during Sunday practices. Curl BC has also helped us encourage others to join us. We were all incredibly grateful to our experienced wheelchair curling friends who joined us and helped teach new players. Sometimes we have 10 to 15 people of ranging abilities come out to Wheelchair Curling practice on Sundays.

Six of us, Marney, Kim, Jeff, Kevin, Robert and I now regularly play in the weekly seniors Curling league and some special events at the Delta Thistle Curling club. We regularly work on trying to improve our wheelchair curling skills. Currently, we have one all wheelchair Curling Team. We don’t win very often, but our experience is growing along with our skills. We take pride at being able to make those tricky shots and get really excited when we occasionally win against much more experienced teams.

Regardless of how you curl, this is a positive team sport. It feels so great when you make a good shot and the people on the other team tell you that you did really well. That kindness leads to great friendships and and great chats over a beverage after the game.

It has taken a lot of perseverance to improve our Curling game and continue playing each year. How exciting that this year a group from our group of Delta Thistle Wheelchair Curlers is going to represent BC at the 2025 Wheelchair Curling nationals in Boucherville, Quebec.

I will be cheering my friends on with pride as they compete together at this level for the first time.

My Favorite Curling Story:
In 2009 as an active member at the Mississaugua Golf and Country Club, and of Danish decent, my name was put forward to become the ambassador for the Danish National Men’s team, ahead of their visit to Toronto, for the Capital One Grand Slam Curling Event.
Successfully chosen, it became my role to help the team in anyway that I could and was proud to represent Canada in this way. Among other things, I was arranging welcome dinners, practice ice, rides to and from games when necessary, chiropractic appointments and to proudly carry the Danish flag at the opening ceremonies. I had the team to our home for dinner, with their families and all in all it was a wonderful experience. I made every attempt to express our wonderful Canadian hospitality to professional curlers away from home!
The team went on to compete in the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and I was excited to receive a team jacket, that I still wear to this day.

Several years later I was scheduled to play in a bonspiel for 5 days, in Denmark. Teams from around the world compete in this fun event and I was there to represent on a ladies team from Ontario, Canada. Sadly in my travel, my broom bag including my shoes etc went missing on my connecting flight and I was without equipment leading up to my first game. In Denmark there are only 2 rinks and they do not have anywhere to buy equipment, it is all special ordered to the small country. Luckily I still had the a phone number of a member of the Danish national team. I called him to see if he might remember me. He certainly did, and graciously arranged to have the national women’s team provide me with shoes (throw’s right, correct size) and a broom, delivered to the club where I was playing, in time for my for my first game.
Even better, the team, much to my surprise, drove (from as far as 2 hours away) to watch my first game! Such a small game, compared to what they are used to!
I was very proud to be both Danish and Canadian, and to experience such wonderful relations and support between our two great countries, in the love of curling!

As a club curler, have you ever fantasized about playing a big game and having your name in lights?

Al Seredynski and Bruce Wilkinson of the Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club (AMCC) in Winnipeg MB had the opportunity to enter a team in the 1994 Manitoba curling Association (MCA) bonspiel and had their 15 minutes of fame each day as they curled. Both were members of a five-man team that curled twice weekly in a men’s league. One of the team members, Reyn Davis, was also a sportswriter for the Winnipeg Free Press. As he was already covering the spiel he could not curl with us but to compensate obtained our team in the AMCC’s Calcutta held prior to the event. He arranged for a photographer to follow the team during their games and then wrote an article each day during the event.

The 1994 spiel would have had 512 teams taking part – not like the 100th annual in 1988 that had 1280 teams entered. There were a guaranteed 8 games between Thursday evening when it began and Sunday afternoon when the knockouts started. That meant you curled two or three ten-end games a day unlike the eight-end games in a lot of spiels today.

We began the spiel on Thursday evening against a team from Brandon at the West St. Paul Curling club losing a close game 8 -6. On Friday we had 3 games and ended the day at 2 and 2, in the morning game we had a great game at the Granite winning 8 to 6 but fell 8 to 4 in the afternoon. On Saturday we went 2 and 0 leaving our record at 4 and 2. On Sunday morning we won another for a 3-game winning streak. This came to an end that evening losing a tight game that we played well in but came out on the losing end of an 8 – 7 score. We played our final game on Monday afternoon and lost 10 – 6.

While we were playing at the Granite Curling Club on Friday Bob Johnson, our second, told Reyn that it was Bruce Wilkinson’s wife’s 38th birthday on Saturday hoping Reyn would put it in the paper. Fortunately, Reyn checked his sources ahead of time and found out that it was her 35th birthday instead. Bruce would have been in more trouble with his wife aside from being gone on her birthday weekend if it was printed as her 38th. Her father was a curler as well and should have known better than to have a child during the third week of January.

