Eye Opener - Curling Canada

Issue 1 – Saturday, March 19, 2016 • An Official Publication of Curling Canada
Team Canada skip Chelsea Carey
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Page 2
2016 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship
“
It’s been my
dream since
I was seven
years old. I
don’t know
how to phrase
it any better
than that.
­— Chelsea Carey
Chelsea Carey led her team to victory
at the Scotties last month in Grande Prairie.
Living a dream
By CAM HUTCHINSON
C
Eye Opener Assistant Editor
helsea Carey was barely off the ice
after winning the Scotties Tournament
of Hearts when she ran into Canadian
curling legend Kevin Martin.
“I was collecting my stuff and I was talking
with Kevin Martin and he said, “So, it’s about
two weeks until you leave, right?’ And I said,
‘What?’ And he said, ‘I think that’s right.’”
And so the whirlwind to Swift Current
and the Ford World Women’s Curling
Championship, presented by Meridian, began
for Carey, third Amy Nixon, second Jocelyn
Peterman, lead Laine Peters, alternate Susan
O’Connor and coach Charley Thomas.
“It’s been my dream since I was seven
years old,” Carey said of representing Canada.
“I don’t know how to phrase it any better
than that. My first dream was to represent my
province and I didn’t achieve that until I was
29, and then to turn around three years later
and wear the Maple Leaf, which was always
the ultimate dream, is beyond words. Like I
say, I still don’t think it has fully sunk in, but
every day I wake up and it hits me a little bit
more that it’s true.”
Twelve of the best teams in the world are
here. There are a couple of former champions, a
team that keeps coming close and one that seems
to be on the verge of busting the door down.
“There are a whole bunch of really good
teams at this tournament – past champions,
European champions,” Carey said. “You
have to look right away at Eve Muirhead,
Margaretha Sigfridsson, Anna Sidorova . . . it
is a deep field as it always is at the women’s
worlds these days it seems.”
A name missing from the quote is that of
Binia Feltscher of Switzerland, who won
Carey pumped
to be at worlds
the world championship two years ago. Her
homeland has won three of the last four, and
each time a different skip has stepped onto the
highest rung on the podium. You have to go
all the way back to 1994, 1996 and 1997 to
find a time when Canada won three in four
years. Sandra Schmirler won the first and third
of those, with Marilyn Bodogh grabbing the
one in the middle.
Muirhead and her Scottish team won in
2013, and she is back for the seventh time
despite being a month away from her 26th
birthday. She is no doubt hoping to not only
win here, but also return home with her team.
When the worlds were in Swift Current in
2010, Scottish third Kelly Wood and the city’s
mayor, Jerrod Schafer, fell in love. They were
married in 2013 and reside in Swift Current.
See DREAM
Page 13
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Page 3
Canadian drought
at worlds puzzling
«
DAVE
W
KOMOSKY
hy can’t Canada win the world
women’s curling championship any
more?
That’s a question that began as a soft murmur
a couple of years ago but has become an all-out
roar today as Canada’s Chelsea Carey prepares
to take on the world in Swift Current for another
edition of this annual rock festival.
It’s right there in black and white. Canada’s
Jennifer Jones was the last Canadian woman to
lead her team to a world title back in 2008 when
the event was held in the lovely city of Vernon, B.C.
Since then the title has gone to China,
Germany, Sweden, Scotland and three times to
Switzerland.
And it’s not like Canada has sent chopped
liver into the global affairs. Jones took a couple
more cracks at the title since her win on 2008,
and came home with a bronze and a silver. Not
bad, but not good enough. Rachel Homan, who
everyone believed would end the drought, also
played in two world events, but a silver and
bronze was the best she could do.
So if we’re sending our best, and still not
winning the thing, what does that say about the
state of Canadian women’s curling on the global
stage?
Well, it may not be all that bad, really.
Consider, of course, that Jones and her
Winnipeg teammates out of the St. Vital Curling
Club are the Olympic gold-medal champions.
Ask her if she’d rather have a Olympic gold
medal or a second world title and she’ll likely tell
you to give your head a shake.
Olympic gold is the ultimate curling prize,
and Canada has it. So we don’t need to fret too
much about the fact Canada is going through an
extended drought at the world championships.
But Canada’s failure to win a women’s world
title over the past six years does remain a puzzle.
