The Richness of this Sport
It is the friendly social environment among family and friends that truly reflects the richness of this sport! More on this below but first a little story:
The Year was 1985:
My brother, John and his family paid us a visit one Sunday afternoon. John, in his early 20’s at the time, loved to curl competitively in many Edmonton area bonspiels. As he entered our family room, his eyes became fixated on a very large curling trophy centered on the fireplace mantle. His jaw dropped as he looked at the large curling stones and curling figurines mounted on the 2 foot high trophy. “Where did you get this?” he queried. In a humble tone, I simply said “Oh, we won it in a mixed bonspiel not long ago.” And I left it at that.
The rest of the story:
My wife and I joined friends to curl in the Knights of Columbus provincial bonspiel held at the 24 sheet Sport-Ex building at Edmonton Northlands. In those days, this bonspiel attracted over 100 teams from all over the province. My creative wife decided we needed to dress up for the event. She chose the Ghostbusters theme. We dressed up in white disposable coveralls, played the theme song on a ghetto blaster prior to each game and handed out marshmallows. We didn’t win a single game but had an enjoyable weekend.
Later that day:
As we were having supper at home, the phone rang and we were informed that we won the Fraternity (Hospitality) award as voted on by participating teams. The massive trophy adorned our mantle for several months. I’m not sure I’ve ever told my brother the entire story.
Curling, for me, has always been about people. My journey started with learning how to curl at a 2-sheet rink in rural Alberta, to 4-H bonspiels, to high school play downs at the Sport-Ex, to curling with strangers who became great friends, to socializing with fans at the Brier, to sitting with parents as my son took on junior curling to now curling with him in the men’s league, and finally to rubbing shoulders with seniors in a Wednesday afternoon league. It is the friendly social environment among family and friends that truly reflects the richness of this sport!