Good on Scotland

While I was a little disappointed to see Jean Michel Menard lose today, I was still smiling to see David Murdoch's team prevail. At least it was a game, rather than some of the others we've seen. I was also a little disappointed that the round-robin wasn't televised... but the few games that I caught on the USA curling webcast made up for it--they were hillarious and so enthusiastic, it was (almost) like watching!

So the championship season is over for another year.

I'm probably one of the only people on earth who gets sentimental when I hear the opening theme music for the CBC broadcast... it means the games are almost over (and as of today, totally over for the year!). I like the pictures they have for the opening--both for the CBC sports thing (Jenn Jones celebrating last year's Scott victory) and the Championship Curling. Nowhere else do we ever see Kelley Law! And a relatively flattering shot of Colleen... not like those old Scott Paper commercials. Although they'll probably be gone for next year, with the company changing its name and all.

Sweden Rules the World

I haven't actually seen the final game of the Women's World Championships (yet) but I was assured that it was a pretty good game that could have gone either way. Ultimately Annette Norberg continued to be the best there is: back to back worlds, the Olympics, can't get much better than that!

I quite like her team. I like the Debbie McCormick team as well though, although they need to do some work on their strategy. If they can get the strategy down, then they will continue to be a force to be reckoned with. They were entertaining, and I can't say I was disappointed when the US beat the Canadians on Saturday. Sacriledge? Nah, I'm all for the best team winning. And Kelly Scott's crew were not the best team, nor the most entertaining.

And so ends the women's curling season! Not a bad one, over all. And I never thought I'D say it... but I need a break (but only until the men's worlds start on Saturday)! Let's just bring back Jennifer Jones and Jenn Hanna and Stefanie Lawton and Heather Strong at the national level.... and things will be exciting again next year.

The End of an Era

For someone like me who's grown up with Colleen Jones being ever-present in the world of curling, the news that her team is splitting up is a little sad. I am very glad I got to see them in action--and playing pretty darn well!--at this year's Scott.

http://www.tsn.ca/curling/news_story.asp?id=159716

Curling and 'Clue'?

"Team Canada playing red with the hammer in the 8th"
Doesn't that sound like something you'd say while playing 'Clue'?

Brier vs Scott

Like last year, I am very disappointed in the Brier after watching an outstanding Scott and once again feel that the quality of curling and the excitement for the audience was way better at the Scott. With the exception of the Tiebreaker and the 3-4 Game, all the games were full of suspense and mostly excellent shot-making: the Brier has been full of misses. The final hasn’t happened yet, but based on the draws all week and the playoffs so far, the men have not given us nearly as much excitement.

Also the layout of the ice, the scoreboards etc aren’t nearly as pretty as for the Scott. And I very much dislike the one-arm colour for the men’s jackets and shirts: it’s not attractive. And the quality of the broadcast doesn’t look as nice as the Scott. It’s not as nice to look at. (And no, I’m NOT talking about the players!)

Women’s curling rocks.

Final Observations

The curlers were generally friendly and social with the fans, which was really nice to see. Curling etiquette was much in evidence on and off the ice. I loved to watch the players watching themselves on TV, or looking up to see the lie of the rocks in the house as viewed from above. Most of the teams sang Oh Canada, which I think inspired all us fans to sing too: never heard so many people singing our national anthem.

The curlers use an awful lot of hand signals that you don’t notice when you are watching on TV, mostly because the camera is rarely focused exclusively on the skip or the sweepers. During the Olympic curling I saw a lot of hand signals from Amy and Christine, but couldn’t remember from the times I’d watched the Scott ever seeing a lot of hand signals. But there were. I noticed Heather Strong in particular often went two or three shots without even saying a word while calling the shots; other skips never called anything without speaking. Colleen’s signal for a centre guard was the coolest: flat hand turned vertically, pointing from her forehead down the centre line.

You forget how ugly the pants are after a day or two.

I love the Scott jackets: I hope they keep them like that for a year or two more at least. You know instantly what province a player is from. They’re way better than the ones at the Brier.

What I didn’t like was the purple jackets each player was given and possibly required to wear when not playing… I thought they were an ugly colour suiting almost none of them.

The curlers, when given a chance, constantly expressed gratitude to Scott Paper (“buy Scotties, buy SpongeTowels!” exclaimed Christine Keshen). Hear, hear.

The ice was superb all week, no frost and very consistent. I don’t imagine anyone complained about it.

It was very strange not watching the draws on TV. But if I had to choose between TV and seeing it live… live every time. For me curling is as much about the people as about the shots—and I was well-satisfied.

Finale

Immediately following the game the doors to the team area opened and out marched a large pipe band. For once, the whole crowd could hear it and everyone clapped in time, a loud punctuation to every beat. The other teams came in, dressed in identical ‘street’ clothing. Some were ugly—Ontario ugh—and some were ok—Alberta, for example. As the third place team, Colleen marched in with their NS jackets but also pants… very strange to see them in pants!

They were followed by Team Canada, obviously coming straight from battle as Jenn was still wearing her stopwatch and her big black mittens. And then Team BC—our future Team Canada—came in and paused at the top of Sheet C. I was a little disappointed that they did it this way; I thought they’d be announced in, surely they did that last year! But they just gathered at the head of Sheet C and then walked in to the same pipe music as all the others, in a line down the sheet in triumph, arms raised. There should have been more of a fanfare, however.

There were many speeches and presentations. While they interviewed Kelly Scott the cameraman kept Jennifer Jones in the background. To her infinite credit she smiled and ‘listened’ carefully the whole time. Jennifer got shot of the week for her relatively easy double in the semifinal (hardly the best shot I saw all week, though certainly one of the more important). Kelly Scott got MVP of course.

I was definitely disappointed for Jennifer; although the crowd seemed to be rooting for BC mostly, she was still my favourite player and despite the ups and downs this never really changed. But BC was much the best all week and deserved the win. I’ll be interested to see how they do in Grand Prairie. The game was not the best or worst I’d seen all week; but there was lots of tension, some fluky shots, and it came down to the last stone: what else could we ask for?