No one seemed more qualified to address that
puzzle that Jones and her long-time second Jill Officer. Both have been to the worlds five times.
See DROUGHT
Page 12
Jennifer Jones was the last Canadian to skip her
team to a world women’s curling championship.
THE TEAMS . . .
Page 4
2016 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship
Canada
Denmark
Finland
Germany
Glencoe Club
(Calgary)
Skip — Chelsea Carey
Third — Amy Nixon
Second — Jocelyn Peterman
Lead — Laine Peters
Alt. — Susan O’Connor
Coach — Charley Thomas
Alands CK
(Eckero)
Skip — Oona Kauste
Third — Milja Hellsten
Second — Maija Salmiovirta
Lead — Marjo Hippi
Alt. — Jenni Rasanen
Coach — Tomi Rantamaki
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Hvidovre Curling Club
(Hvidovre)
Skip — Lene Nielsen
Third — Stephanie Risdal Nielsen
Second — Isabella Clemmensen
Lead — Charlotte Clemmensen
Alt. — Madeleine Dupont
Coach — Ulrik Schmidt
CC Fussen
(Fussen)
Skip — Daniela Driendl
Third — Analena Jentsch
Second — Marika Trettin
Lead — Pia-Lisa Scholl
Alt. — Maike Beer
Coach — Thomas Lips
THE TEAMS . . .
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Italy
Page 5
Japan
Tokoro Curling Club
(Kitami)
Skip — Satsuki Fujisawa
Third — Chinami Yoshida
Second — Yumi Suzuki
Lead — Yurika Yoshida
Alt. — Mari Motohashi
Coach — James Lind
CC Tofane
(Cortina d’Ampezzo)
Skip — Federica Apollonio
Third — Stefania Menardi
Second — Chiara Olivieri
Lead — Maria Gaspari
Alt. — Claudia Alvera
Coach — Brian Gray
Team Russia skip Anna Sidorova
S. Korea
Gyeonggido Curling Club
(Gyeonggi Province)
Skip — Un Chi Gim
Third — Seul Bee Lee
Second — Min Ji Um
Lead — Yoon Jung Yeom
Alt. — Ji Sun Kim
Coach — Dong Ho Shin
Russia
CC Moskvitch
(Moscow)
Skip — Anna Sidorova
Third — Margarita Fomina
Second — Alexandra Raeva
Lead — Nkeiruka Ezekh
Alt. — Alina Kovaleva
Coach — Rodger Schmidt
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Page 6
2016 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship
TIMEDRAW
TODAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
2016
WORLD
DRAW
A
B
C
D
2 p.m.
1
USA vs. Switzerland
Japan vs. Finland
Russia vs. Italy
Canada vs. Denmark
7 p.m.
2
Italy vs. Japan
Scotland vs. Sweden
Germany vs. Korea
Russia vs. Finland
9 a.m.
3
Denmark vs. USA
Canada vs. Switzerland
2 p.m.
4
Sweden vs. Germany
Finland vs. Italy
Japan vs. Russia
Scotland vs. S. Korea
7 p.m.
5
Swiss vs. Denmark
Germany vs. Scotland
Korea vs. Sweden
USA vs. Canada
9 a.m.
6
Canada vs. Russia
Denmark vs. Japan
USA vs. Italy
Switzerland vs. Finland
2 p.m.
7
Japan vs. S. Korea
Russia vs. Sweden
Finland vs. Germany
Italy vs. Scotland
7 p.m.
8
Scotland vs. USA
Germany vs. SwitzerlandSweden vs. Canada
9 a.m.
9
Sweden vs. Switzerland S. Korea vs. USA
Scotland vs. Denmark
Germany vs. Canada
2 p.m.
10
Denmark vs. Finland
Canada vs. Italy
Switzerland vs. Japan
USA vs. Russia
7 p.m.
11
Italy vs. Germany
Finland vs. Scotland
Russia vs. S. Korea
Japan vs. Sweden
9 a.m.
12
Russia vs. Scotland
Japan vs. Germany
Italy vs. Sweden
Finland vs. S. Korea
2 p.m.
13
Korea vs. Canada
Sweden vs. Denmark
Germany vs. USA
Scotland vs. Switzerland
7 p.m.