We made many new friends and found that quite a few of the curlers enjoyed reading about our progress through the daily articles. The newspaper headlines in the attached articles present an idea of the fun we had during that bonspiel. At each game we were greeted by the competition with friendly comments like “Hey you’re the guys that are in the paper today!”. While curling at the Pembina Curling Club Vic Peters who was still in the running for the Manitoba championship came over to say hi and to tell us they were following our exploits in the paper each day.

Reyn’s comments about Bob’s wobble and Al’s quivering leg stuck with us in the following years. Bob became “Wobbly Bobly” and Al was “Quivering Al”. As team composition changed over the ensuing years others became “Mr. Magoo”, Mr. Excuse, The Eunuch and Mr. Precise.

As you can see, the bonspiel experience was enjoyable providing memories that stayed with us to this day. Curling annually in the MCA until about 2014 when it became The Manitoba Open, was simply a lot of fun. But the 1994 MCA was most memorable and most rewarding for us. Over the years in the MCA Bonspiel, we met teams like Jeff Stoughton, Barry Fry, the Junior champions from Norway and a team out of Chicago who we lent a winter jacket to the skip as he did not realize how cold it got here in Winnipeg. However, we never thought we would be followed in the paper daily for the spiel. We were honored to represent the average Manitoba curling team.

It was experiences like this that developed our love of the sport and encouraged us to support the sport by spending a couple of decades each on the board of directors for Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club, including as Club President.

Al Seredynski and Bruce Wilkinson, Teammates since 1989

I grew up in a curling family. Both my mother and father, and my oldest brother curled. There was also a family rumour (spread by my father!) that I was conceived after a few too many rum and cokes after a curling bonspiel weekend. And since all of my parent’s friends curled, it seemed like curling was the centre of our family’s universe and became something that dominated our house (and TV) all winter long. Dinner conversations often included a pad of paper with the familiar four circles of the house sketched out and the day’s exciting placement of rocks in the house while my parents reviewed possible strategies of play. I had no idea why everyone loved this sport.

Before I entered kindergarten, my mother would take me two or three times a week to her curling rink where they provided free childcare while the ladies curled. I always knew it would be the curling rink daycare for me even before we got in the car because my mother would be upstairs in her room getting game ready in her curling outfit. And she always took special care with a cherished box in her dresser drawer that held a gold curling medallion. She’d place the medallion around her neck like it was the crown jewels, a ritual she repeated before every game she played.

I came to learn that the curling medallion that my mother so proudly wore was a prize that my grandfather had won while in the Grand Challenge Cup in the Yukon. The front of the medallion has a raised gold curling stone and the words Grand Challenge 1914-1915 and the back is engraved in a beautiful script with his name, S.F. Chamberlain and Dawson YT. My grandfather was born in England and, as a young man, the British North America Bank promised him a job if he moved to Canada. The bank moved this young English gentleman to Dawson City, Yukon Territory! He knew nobody and I assume he joined the curling rink to make some new friends.

While in grade school, I would tag along with my mother to the curling rink on days that I was sick (or was pretending to be sick). Unable, or perhaps unwilling, to find a spare at the last minute, my mother would leave me in the lounge overlooking the curling rink with a hot tea and unlimited sugar cubes. I would watch her play while overdosing on sugar. Once the games were finished, I was showered with attention from all of my mother’s curling friends as each team came upstairs to enjoy some coffee or tea and conversation. My mother glowed with happiness when she was at the curling rink, playing the game she loved while also hanging out with her friends who shared the same passion. She curled her entire life.

Unfortunately, my mother passed away at the age of 67. I was 26 years old. When my father was trying to figure out what to do with some of my mother’s favourite possessions, I asked if I could have her curling medallion. I never met my grandfather, but I saw his curling medallion as a symbol of the connection that he and my mom shared surrounding the sport that they both had loved. After she was gone, I felt that I needed that connection to my mother. Even though I didn’t curl, I believed that someday I would.

Fast forward thirty years. A happily married mother of three wonderful children who were out making lives of their own, living in Etobicoke, Ontario, just blocks from where I was raised. A stretch of time that provided so many wonderful memories for my husband, Greg, and I. But it was time for a change so we decided to retire to Collingwood Ontario, a place where we believed we could lead an active and healthy life. We knew very few people in town and we soon realized how hard it was to meet new people when you uproot and settle somewhere else. So, in the spirit of my grandfather, Sydney Chamberlain, when he got sent from England to Dawson City to work, Greg and I decided to bolster our social life by joining the local curling club.

Last year was our first year at the Collingwood Curling Club. We took the Learn to Curl Clinic and joined a few draws. I wore my grandfather’s medallion every time I played. I could feel the energy of my mother while on the ice as well as in the upstairs lounge. Curling just felt right. It was in my blood to become a part of the curling community.

We began to meet more and more curlers after each game. Soon we were walking into the curling club and seeing more friendly faces welcoming us. Each day I curled, the members made me feel more and more welcome and gave me a much needed sense of belonging. Soon I was volunteering on curling committees, as well as getting invitations to non-curling activities with my new friends. I was so happy that I had joined the curling club.I finally understood the importance of the game and the community that surrounds curling. I was home—and my heart was full.