I stayed for the ceremonies to get a little closure, and it worked, and only got slightly damp-eyed as I watched them lower the Scott banner which had hung all week. I felt very strongly that I want to go next year… despite it being in Alberta. Or maybe because of it!

I wished many many times that whole week that I was 10 years younger… I’d dedicate my life to curling! I wish I could thank each curler personally—what an outstanding event. Absolutely outstanding.

And I hope to see Jenn back next year.

Final

It was a gorgeous sunny day and the air was filled with excitement. I drove over, gave my change to a homeless guy (hoping that maybe neither he nor his buddies would trouble my suitcase and souvenir-filled wagon), and bought a big order of Thai food at the market and ate outside by the outdoor curling rink in the warm sun. And then, inside to watch the practices. I saw that Jenn had yellow rocks again: they’d served her well the past two games and I thought that would be a boost of confidence for her. But I was a little concerned watching Team Canada practice: Jenn threw draw after draw after draw rather than holding the broom for her teammates… did she not have draw weight? She was going to need it. I commented on my worry to Charles.

Turns out she didn’t have draw weight at all.

Jill did not play well. Cathy couldn’t make a draw to save her life. There seemed to be a couple of picks, but not being able to see it again on TV it’s hard to say. Jennifer was light on a few draws and while she screamed and screamed at her sweepers to get it there, and waved at Cathy to help sweep, Cathy never came and ultimately she was light.

Kelly Scott seemed supremely confident and relaxed, laughing and smiling in the fourth end. But BC wasn’t playing as outstanding as at other times during the week and began to give Canada some openings, especially with many poor shots by the lead. Then, a crazy fluke shot by Jeanna Schraeder put a Canada rock on the button, but Jenn didn’t capitalize, throwing a wild in-off that was way too heavy to put a second point there. Again, I’m not sure how the analysts would describe that one.

The audience was large and again very appreciative: we did the YMCA during the 7^th end break and Amy Nixon—opposite me up in the boxes with her team—really got into it. CathyO made a pass at the dance. BC never tried. Jill danced to the between-end music (especially the country ones) but again, BC did not. They weren’t an easy team to warm up to, and certainly not the most entertaining team on the ice.

And then, in the 10^th, the BC team allowed Canada to get a guard and one in the top four-foot. Jenn placed the guard back well on her first stone. She was a little short on time but actually played very smartly the 8^th and 9^th to make up time. In fact, that was the last two ends were two of the most confident I’d seen her skip all week. Then Kelly Scott decided to pick the one out of the house. This shot has been debated a lot but it wasn’t a bad choice I thought, as it would force Jennifer to make a really good draw.

But Kelly flashed it by—her expression was priceless—and suddenly it looked like we might get to see an extra end, or even, possibly, a Team Canada win. But Jennifer released her last rock and it died just past the hog line, having picked something. She seemed resigned: luck was just not on their side (she’d come very close to making a great down-weight hit through a crazy hole in one end, that I hadn’t thought even possible). She had not been as agitated as I’d seen her in the week.

And, of course, Kelly did not miss the pick again (though she came very dangerously close to nicking the guard), getting the blank and the win. The crowd got to their feet rather reluctantly: not the instant standing ovation we’d witnessed after Friday’s outstanding 1-2 game.

The BC team ran together and hugged and cheered but I knew I’d see them again on TV and so I watched the losers: they didn’t hug or cry (though Cathy was wiping tears from her eyes). Jennifer was all class: she stood with a large and (so I thought) quite genuine smile as she waited for the celebration to end so she could shake hands. I was extremely impressed by her grace, and the image of her patiently waiting and smiling has stayed with me.

Semifinal

I was greatly anticipating this match-up between NS and Canada, but I was to be disappointed. Canada played awesome, and I feared that they’d peaked in this game, one game too early. The crowd was a large and a little unruly; several people started shouting “move the camera”, as the CBC cameramen were kinda in the way. The TSN people never caused these problems! These shouts caught Jennifer’s attention once or twice as she stood in the house.

Colleen was a little dejected throughout. There were lots of crazy things going on between the ends (a tricycle race on the ice, a tower-building contest with toilet paper) and at one point there was the chicken dance. The whole audience got up and did it, and Jill and Cathy got into it, dancing and twirling each other around. The wave occurred again, and it started near where Jennifer was standing and she gave a sort of bemused oh no look at the crowd. Cathy swore (or close to it) and made a face and they replayed it on the big screen: the crowd cracked up at it, as did Jill.

After the fourth end, the curlers not in the semifinal came through the stands to collect for the Sandra Schmirler foundation as is tradition. We had Eve Bélisle and her 2^nd (Martine Comeau), and also the ever-adorable Amy Nixon who came through belatedly (“has somebody already been here?") but still got extra donations because, well, she's Amy Nixon. Cathy King and Lori Armitstead were nearby—in short, a good assortment of all my favourites (except Newfoundland).

The game ended early after Jennifer made a pressure-filled but relatively routine double takeout to score four in the 8^th—the score was 10-4. And my team had made it to the final, shockingly enough. There was no great celebration by Team Canada, nor a massive cheer for Jennifer, though the crowd did give a standing ovation. Colleen’s team gathered together on the home end and talked for quite a while.

I was disappointed that the game didn’t last longer. Probably not as disappointed as Colleen! I was very emotional and spent quite a while walking around town before returning home. I was lonely and went twice to the Heart Stop Lounge in hopes of finding someone I knew, but to no avail so I walked slowly home (after visiting that grand Catholic cathedral downtown). My adopted family arrived not 10 minutes later, and suddenly I had company and was lonely no more.

I felt that BC would cream Canada—surely they couldn’t string three good games in a row, while BC had played so consistently well all week. I couldn’t imagine that Kelly Scott would blow this second chance at a major championship.

