After going 7-0 through the round robin and semi-final, and personally playing my best game in the semis, I was confident going into the final. I think it was the worst game of the week for all four of us. Credit to Team Alberta. They recognized they had us on the ropes early in every end and played their game perfectly, putting more pressure on us with every rock. I think it was the first game where we got outplayed at the lead position, and then I certainly was no help and it was downhill from there. Again, congratulations to Team Alberta for a great week, finishing with a 7-1 record and achieving a hard-earned, well-deserved National title at The Dominion Curling Club Championship.
At this time I just want to thank everyone who was involved in making this week so fantastic. The spirit of competition, comraderie, and sportsmanship is almost overwhelming through the entire bonspiel. The Dominion is an incredible sponsor that puts on a first class event for club curlers across the country. I'm extremely grateful to them and the huge group of great people who made it all happen. Bill Duck and his ice crew provided us with consistent ice from start to finish, truly allowing the curlers to showcase all the shots in their repertoires. From officials to organizers, media, bartenders (why do we never give these guys/girls specific shoutouts?), and of course competitors, this event is full of the most humble, classy and selfless curlers and curling fans from across Canada. I'm truly proud and honoured that I was able to be a part of it.
A specific congratulations to Lee Brenton (second for the Nunavut men) and Leah Bishop (lead for the NWT ladies) on being voted the Most Sportsmanlike players of the week. I had the pleasure of playing Lee and getting to know him, and he easily stood out in my mind as the guy for this award. He's a true competitor, loves the sport of curling, and treats everyone he meets with respect and kindness. It was his amazing sense of humour and sweet cowboy hats that set him apart from the crowd and earned him this award.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to know Leah as well, but I was able to talk to her at the airport on the way home and she reiterated a feeling that she expressed in her acceptance speech for the award, which I'm sure so many of us were feeling as well - she was just incredibly happy to be able to participate in The Dominion Curling Club Nationals. Even after just a short conversation, it was easy to see she possessed the same qualities that made Lee the obvious choice for the men's award.
Another congratulations/thank you to Steve Bragg, vice for Newfoundland. Steve was selected to keep a blog of the players' experience at the Championship (you can find his posts intermingled with the other notes in the facebook group), and delivered a speech at the closing banquet that well represented my feelings for sure, and probably all of the players there. You couldn't have selected a better man for the job, and again I'm really glad I had the chance to curl against Steve and get to know him and his teammates a little bit. He and his team also had a great week, losing the semi-final to the eventual champions.
I think that's enough for this novel. If I keep going, we might be here for another week as I re-live every minute. At least every minute that still exists in my memory. The Saskatchewan guys did their best to make sure there weren't many of those. Speaking of which, I'll also thank Saskatchewan second Ian Schindler for exchanging shirts with me. I'll wear the SK green with pride... some day. I'm not curling a lot this year so I can't really promise anything. I really hope I'll be able to experience something like this again in my lifetime, and thank you to everyone who has been following us and supporting us on our mission.
-Curtis
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