Now, when I walk into the ladies change room, and I’m greeted warmly by so many of my new friends at the curling club, I often think of my mom and how happy she must have been every day she curled. Like me, when she walked into her curling club, it was a place where “everyone knows your name.” Thirty years after her death, it warms my heart to share my mother’s passion and happiness.

Our son just recently moved to Collingwood and has now joined our curling club. After his first game, his skip was shocked to hear that it was his first time curling and told him that he was a natural…. He said, “Of course I am. I come from a long line of curlers!”

History and passion does repeat itself! And maybe one day, our son will wear my grandfather’s medallion at a curling club full of new friends.

Post Story
As an aside.. I reached out to my older brother for more information about our parents curling and he told me that he also joined a curling club when he moved from Toronto to Sarnia,Ontario, for a new job.
And my cousin also told me that her mother (my aunt who was named after my grandfather Sydney) also curled at a few clubs around Canada, including Summerside, PEI, and Ottawa, Ontario, as her husband was in the Canadian Air Force and they moved quite frequently.

1.My Grandfather’s curling medallion front
2.My Grandfather’s curling medallion back
3.My Grandfather Sydney Chamberlain (2nd from the left) with his fellow bank associates in Dawson City, YT.
4. My new curling team/ friends (I am third from left)

My daughter joined curling when she was 7 and since then has flourished and so has my love for the game.

I initially started as a mom who sat in the window each practice and socialized with other parents but as the next season came volunteers were needed to keep the Little Rocks Program going, so I upgraded to a parent “coach” who went out on the ice to help with the kids and since that day I’ve been out there for the past 6 years! What a great 6 years it’s been to see the love and progression of these kids is something else, each year it’s so nice to see returning kids and the love for the game keeps growing.

Curling is one of those games you can’t match, you know you have those parents who are new to the game and are ready to bang on the glass during bonspiel’s if an opponent misses a shot in excitement and then you have to remind them polity and say “oh no, we don’t do that in curling, we cheer for both teams and applauded good shots and cute moments when a child who is struggling finally gets one in the house (or over the hog line)”. It’s such a respectable sport and one I am so glad to be a part of.

Now that my daughter is moving on to bantam age, I am excited to see where her love of curling will take her…. and me!

CURLING IS IN HIS BLOOD!

Our grandson, Gavin Rathgaber, has been part of the curling scene since he was 3 months old. His Uncle Brett was one of the entertainers when Balgonie, Sask. hosted the Provincial Scotties in 2013. Gavin sat perched on his uncle’s knee as he rocked it out at the arena. Randy and Shauna Dolter, Gavin’s grandparents, were part of the Host Committee for two Provincial Womens Scotties and a Provincial Men’s Tankard held in Balgonie. Grandad Randy is sort of a local legend himself-holding the title of Iron Man and Two time Super League Champ at the Balgonie Curling rink.

Gavin had patiently waited in the wings for his turn to curl with his family in the Annual Boxing Day Spiel in Indian Head, Sk. He got inspiration from Great-grandad Dolter’s curling broom and plaque displayed at the rink.

In the Winter of 2018, Gavin got a chance for some curling pointers from Grandad Dolter. Crokicurl was set up in Wascana Park in Regina during the Winter Festival. The same year, Regina hosted the 2018 Tim Horton’s Brier. Gavin loved meeeting Stu and the famous Socialbles in the Patch. Gavin even had a chance to try his curling skills while hanging out in the Patch. Uncle Brett and his band, The Rusty Howards, performing in the Patch made the event even more memorable.

Finally, at the ripe age of 6, Gavin was big enough to play in the Annual Boxing Day Spiel. He was part of Grandad’s team along with his mom Melissa, dad Joel and Uncle Brett. Gavin may have needed a steady foot or two behind him when he was in the hack but he was hooked on the game of curling! From then on, Gavin was part of the family team on Boxing Day.

Fast forward to 2024-Gavin was chosen as a “Future Star” at the 2024 Montana Brier held in Regina. He wore his jacket with pride as he walked down the ice with Team Gratten, NB. Gavin chose his grandparents, Randy and Shauna Dolter, as his honourary guests. You can imagine how excited they were to have front row seats at the Brier as they watched Gavin up on the big Jumbotron during the opening ceremonies.

In the fall of 2024, Gavin joined his first Junior curling team. They rotate games between the Callie and Highland Curling Clubs in Regina. Grandad Randy and Uncle Brett curl in the Men’s league at the Highland Curling Club. Grandad was bursting with pride when Gavin spared with his team and held the broom for his shots.

Grandma and Grandad Dolter have travelled far and wide to watch big curling events. Gavin finds inspiration for the his curling journey from his family’s love of the sport of curling. What an absolute dream it would be to win the 2026 Montana’s Brier closing weekend get-away for four!