The kids kept asking me about the curling and I showed them the newspapers and explained about Team Canada. I later learned that they sat and watched the entire final, cheering for Team Canada. Apparently I have created two new fans.

Page Playoff 3 vs 4

I expected this to be the premier game of the day: the round robin between Canada and Quebec had been excellent, Bélisle was on a high, and Jenn always loved to have rocks in play. In fact, it was a blow-out. Luck was on Canada’s side: their shots cleared guards by mere centimeters, while Quebec’s overcurled by the same amount. Jenn actually danced to the music after an end, and so she should. It was apparent after the third end that Quebec didn’t have a chance: it was 7-1! At the fifth end break, Kleibrink’s team were introduced onto the ice and bowed twice to a happy ovation. I hope they were happy too.

After the break Bélisle’s luck continued and I became concerned that perhaps Canada would get over-confident for their next game. I was surprised to see them in the playoffs, truth be told, after all the near-losses all week. Jenn again took off her coat, very uncharacteristic of her, must have been warm (or over-excited). Bélisle made her final shot well and then retired after the 7^th end. Jenn was very smiley and accidentally hit one of the Quebec players with her broom. The whole Team Canada was joking with their Quebec counterparts through most of the game… too bad they couldn’t always be that relaxed.

At one point the score was 10-3, but the 0 fell off the home-end scoreboard to read 3-1 and both teams cracked up as they noticed it. The scorekeeper got a resounding boo when he went to replace the 0.

I felt bad for both teams: it was obvious that the crowd wasn’t really watching the game, and truthfully neither was I: I was looking around the crowd and pointing out Teams NB, Newfoundland (big applause by the audience when Heather was shown on-screen), Saskatchewan, and NWT to my seatmate Jane. We also saw ‘Oscar’ from Corner Gas and the arrival of Mike Harris and Joan McCusker (who weren’t watching the game either!). It was a long walk home through the silent streets.

Page Playoff 1 vs 2

I was relaxing too much at home, and had to run the whole way back to arrive just as the piper started to play. I expected an open, conservative game, and after the first end I felt certain that’s what we would get. But then Kelly called a guard, and the game was on.

In many respects, this was the game of the week. Later on TV they said that this was championship game calibre, and it was absolutely true. I didn’t think any of the weekend games could beat it, and I was a little upset that I didn’t tape it!

BC versus NS. On paper, BC had the edge but both teams played with outstanding percentages. BC actually had a little bit of a shaky game, but it was very even. In the final end, both teams tried 4 times to bury behind a guard, and there were lots of rocks in play. BC had the hammer, it was tied. Finally BC got around. Then, Colleen had a tough gentle angle raise to sit one, which she made to raucous applause. And Kelly Scott had an angle raise from the other side, which she nailed to perfection, to the crowd’s roar of satisfaction. Then the buck was passed back to Colleen, to try the raise again from the other side… and I could tell by the way she was watching the rock that it wasn’t going to be good. BC takes one and the bye to the final. The audience leapt to its feet: a better display of women’s curling would be very hard to come by. Not just women's: curling in general!

The crowd had been awesome and extremely knowledgeable. The stress obviously got to Colleen at one point, as she uncharacteristically went running up the ice after one of her shots. But it got to Kelly Scott too, as she shouted with more panic than I’d ever heard in her voice before.

Afterwards I (and everyone else) headed over to the Heart Stop Lounge. My curiousity again overcame my shyness and I joined some strangers at their table and we waited a little while… and then the MC announced Team Kleibrink and the 2000 people jumped to their feet for a sustained standing ovation. The team in their white Olympic curling coats, wearing their bronze medals, strolled in waving to the blaring tune of “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy”—apparently their pre-game song of choice; good choice, great song!

Amy did most of the talking, unsurprisingly, and showed herself a bit of a straight-talking goof. I was surprised that Shannon was so silent. Daryl Nixon did a lot of talking also; he was serious and sentimental. Amy made tears come to my eyes (and probably many others) as she said some very sweet things about her team and their relationship as best friends. There were great anecdotes about the Olympics, the illnesses, Christine’s sleep in (she was not at all apologetic… she NEEDED it, she insists… I get the feeling Amy possibly got a little worked up at the time). Amy spoke very candidly about her illness and the need for toilet paper… oh dear. Shannon waxed eloquent only about the medal ceremony… I wish I’d got to see it.

I hemmed and hawed about going over for autographs, discouraged by the line, but finally decided what the heck, I’d go. I waited in line for more than 45 minutes but it was well worth it. I was way more interested in seeing and speaking with the curlers rather than seeing the medals: I’d liked the team well before they won anything. Shannon said hello, Amy chatted away and invited me to pick up her medal—heavy and beautiful—and Christine made out their autographed card to me. I told her I thought she was the best and a super-sweeper (I felt like a child… and we’re the same age!… but I’m glad I did it). Daryl asked if I curled and where I was from. I left feeling very happy. Amy was very very bubbly and outgoing, and tell-it-like-it-is, and had a very obvious interest in children. They were all very pretty in person. Well worth the wait.

Tie-Breaker

I got up early and make the trek through the snow to the JLC with excitement. I was expecting a great match, rooting for Newfoundland, and was thrilled to see that all the playoffs were going to take place on Sheet C, far the best sheet for me to watch on. The match was fairly well-attended, but it was a lopsided game. Quebec could do no wrong, and Newfoundland got absolutely no breaks. Frustrated but outwardly calm, Heather called it quits after 7 ends. I began to fear for Team Canada: they’d need a stellar game to beat Bélisle and I wasn't sure they could bring it. The early ending had me wandering home. I decided not to set the VCR for the afternoon game: surely it wouldn’t be as exciting as the evening game, and I could only pick one or the other as I wouldn't be home in between the games.

