Competition fierce with 'great opportunity' at N.L. curling championship
Winner of provincial tankard will go to the Brier
Competition at this year's provincial men's curling championships in St. John's is fierce, as teams face off for a chance to represent Newfoundland and Labrador at the Brier for the first time in more than a decade.
"We've got a very exciting weekend, a lot of pressure for all the teams competing," says John Sheppard, 25, president of the St. John's Curling Club.
The stakes are high as Team Gushue, which has dominated provincial curling since 2002, is out of the mix thanks to a guaranteed spot at the national curling championships.
Team Gushue earned their place by winning last year's Brier in St. John's.
Sheppard is an avid curler himself, competing as an alternate with Team Boland in this week's tankard at the Re/max Centre.
He told CBC Radio One's Weekend AM Saturday that curlers in the province haven't had a chance like this since Gushue was out in 2006, when the team was in the Olympics.
"Obviously with Brad coming back as Team Newfoundland and Labrador, to have the opportunity to play and the possibility to represent the province, it's very exciting."
More teams, more training
Sheppard said he thinks there are more curling crews competing in the provincials this year than there have been since 2002.
"Which is great for curling in the province, to have so many teams putting so much effort in and competing"
By Saturday evening, just two teams were left in the playoffs, with Team Symonds beating Team Boland 6-4 in the semifinal that afternoon.
Semi-finals underway at the <a href="https://twitter.com/CurlingNL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CurlingNL</a> Tankard. <a href="https://twitter.com/teambolandcurl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@teambolandcurl</a> playing <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSymonds?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TeamSymonds</a>. Winner to play <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamGregSmithNL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TeamGregSmithNL</a> tonight. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cbcnl?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#cbcnl</a> <a href="https://t.co/9SYDUzZ6GD">pic.twitter.com/9SYDUzZ6GD</a>
—@Jeremy_EatonAt 7:30 p.m. Symonds will face Team Smith, led by Greg Smith, which has gone undefeated all competition despite this year being their first together.
If Smith wins, he secures his spot at the Brier. If he loses, there will be a second match Sunday at 1 p.m.
"It's difficult for teams to put the effort in when you're competing against the best team in the world, and I think that Team Gushue has been that for at least three or four years," Sheppard said.
He said Gushue's success kind of discouraged really intense competition in the province, while inspiring curlers as well.
"The physical fitness that's involved in curling is incredible," Sheppard said, adding that the sport has really evolved over the last 15 years.
Competitive curlers spend a lot of time preparing, working out in the gym and on the ice.
"As soon as Brad won the Brier last year, we seen teams down on the ice that week," Sheppard said.
'It's not just a game'
Sheppard said one of the things he loves most about curling is that it brings together people from different generations, as you can see in the championships this week.
"You develop friendships that last quite a while," and learn a lot about the game from fellow curlers, he said.
"We really try to push that to young kids, this is a sport for life, it's not just a game, but it's also the community that we have and we're always open to having new people join the curling community."
The 2018 Tim Hortons Brier is set for Mar. 3-11 in Regina.