14
USA vs. Japan
Switzerland vs. Russia
Canada vs. Finland
Denmark vs. Italy
9 a.m.
15
Finland vs. Sweden
Italy vs. S. Korea
Japan vs. Scotland
Russia vs. Germany
2 p.m.
16
Switzerland vs. Italy
USA vs. Finland
Denmark vs. Russia
Canada vs. Japan
7 p.m.
17
Germany vs. Denmark Scotland vs. Canada
S. Korea vs. Denmark
S. Korea vs. Switzerland Sweden vs. USA
TIEBREAKERS/PAGE PLAYOFFS/SEMIFINAL/BRONZE/FINAL
TIEBREAKERS
Friday, March 25
2 p.m.
PAGE PLAYOFF 1 vs. 2 Friday, March 25
7 p.m.
PAGE PLAYOFF 3 vs. 4 Saturday, March 26
2 p.m.
SEMIFINAL
Saturday, March 26
7 p.m.
BRONZE
Sunday, March 27
10 a.m.
FINAL
Sunday, March 27
3 p.m.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Page 7
THE TEAMS . . .
Scotland
Various Clubs
(Scotland)
Skip — Eve Muirhead
Third — Anna Sloan
Second — Vicki Adams
Lead — Sarah Reid
Alt. — Rachel Hannen
Coach — David Hay
Sweden
Skelleftea CK (Skelleftea)
Skip — Margaretha Sigfridsson
(lead rocks)
Third — Christina Bertrup
Second — Maria Wennerstrom
Lead — Maria Prytz (skip rocks)
Alt. — Agnes Knochenhauer
Coach — Fredrik Hallstrom
After four silver
medals, Swedish
skip Margaretha
Sigfridsson is
looking to win her
first world title.
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CC Flims
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Skip — Binia Feltscher
Third — Irene Schori
Second — Franziska Kaufmann
Lead — Christine Urech
Alt. — Carole Howald
Coach — Al Moore
Various Clubs
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Skip — Erika Brown
Third — Allison Pottinger
Second — Nicole Joraanstad
Lead — Natalie Nicholson
Alt. — Tabitha Peterson
Coach — Ann Swisshelm
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Page 8
2016 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship
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Saturday, March 19, 2016
Page 9
AUTOGRAPH SESSIONS
SPACE TO PLACE YOUR
AUTOGRAPHS BELOW!
SATURDAY, MARCH 19 | 12:30 p
SATURDAY, MARCH 19 | 5:15 p
TEAM SWEDEN
TEAM SWITZERLAND
MARCH 19
SATURDAY
UP CLOSE & PERSONAL
5:45 P
TEAM CANADA
Get over to the Patch to get up close
& personal with members of Team
Canada! You won’t believe what they
have to say. Maybe even clink a glass
or two — with a possible autograph
opportunity to follow. Don’t miss it!
WELCOME TO
THE BATTLEFIELD
Angus McStone
It’s a battle of wits on a frozen
sheet of hellfire! Gasp, cheer and
roar with your kin as Team Canada
takes on every challenger at this
year’s Ford World Women’s Curling
Championship! Twelve of curling’s
finest teams from around the world
have come to Swift Current to take
the title. Let’s make them fight for
it. Come what may, Team Canada
is ready. Are you?
Page 10
2016 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship
PLAYOFF BOUND . . .
CHELSEA CAREY
1. RUSSIA
ANNA
SIDOROVA
Anna Sidorova
CC Moskvitch (Moscow)
Skip: Anna Sidorova
Second: Alexandra Raeva
Third: Margarita Fomina
Lead: Nkeiruka Ezekh
EVE
MUIRHEAD
The skinny: We’re going out on a limb here, but it’s a pretty strong one. Russia’s Anna Siderova and her reigning European champions are going to win a
world title at some point, and this could be it. This is a young but veteran team
that is well-schooled and can stand up against anybody in the game. Bronze
medals in the past two world events mean they are really, really close.
2. SWITZERLAND
BINIA FELTSCHER
CC Flims (Flims)
Skip: Binia Feltscher
Second: Franziska Kaufmann
Third: Irene Schori
Lead: Christine Urech
The skinny: It’s hard to go against a former world champion (2014) who is
carrying the colours of a country that has won three of the last four world
events. Switzerland is a women’s world curling powerhouse, and they could
certainly win it again. May have the best attitude of any team here. They go
out and play, don’t panic, and always seem happy. What’s not to like?