General Observations

I have focused so much on Jennifer… but I watched the others as well. Kelly Scott was so keen when the other team practiced: I saw her watching every single throw by Team Canada before their morning match-up. And rarely glancing at other sheets. And so quiet.

Whereas Jennifer (back to her!) seemed to be unfocused. Strange: when they were being interviewed, Janet Arnott said that Jenn’s best characteristic was her focus. I didn’t see it this week. You could see how easily she went up and down within a game, or even an end: giggling and chatty and relaxed when things were good; silent and brooding and uncertain when things were down. Other skips didn’t seem to show that same range of emotions, though surely they felt them too. I found it interesting that while her three players all gave each other resounding high fives before each end (unlike the wimpy high fives the AB team gave each other), Jenn never participated in that. Not once. I got the impression that she is certainly not the touchy-feely one on the team. Or maybe the skip is always a little distant. She was always the last one to appear for practice.

Mary-Anne Arsenault had one of the best presences on the ice; and I was continually amazed by her ability to slide to the far hog line! Georgina and Lori swagger a little, Kim Kelly is a little excitable, Colleen appears so tiny when she crouches on the ice to watch her shot; Andrea Kelly had a charismatic presence on the ice and I loved when she threw her arms wide and called to her sweepers to tell her the weight of the shot.

The loudest yellers on the ice were Lori—screaming like an eagle—and then Jennifer, who you could visibly see taking a big breath for each yell and then putting her whole body into it, nearly flattening herself on the ice as she shouts encouragement to her sweepers. Then there’s Kelly Scott with her quiet “hurry, yup” calls to her sweepers. I should have watched them closer during the week to see how they communicated when all those schoolkids were screaming.

Draw Seventeen

Emotions were running high in this draw, with lots of playoff implications and nearly a full crowd in attendance. And the curlers did not disappoint. NWT lost their final game, but were given a rousing ovation on their way out in recognition of their participation—they ended with 2 wins.

The games stayed on pace with each other, meaning that all three of the remaining games were in the 10^th at the same time, and they were all very close. Canada and AB had a wild game on the far sheet, with lots of nerves getting to them. Jenn drew up light at one point despite screaming at Jill and Georgina and waving for Cathy to come help: but Cathy was timing the rocks and didn’t come. Jennifer took off her coat after giving up yet another steal to Alberta, then Cathy King had troubles left her a tap for three or even four but Jenn missed it and only scored 2. She looked absolutely sick after missing that shot, as well she should have, it was poorly thought-out. Lori Armitstead had a fabulous double in the 9^th that made the crowd roar, and I thought that Canada might lose. Jenn was very indecisive all game and didn’t quite deserve to win, but King was just as up-and-down and ultimately Canada outplayed AB in the 10^th to prevent a steal and shut the door on Alberta’s playoff hopes.

Quebec had a must-win game, and a series of small mistakes and poor form by the Nova Scotians—coupled with a well-played game by Bélisle—gave them the win. Some guy shouted out “Colleen Jones I love you!” to the delight of the crowd (and her evident amusement). Quebec stuck around to watch the other two games: they needed Canada or Newfoundland to win and both those games were ending at around the same time. Three NS girls did too (but not Colleen): a win by Newfoundland meant they would end up in the 3-4 game, not the 1-2. On our sheet, steady play by Ontario and a Scharf’s cool hand gave them the win over Newfoundland: suddenly, they had to be in a tie-breaker with Quebec, when they could have finished 2^nd. Good for me, as one extra game was promised! The final end was edge-of-your-seat exciting, and a great shot by Scharf on her second last met with huge applause from all (including an exuberant Kim Kelly). With way under a minute left on the time clock, Heather Strong sauntered down, started her shot and then reset herself in the hack… I wanted to scream when she did that, she had 14 seconds left on the clock! The crowd groaned in trepidation. But then she fired a pistol down the ice—Newfoundland threw huge weight all week—and made a terrific double takeout. But Scharf made a fairly easy nose hit for the win.

The atmosphere all night was fantastic and the boisterous crowd was really into all the games. We did the wave, to the bemusement (and possible annoyance) of the curlers. There’s something absolutely hilarious about the wave… why do we so enjoy it? Marcel Rocque was there, and Marcel—after a particularly good shot by Raylene—shouted out “That’s my WIFE!” The crowd tittered.

I went home very edgy, not being able to wait until the next day but still so sad that my stack of tickets was dwindling: only 5 left out of that big stack I’d started with.

Draw Sixteen

I was late back at the arena and missed the parade (but it was worth it!). My seatmates affected shock at my tardy appearance, knowing my total dedication to watching the curling. There were no surprises in this draw: BC had an outstanding game and all but crushed Cathy King’s Scott dream. Colleen Jones outcurled NB, and Kerry Koe’s team got another win under them. The whole draw was over within three hours, which meant I had a good couple of hours to be at home and have a leisurely dinner for once. A big plate of asparagus. And then, soon enough, I was wading back through the snow for the final round robin draw.

Draw Fifteen

Overnight there was a giant snowstorm. And because London doesn’t plow, apparently, the streets were at a standstill. I walked through the snow both on the ground and falling hard and arrived just before the game started. There were only about 100 people there at the start, due to the snow and the hour of the game—this one started at 8:30am. On the plus side, Jenn’s dad looked right at me and threw me a set of Team Canada thundersticks. I never blew them up (good thing too, I blew them up once I was home and still can’t figure out how to get the air out of them). I was settling for supporting them by wearing my white coat and red scarf all week when Canada marched by and played on Sheets C or D. The scarf was shedding like crazy and my seat at the JLC eventually got covered in red fuzz.

Because of the snow and the early hour, I had an outstanding view of the feature game on my sheet, BC versus Canada. I had been looking forward to this and knew this would be my main photo opportunity, and I took tons of photos. Jennifer was frustrated and a little frazzled, even. They played decently, but BC were unstoppable. Kelly was very gracious in her victory.

