BONUS ONLINE-ONLY COVERAGE // Twenty-four teams from curling clubs such as Detroit, Lansing, Saginaw/
Midland, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo, Bowling Green, Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Knoxville, and Nashville descended upon this fourth annual bonspiel. Let’s just say this trek through Dion was well worth it for the quality of ice we were about to play on. Remember, just under 50 percent of American curling clubs play on wonky counterintuitive arena ice. Not the arena ice of World Curling Tour, Brier or Scottie fame but arena ice of Zambonis, figure skaters and hockey players. Columbus has had a typical new curling club birth. Let’s just say these
births rarely run smoothly. Te club initially started in 1999, struggled a tad, then re-booted in 2002, all on arena ice. Ten in 2007, they leased an old warehouse near the stadium where the Major League Soccer’s Colum- bus Crew plays. Aſter months of clean up the club had three sheets of dedi- cated ice, a nice lounge area, locker rooms and the feel of a longtime curling club, be it in Bemidji, Minn., or Cherry Point, Alb. Te Columbus CC curls seven days a week with as many as three or
four draws on some days. Te membership is between 150-200 and grow- ing. Tey are getting their ducks in order for Learn to Curls to capture the expected post-Olympic interest. (Note: All the clubs mentioned earlier are getting ready for a post-Olympic growth spurt.) Te ice was fantastic – 24-25 seconds from hog to tee, or 14.5 to 15 sec-
onds hog-to-hog with 4 to 6 feet of curl. We arena curlers from Tennessee were having flashbacks to the pristine ice surfaces we grew up with north of the 49th
, or just a few miles south in places like Minnesota, North Dakota or Wisconsin. Bea-u-ti-ful! Te ’Spiel Our Nashapolis team arrived in Columbus in a bit of a blizzard but with
a couple hours to spare. Our team was one of about four arena-based teams that curl once a week on average going up against dedicated curling ice- curlers (this is common American curling-speak), who would average two- three games a week. My team was a tad raw but had G.R.I.T. S ... Great Resiliency In Trials Sorta not Girls Raised In The South as most of the southern American curlers would say. Sandra had played only one game in the previous three years but had a
lifetime of curling background. Dan had started curling about five years previous with maybe 80 games under his belt. Sandy, even with her Sas- katchewan roots had only played for three years with about 50 games on her resume. We had never curled together before. Back to team Nashapolis in a paragraph or two… Te curling was competitive. Te ice was great. Te food was unbeliev-
able. Te entry was $95/player and all three meals a day were covered. We’re talking small town Saskatchewan or North Dakota-spoiled. Chicken, shrimp, beef, made-to-order egg sandwiches, desserts like your grandma used to make, soups, etc. We never had to leave the rink and most players didn’t. Te atmosphere and hospitality was as good as it gets. Te volunteers couldn’t do enough to cater to us all. First class all the way. Sandra said, “In all my years of curling I don’t think I have ever eaten as well as this ’spiel and I’ve been to a lot of ’spiels. Maybe I have, but never had all my meals covered in the entry fee.” Te A event final was a classic with two-time defending champions Team
Turner from the host club losing on last rock to Mike Grudzinski and his Detroit Curling Club team including Brian Zak, Brandon Brown and Jeff Jenkins. Grudzinski was curler-humble in his remarks, thanking the Co- lumbus Curling Club and telling us his front end had never won a bonspiel before. Tey were genuinely happy and it wasn’t because their Michigan State Spartans knocked off the Columbus-based Ohio State Buckeyes the
day before in the Big 10 Championship. Now that is another story, as one third of the teams were from Michigan, the other third from Ohio and the rest of us from other states in the Union. Let’s just say I was still basking in the Roughriders fourth ever Grey Cup championship and didn’t want to stir the pot .... too much. And, of course, the four or five Saskie born curlers reminded everyone whether they were interested or not that we were Grey Cup champions. Te B event champs were Team Mullett/Young from Columbus, the C
event champs, Team Lutze from Columbus, beating Nashapolis in the final, and the D event champs were Team Duplisea from Cincinnati. And for the record – I have officially had my heart broken in finals in five provinces and seven states.
Te Comeback of the ‘Spiel I loved my team. We had arguably the least overall experience of any
team. We played five closely-fought games, winning three and having the comeback of the ’spiel versus Team Pittsburgh led by Rich Ashford. Rich is a curling junkie. Most everyone at this ‘spiel is, but Rich will travel the world to curl having recently finishing in the final four at Gdansk, Poland’s, first ever cash spiel. Rich, an American, has been in the lighting business for years and was introduced to our sport through Ernie Richardson and his brothers while doing business in Regina. He watches everything on the net, reads all the curling books, and is part of the Pittsburgh crew endeavor- ing to get a dedicated curling facility. Tey have the land donated, a fund started to fulfill this dream and a membership in the 150 range. Rich and his team can play this game. Tey had Nashapolis down 6-0
aſter four ends. Looking dismal, my gritty team of fighters hung in there eking the game back to 7-5 going into the eighth and final end. Our Indy front end played the end perfectly with their junk and come-arounds set- ting up a three to break Pittsburgh’s heart 8-7. Our lead Dan Ivers came up with the line of the game: “Tat was just so much fun. I thought we were done but I didn’t want to travel all this way just for two and a half games. I thought we might as well stay on the ice and get our money’s worth. Who would have thought we’d pull it out? Curling has got to be the best game in the world,” he said.
For Love of the Game I have been down in the States for almost two years getting a feel for our
sport. Tis is my second year of primarily arena ice-curling. I didn’t realize that nearly half the clubs played on arena ice versus dedicated ice. Te arena conditions are not flattering, but the players down here have a love for our sport that has revitalized my own passion for the game. When curlers are able to play on dedicated ice they are so grateful. Aſter the bonspiel, a small handful of us stayed on the ice for an extra 15-20 minutes to throw some more rocks. Nobody asked us to get off even though there were two evening draws about to begin (we didn’t know that). Te one guy getting the ice ready for the evening draws just looked at us and said, “I understand. Enjoy it for awhile.” Tis is the second club I have walked into in the last month that had
TSN on the big screen to watch either the Olympic Trials or another event. Te Americans know our Canadian curling scene probably better than their own in most cases. I have lost track of how many American-born players constantly go to the TSN or CCA websites to watch current or ar- chived games. I would say the majority of curlers do this. Tey talk about Kevin (Martin), Glen (Howard), Jennifer (Jones), and even the late Sandra Schmirler like they know them. And our American curling friends, regard- less of where the hail from, all seem to know where Saskatchewan is. For love of the game! n
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