Heading to Richmond

Well Jordan got us off to a good start. Even though he made my bio the most boring. Before we get to Richmond, I want to reaffirm a point that Jordan made in a curlingzone post. This event is absolutely the highlight of my season. I started curling at Richmond Hill in 1993 when I was 7 and won my first zone patch I think in 2002 when I was 16. It was a school boy's zone patch with my older brother, Nick.

My curling career has been pretty consistent until now. I've played a lot of OCA competitions over the last 18 years and only been past the zone level 4-5 times. Jordan and I made the OCA Challenge provincials in 2010 with our brothers, Nick and Mike (I think we ended up 2-3 in that, one of the Keons will correct me quickly if that's wrong) and the 2011 Dominion provincial was just the second provincial level playdown of my career. Some people have been saying our team doesn't belong in the Dominion National competition because of our skip, which kind of led to a short debate on "what is a club curler". Bob Weeks blogged about it, and again, there was the curlingzone thread Jordan posted in. I think in those debates though, there was something missed.

Through juniors, I watched a lot of players parachute out of different clubs in order to put in teams with the best curlers they could find, regardless of geography. I always played with the people I loved playing with - my brother and the Jones brothers, Ryan and Sean. For like 10 years, through little rocks, bantams and juniors, the four of us curled together in whatever we could. We lost a lot of zone/bonspiel/league games to a lot of the same guys. Elite curling is about winning almost above all else (like any sport), and club curling is about having a good time. To suggest these two are mutually exclusive doesn't make any sense, and I'm sure lots of people reading this believe that you often need the latter in order to achieve the former. I've been a club curler my whole life, and have had a lot of good times because of it. I know there are many curlers out there with the same mindset, and that's exactly what the Dominion is all about.

Now you can enter a team with all your friends (whether they're known across the province, or not known at all) in some club league, win a few games, and be on the path to a national championship. It's a fantastic event that really focuses on what curling has been for me throughout my life - a good time. That part of it was evident at the Ontario provincials. Every team we ran into seemed to share a cohesiveness you just don't see on the tour. Sure, there are lots of teams who play regularly on the OCT that get along great, but they'll probably all agree that they play together and have a good time together because they win. If they stop winning, they move on. That's what's prudent on the OCT and in elite curling/sports in general.

We formed our team through chance, and kept it together because we had a good time. Some people have said we represent the exact problem that The Dominion Curling Club Championship was trying to work around. No "club curling" team wants to enter a zone where they will run into the likes of Greg Balsdon and be eliminated without ever having a chance. I don't remember hearing any of this last year when two teams at the zones beat us and we were eliminated. This year, I remember crossing my fingers hoping we didn't draw Trevor Wall in our first game of the zone. I don't really know what it feels like to be part of the obvious favourite team going into a zone, but I imagine it doesn't involve crossing your fingers hoping to avoid somebody. Regardless of what anyone says, we earned our way here and are well within the spirit of The Dominion Curling Club Nationals.

All of that being said, I am happy to note that there have been many more supporters of The Dominion eligibility rules than nay sayers. The criticism has come from a limited few, and I think most people understand the intent of The Dominion and support the way they've gone about it.  Personally, I hope this never goes away and I hope every club in the province (if not nation) takes full advantage of it by sending a representative to their zone playdown. Anyway, mostly all I can think about right now is getting to Richmond, figuring out the ice, and making a bunch of shots. But before that, finding a beer store.  Or an LCBBC. Wherever they sell booze in BC. This week is going to be a good time.

-Curtis