While I watched alone in a borrowed row, Scottie the mascot came over and gave me a hug and patted me on the head. I was becoming more and more amused and enamoured with the strange and cuddly mascot. I didn’t think he (or the fans' love of him) was weird anymore.

Newfoundland continued their momentous run, beating PEI (who had a little changeup, with their skip playing third) and securing at least a tie-breaker. The game that had the most importance for playoff hopes, and thus the most emotions, was a great game to watch: NB versus Quebec. In each end NB would try to put Quebec in their place, but Bélisle and her team just kept making their shots and deservedly won this well-curled game. Now they needed to beat NS to make the playoffs, a tall order.

Team Canada was featured at the autograph session and I trudged home through the snow, had lunch, then decided to go along belatedly. I returned near the end of the session so that I only had to wait 15 minutes or so to meet them. I seemed to have lost most of my nervousness (just in time to meet my favourite team!). I smiled at Jennifer and she smiled back and held out her hand. I shook it. “I’m Jennifer.” As if I didn’t know! She asked my name. “Are you a curler?” I had rehearsed my answer all week, waiting to be asked… “Of course!” But instead I said “Yes, I am…. Of course.” And then on to the next person behind me. I didn’t speak to any of the others, they all looked a little weary—they’d just come from a tough loss, after all—but they were still upbeat. Jennifer was very gracious, shaking everyone’s hand, unlike any of the other skips I met. I spoke with her dad also and he gave me a Golden Boy pin. I seem to remember that from my Manitoban folklore. Sometimes I forget I have roots there. I attached it to my wee backpack beside my Scottish flag.

Draw Fourteen

After the Up Close and Personal I headed home.

I decided to skip the evening draw as none of the games interested me… the feature game was BC and NWT, for goodness sake. The NB and ON game was okay, apparently, but it was on Sheet A. Probably a wise decision to go home and get some rest. I was becoming a little emotional about the whole thing ending… I was hoping that there would be at least one tie-breaker. I couldn’t believe that there was only one day of round-robin left. I can’t imagine if I was curling: it would probably take me weeks to recover from the let-down after the event.

Draw Thirteen

I was back at the arena in time for the march with the piper, and shook my head when Team Canada got confused and Jenn started going the wrong direction while the rest of them followed the flag and “Team Canada” sign to the right. I didn’t see that as a good omen as Jenn laughed and ran to catch up with her team; another sign of distraction (or maybe intense introspection?).

Manitoba gave NS a big run and actually had a chance to win. We’ll never know: the red lights came on for Harvey’s last rock (the game’s last rock) and a measure for the tying point showed it was the yellow NS stone counting one for 2 points and the win. I think Colleen was quite relieved to get out of that one, especially as she and Mary-Anne disappeared for quite a while during the break and the fifth player came in to play. Then at the end of the 6^th I heard Kim call for Colleen in a voice that any woman knows as being ‘hurry there’s something you need to hear and it’s important’. They had a meeting with the official and then continued on. For the first time that week I wished I was watching it on TV to find out what happened. What did happen, incidentally, was that Mary-Anne had an allergic reaction to someone’s perfume, ending up at the hospital. However she was ok and returned for the evening game.

Cathy King’s crew played their worst game of the week, and she herself missed many shots—giving up a steal of 3 in the 6^th!—and Newfoundland won that nail-biter. At that point, I knew King would not make the playoffs. And I began hoping that Newfoundland would.

On Sheet C Canada played Ontario, though I didn’t watch this game as much as the AB/NL game. But it was rather well-played and they were eventually the last game on the ice as it went to an extra end. I thought Ontario had a chance, despite Canada having the hammer… but Scharf threw her last tap-back attempt just a little too heavy and it pushed hers cleanly through: a heart-breaking loss for them (but as I was still rooting for Canada, and as Ontario was pretty much out of everything, I wasn’t too upset).

After the game, Team Canada was due at the Lounge for an Up Close and Personal and I decided to go watch. I pushed back my shyness and introduced myself to a couple and sat at their table while I waited. They came in their street clothes—Jenn all dolled-up to go out, Cathy in a tracksuit, the others in-between—and it was quite fun, though I couldn’t actually see them sitting on the couch. George was how I’d imagined her, as was Jennifer—actually I was impressed with her as I hadn’t really expected a lot. Cathy was a goof and both laughed and frowned a lot; Jenn looked nice with her hair down (much better than when I’ve seen her on TV with her hair down!). The person who I was most impressed by was Jill. She looks kinda silly when she curls with her mouth hanging open but she was actually very well-spoken and quite pretty. They had good comraderie, I thought. And it was kinda neat to see Jenn’s family: her husband and sister both asked ‘questions’. Now I knew where to locate them in the arena: the crazy cow-bellers in white, red and black in the far corner.

Draw Twelve

Eve Bélisle had a decent game against BC on Sheet A, but it was pretty much impossible to come back after giving up 4 in the 2^nd end and BC won of course. Kelly Scott gave a grin and a triumphant wave to the appreciative crowd, the first real emotion I’d seen from this team. Canada was on Sheet C, and they too were given a run for their money by little NB: Kelly’s team played well and Team Canada played terrible. Jill flashed the same peel twice in the 10th. I’d have hit her if I was Jennifer, but she didn’t really look too agitated! But they still managed to score 4 on a fantastic shot by Jennifer—I’m not sure how NB managed to lose that one, to be honest.

Newfoundland had another convincing win and I enjoyed watching them as much as anyone else: in fact, I have started to root for them. I was not the only one: Heather Strong seemed to be impressing a large part of the audience and getting large cheers after her wins.

After the game and lunch in town I headed to the Lounge for autographs with the BC team. Not only did they have pins like Team Alberta, they were giving out chocolates and Fruit-to-Go’s too. Very nice. They were all very cute in person, though I didn’t actually talk to any of them. Kelly Scott had a nice smile. Just as I was leaving the table, I heard Jeanna say to Kelly “Uh oh, look’s like our mothers are getting in line.” Too funny; my mother would be doing the same thing.

Draw Eleven

On Sheet C, the game I watched most, strong and consistent BC blew away Manitoba in 7 ends. All the other games were surprisingly close, given the form thus far. Playing mediocre Saskatchewan, Canada made two huge errors in the ninth to give up a steal, and then Jenn had to make two great shots in the 10^th to eke out three for the win. I was continuing to become less enamoured with her: she just had no confidence and was asking too many questions of her team. And I wasn’t satisfied with their replies.

PEI got a win over Quebec, despite strong play by Quebec early—I thought they deserved the win (how might THAT have changed the eventual playoff outcomes?). On our sheet it was a steady game by NB and Newfoundland with no outstanding shots. Andrea Kelly’s streak seemed to be at an end as cool-as-cucumber Heather Strong made a pressure-filled draw without backing for the win in an extra end. I became more and more impressed with the Newfoundland team, and they were certainly on a big roll. Charles drove me home, which took longer than if I’d walked but at least I did not have to go down those spooky, empty streets.

Draw Ten

The afternoon games as a whole weren’t too exciting. Alberta blew away PEI in 7 ends 7-0, and Raylene and Lori went to watch the rest of the games. NS won a fairly predictable game over Saskatchewan, NWT got their first win over NB. On our sheet again was the best game: BC playing Ontario. Kelly Scott struggled a bit for once. The last end was one close miss after another and the tension built and built until finally BC missed and Scharf stole one for the win.

Without Canada on the ice I had to watch other teams, and spent a fair amount of time observing the Canada Cup winners, Team Alberta. Lori Armitstead is a very touchy-feely person, and drew everyone into a close huddle after each end, while also providing all the motivational speeches, whether they were up or down.

After the game I sprinted home, then belatedly trotted over to the Heart Stop Lounge to get autographs. Unlike the King team, Team Nova Scotia was all in street clothes and Colleen was surprisingly striking in person. Not that any of them gave me the time of day! But it was interesting anyway.

Draw Nine

This was absolutely the best draw so far—too bad it wasn’t televised. But I felt extremely lucky to be there. On our sheet was what would have been the feature game: the battle of the Joneses. Colleen was ahead early with two steals, and Jenn was a little down. I was continually impressed with the whole NS team: they were always cool and collected and kind and only Kim was a little hyperactive during games. Once again I was amused and impressed by Colleen as she slowly made her way down the ice to shoot, her hands behind her back, apparently lost in thought.

Jenn fought back with two steals in the 8^th and 9^th, but couldn’t prevent Colleen from counting 2 in the 10^th for the 7-6 win. She left quickly, while the crowd saluted Colleen with rousing applause as she glided up the ice to retrieve her water bottle. She smiled and nodded to the crowd and raised her hand in acknowledgement saying ‘thank you, thank you’ all the way down. She was the only skip I saw do that all week. But then, she got the most applause of all.

Jennifer Jones looked unsettled all game—the broadcasters called it earlier in the week when they said she looked uncomfortable. For someone who is crazy about curling, she certainly did look uncomfortable. She seemed to be lacking confidence. I felt that they were only getting through most games by the skin of their teeth (or the craziness of her shots) and wouldn’t really have a chance on the weekend. And so I started looking for a new favourite… Newfoundland was coming to mind. I just can’t warm up to BC, who will obviously be there in the playoffs and who I imagine will win it all.

All the other games were nail-biters too. On sheet A, NWT again came close to a win but I was happy to see Strong's Newfoundlanders prevail. On Sheet B, Manitoba won over and on C a high-scoring affair saw King’s team defeat Quebec. On every sheet it came down to the last shot of the 10^th end, and the spectators definitely were thrilled and rewarded for arriving early.

Draw Eight

Oh Canada was sung by a young man and the whole place sang with him—it was very loud! As always, being my patriotic self, I was very pleased by this. I noticed that Jennifer Jones always sang, and she was especially congratulatory to the singer on this occasion. Many of the other curlers always sang... a little different from watching hockey where the players seem to be listening to something else entirely.

There was a crazy game on Sheet A: Ontario was down and despite scoring 2 in the 9th, they didn’t have enough time to properly set up the 10th for a steal—it was too bad. But Quebec was on a roll! Yay Quebec!

Jennifer Jones was never really pressured in her games against NWT, joking and the whole team was socializing with Kerry Koe’s team. She even threw Kerry a little ‘compliment’, saying loudly (and I heard, three sheets away): “I think this one’s going to cause trouble” about a NWT rock, when really she was in no trouble. There was a little falter in the middle, but all in all the team played well, their best game of the week thus far, I’d say.

Alberta also had their best game of the tournament, blowing away Manitoba, who I have been not at all impressed with.

The best game was on my side of the arena, Sheet C, NS versus Newfoundland. Heather Strong—she reminds me of a cute little pony, not in a bad way!—played a good, cool game and forced errors from NS, ultimately resulting in a great final end to score three points for the win.

Draw Seven

The kids were back in the afternoon and were extremely noisy. I continued to watch Jennifer and formed a bit of an opinion as to her on-ice character: she seemed a little flirtatious, outgoing, liking to make others feel comfortable (she always congratulated the anthem singer, gave warm and genuine smiles to everyone… when not involved in a game!). She wears her emotions on her sleeve a little bit, gets up and down easily, and seems a little distracted by what’s going on around her. No other skip spent so much time glancing at the audience, or watching other games. She played PEI in this draw, and at the break she was up 5-1, laughing and cheery... Until PEI took 2 points in the 6th. I don’t think they were in any real danger though and she made more good shots to win.

None of the other games were interesting. And since I was still hung up on Team Canada, it didn’t really matter to me!

Draw Six

Monday morning, and I expected the place to be half deserted. Nope! Not only were there quite a few of us regular spectators, there were also a couple hundred crazy schoolkids in the upper levels. Each class seemed to have picked a different team to cheer for, and when the team marched out and were announced big cheers went up. Most of the curlers acknowledged the kids with smiles and waves.

I thought the singer of Oh Canada was a little over-the-top; apparently Colleen agreed because she was cracking up throughout the whole song. I never saw her sing along with Oh Canada. So perhaps she was cracking up about something else, not even listening to the anthem.

The best game was on the far sheet, an excellent game between NS and BC which ended in a heartbreaking loss for Colleen. Andrea Kelly continued her excellent play with a defeat of Cathy King. Kelly kept King off balance the entire game in an impressive display. The crowd was behind Kerry Koe as she nearly defeated PEI—I’m not at all fond of Gaudet’s team—NWT had a couple of close games now. They’re bound to get a win at some point.

I quite enjoyed watching Cathy King, as I felt she was in control of her team. My opinion would change a little as their luck continued to run down.

It was extremely cold in the arena. Outside it wasn’t any warmer and despite walking very fast I was chattering my teeth by the time I arrived at the Heart Stop Lounge. It was a giant room in the London Convention Centre and I had a quick look around before getting in line to get Team Alberta’s autograph. Cathy King was very warm but the others didn’t even look at you. The fifth was very sweet and offered me a pin, which I took.

Draw Five

The evening draw featured three good games. Canada won a well-curled nail-biter over Quebec—I really thought Belisle was going to beat Jennifer. But Jenn had her confidence that game, smiling, relaxed, making two excellent doubles to keep that confidence up. Jill played really well and ultimately they just nipped Quebec. On Sheet C, Newfoundland fell behind but fought back and actually had a chance to score 4 in the 10th for the win. Georgina Wheatcroft, Lori Armitstead and others stood and watched but Heather missed the raise take-out and Manitoba won.

Then all attention turned to the near sheet where there was an outstanding exhibition by Ontario and NS. Scharf played excellently, as did Colleen, and she scored 2 in the 10th to send it to an extra end. An awesome double take-out by the Ontario second had the arena in a roar and Lori pumping her fist in the air on their behalf. But ultimately Colleen was cool and Krista missed a relatively easy draw by sliding it through the house, giving NS the steal and the win. The crowd was extremely supportive of both teams.

I noticed that Colleen has a very forceful personality—in a very quiet way—and also very decisive. On her team, Kim Kelly is the comedian, talking all the time to the rocks, to the other sweepers, to herself. Very funny. She said quietly to her teammates as they held off sweeping her rock: “Don’t let it trick you….”

Colleen saunters down to the far end of the sheet for her shots, as if there is all day to get there, slowly pushing her way along, looking down, introspective. Once there, she steps over the bumper, takes a drink, steps back over, gets in the hack, cleans her stone with her broom, adjusts her glasses, then pushes off. Smooth as silk. I pointed this routine out to Charles beside me: “You watch too much curling” was the reply.

There was a older guy in the crowd with a beret who called “On-taaar-iooooooo” to the delight of the crowd. Later in the week he brought a giant Ontario flag which he waved while calling out. He was a crowd favourite.

I left the arena with my heart pounding: what a display of curling! And then I faced the long walk home.

Draw Four

I arrived as the teams were finishing practice. Canada was way over on Sheet A playing Newfoundland, and I didn’t think it would be a very interesting game, not expecting much from the Heather Strong team. I started to chat with my seat mates. On my left were alternately a man and his wife (never at the same game) and then beyond them an older couple during the day, and their daughter and granddaughter at the evening draws.

The crowd was large and enthusiastic once again. My sheet had an excellent game featuring Quebec and Manitoba, with Quebec pulling off the win with a steal in the 10th. Sheet C had a relatively boring game between BC and NB, won by Kelly Scott, of course. I still wasn’t expecting too much from the juniors. And Canada on Sheet A got trounced by confident Heather Strong and her Newfoundlanders 9-3, with Canada giving up after 8 ends. This turned my head to look at Newfoundland, that’s for sure. Jennifer Jones was very discouraged, and sat alone at the end of the break, silent. PEI won over Saskatchewan, and I began to wish that Stefanie Lawton had made the Scott instead of Streifel, to make things even more interesting.

Draw Three

I confess… I didn’t go to the morning draw. The teams playing didn’t really interest me (only two sheets in play) so I took the opportunity to stay home and instead went early for the 2:30pm game.

I must describe the ugly pants. On TV, you don’t really realize how ugly they are. In fact, I quite liked the ones the Kleibrink squad wore in Torino. However, in person, they are ugly and wrinkly and very unflattering. I was surprised. Poor curlers! Funny though, after the second day… I no longer noticed the ugliness anymore. Too busy watching the curling and the players.

Start of the Scott

I left Toronto early, then I settled in at my home for the next week. Then, with some trepidation and a hand-drawn map, I set out for the John Labatt Centre.

It took me almost 30 minutes, past some nice old houses, on a very nice afternoon. London downtown was fairly quiet, and a little run-down, but everywhere hung flags advertising the Scott and most shop windows had displays of hearts and curling paraphernalia. This made me smile, but I was still a little anxious as I headed for the JLC.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I arrived, as I thought I’d be the conspicuous as the only one there. I was dead wrong! The place was busy, and I went to my seat quietly: the Hot Shots competition was underway. Right away, I saw both Joneses, Colleen and Jennifer, and all my anxiety was gone, replaced by a little thrill: here I was, in the presence of my curling idols. I was instantly drawn in. They both made it to the semis, and competed on my side of the rink (Sheet D). It was fun to see this in person, as you only get little snippets on TV. Ultimately Colleen went on to win the whole thing and we all spilled out into the sunshine. I walked around the downtown a bit and then returned to the arena.

DRAW ONE
I arrived just after practice had ended, and settled in to my seat. The MC came out and announced the pipers. What I hadn’t realized from watching on TV was that when the pipers marched out at the head of the teams, the crowd stood. I loved that: clapping my hands in time with the pipes and focusing on the teams entering the arena. The curlers came in clapping too, marching in lines around the whole arena and then back to the start. Then Oh Canada was sung, the MC wished everyone good curling, and ‘let the games begin!’

My sheet had what I thought would be a good game, NS versus King’s AB crew, but Team Alberta was outplayed the whole game, and inevitably lost. The best game ended up being ON and Northwest Territories, on the far sheet, with Koe almost pulling off a first-game upset. NB’s young team skipped by towering Andrea Kelly trounced PEI, and Saskatchewan edged favourites BC.

After the game on my sheet, Colleen got a big cheer as she left the ice: all the fans I’ve heard for years have done so much complaining about her... and yet in person they love her. And I have to admit, I liked her too.

DRAW TWO
But it was the evening draw I was waiting for with baited breath: Team Canada’s debut. The afternoon draw went long with extra ends and I raced home the half hour jog and raced back again to make sure I was there when the piper’s first notes rang out. The fourth team out was headed by the Canada flag and then there was Jennifer, giving Scottie’s Little Softie (the big, ridiculous-looking mascot) a high-five like the other curlers, making her way up the arena and then back down my side of the sheet. She looked right at me as they paraded by and I dropped my eyes immediately with shyness: there was no one in the two rows ahead of me. The team was throwing things into the audience but they were out by the time they got to me.

My seats were pretty awesome, about 10 feet out from the home-end hog line, five rows up (but really only three, because of the ‘penalty box’). And despite the fullness of the arena, there was no one in front of me: and wouldn’t be, until Wednesday! The evening draw was not quite as full as the afternoon one, but it was still pretty good.

Watching their game closely, I was disappointed in Jennifer’s play and if it wasn’t for the rest of her team they’d have lost. She seemed to be frustrated, especially by a flash in the 5th end, leading to a steal of 2 by Manitoba. She sat silently on the break but they came back with 3 in the 6th. The tenth end was a little funny, especially as it appeared that there was going to be a hogged rock (by George or Jill I can’t remember) and the crowd was cheering like crazy to get it over and went wild when it finally made it. Cathy started laughing and I later watched the tape to see what she said: “Sweep a guard and the crowd goes nuts!” Yup, we’re crazy alright.

Canada won the game in the end. BC won their game against PEI handily, NB won another to top the leader board, and Quebec stole lots of points to win their game. I was impressed with the Quebec skip and her style of play and made a note to watch them, especially as I immediately recognized Marie-France Larouche, a past Scott runner-up and fan favourite, as their fifth player.

Back home, to watch curling! I wished I knew someone who would go with me to the Heart Stop Lounge with everyone else but instead I made the long and weary (and rather spooky) trek back home through the silent Saturday night streets of London.

The Scott Tournament of Hearts

Are you a curling newbie? What do you need to know about the Scott to enjoy my coverage? Well, first the format: there are twelve teams competing. Each province sends a team (10—heck if you don’t know curling maybe you don’t know Canada either!), the territories send a team, and then there are the defending champions, who come back as Team Canada. To represent your province, you need to win a bunch of so-called ‘playdowns’, encompassing larger and larger areas until you are at the provincial version of the Scott Tournament of Hearts. The winner, said to ‘win her province’, goes to the national championship to compete.

Notables at this years Scott include past-champion Cathy King of Alberta, the recent winner of the Canada Cup; Colleen Jones of Nova Scotia, a six-time champion back for a 20th shot at the championship; Kelly Scott of British Columbia, 3rd last year, and who narrowly missed becoming our Olympic representatives; Heather Strong of Newfoundland and Labrador, who’d had a poor showing last time out at the Scott in her hometown; Kerry Koe of the Territories, returned again for another try; Andrea Kelly of New Brunswick, last year’s Canadian Junior champion who’d actually failed to get out of her province for juniors and decided to have a go at the women’s!

There were also a bunch of, to me, relative unknowns: Janet Harvey of Manitoba, Krista Scharf of Ontario, Suzanne Gaudet of PEI, Eve Belisle of Quebec, Tracy Streifel of Saskatchewan.

But then again, Kleibrink was unknown to me before the Olympic trials!

And of course, the team I’d supported long before they made the finals of last year’s Scott: Jennifer Jones, Team Canada.

And this is the lineup. I was disappointed in the absence of Jenn Hanna and Stephanie Lawton, who’d brought such brilliant play to last year’s Scott, but thought I’d probably enjoy myself anyway. And one of these unknowns might just turn out to be a star… after all, after two years abroad, I hadn’t heard of Jennifer Jones until last year!

The tournament is a round robin: all teams play each of the others over 6 days, two games a day (except the first weekend). The top four teams make the playoffs. I’ll describe that format when we get there.

For curling basics… well, check out this website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling. I’m not going to teach it here. Chances are you’ve at least watched some curling if you are interested in my blog!

Oh and fair warning... though I did write and date these posts as shown, they were not published til much later and occasionally you'll see that I jumped ahead... a writer's liberty taken, I suppose.

Curling does rock

This site is dedicated to curling. Not just the game and the tournaments and what-have-you, but also the curlers. I love women's curling, I think it is way more fun to watch than the men's. And I will lay out my argument to anyone who dares question me!

This weekend I'm off to the premier curling event for women in the world, The Scott Tournament of Hearts. No, not the Olympics or the Worlds but rather the Canadian championships. After all, 90% of the best teams are in Canada (made that statistic up, but it's gotta be pretty close). And that makes for some GOOD curling.

I'm mainly going because it's fairly local and because my current favourite team, Team Jennifer Jones, will be there. Also the recent Canada Cup winner Cathy King, and some more veterans such as Colleen Jones and Heather Strong. I am very excited as this will be the first time I've gone to watch a major event in person. My prediction for the playoffs: Cathy King and Colleen Jones will probably be there. Fingers crossed for Jennifer and Team Canada...