3. CANADA
CHELSEA CAREY
Glencoe Club (Calgary)
Skip: Chelsea Carey
Second: Jocelyn Peterman
Third: Amy Nixon
Lead: Laine Peters
The skinny: Canada no longer dominates world women’s curling, and it could be
said the rest of the world may have zoomed past the Canucks. Canada hasn’t won
since 2008, and it may be another blank year unless Carey can bring her A game.
The Canadians are very good, obviously, but they are facing some pretty formidable opponents. They should make the playoffs. After that, anything can happen.
4. SCOTLAND
EVE MUIRHEAD
Various clubs and cities
Skip: Eve Muirhead
Second: Vicki Adams
Third: Anna Sloan
Lead: Sarah Reid
The skinny: Muirhead is back again looking for her second world women’s title
(2013), and there’s little doubt she has the team to do it. Muirhead, who has a great
pedigree in the game, provides exceptional leadership, has great knowledge of the
game, and is one of the best at throwing the final shot when the pressure is on.
Plenty of experience, too. There aren’t too many holes in Scotland’s armour.
BINIA
FELTSCHER
Saturday, March 19, 2016
. . . AND THE OTHERS
Page 11
Don’t overlook . . .
SWEDEN: It seems kind of ludicrous to rank Sweden out of the playoffs, and that could blow up in
our faces, but with the rise of Russia, the Tre Kroner get knocked down a few pegs. Margaretha Sigfridsson has lost the final four times, twice as skip, and is really hungry for her first title. The Swedes
have taken their foot off the gas pedal a bit lately, but with the Olympics in sight, they are gearing up.
U.S.A: It is the beauty of sport that you never know who is going to win, which perfectly explains why
Erika Brown should not be dismissed too quickly in this field. Brown, an American citizen who lives
with her husband Peter Corner in Oakville, Ont., has a wealth of experience to fall back on and she
won’t be rattled if she falls behind. If she is playing her best and can get a few breaks along the way,
there nothing that says she can’t make the playoffs.
SOUTH KOREA: Don’t take the Koreans lightly. They have been taught well on the mechanics of the
game, and have plenty of experience. If they get on a roll, look out.
Spoilers at best . . .
FINLAND — They made some noise at the recent European championships, winning a bronze
against a tough field, so they can certainly hold their own. But this field is awfully tough.
JAPAN: The Asian teams are a bit of a mystery. They could play really, really tough, or fall way back in the
pack. Reports on the Japanese players say they are technically sound, but may be a little short on strategy.
Their coach is Calgary’s J.D. Lind, who also coached Canada’s coach, Charley Thomas, to world junior
gold in 2007.
Enjoy the visit . . .
GERMANY — Since Andrea Schöpp retired, it’s been tough sledding for the Germans. This team was
4-7 last year at the worlds and will likely have the same record this go-round.
DENMARK: A lot of experience here, including the Olympic Games, but at major competitions you
can usually find Lene Nielsen at the back of the back. That’s the way she’ll likely finish here.
Erika Brown of the United States has a wealth of experience.
ITALY — The Italians have failed to produce a team capable of winning a world women’s championship, and this year should be no different. But they will be fun to watch.
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Page 12
2016 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship
JILL OFFICER
SMC_newspaper_ad-curling.pdf
1
2016-01-22
5:16 PM
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
Drought
FROM PAGE 3
“It’s really quite easy, the rest of the teams
around the world are amazing,” Jones said
after the recent Scotties Tournament of Hearts,
where she finished third. “You can see that in
the Grand Slam; a lot of them are ranked in
the top 15 in the world. Just as many teams
from outside Canada are now competing in the
slams as there are Canadian teams.”
Five of the top 15 women’s teams on the
Grand Slam tour this season are non-Canadian.
Officer, who has been with Jones for 15
years, thinks part of it is the rest of the world
is simply catching up — same as has happened in hockey — and have done so by
focusing on the development of a few teams.
“You look at a lot of the other countries
and they only have one or two teams that are
competing at that elite level and on the international stage on a regular basis and they’re
getting the funding to do exactly that,” she
explained.
“Here in Canada we have such great
depth. We have some funding but because we
have such depth it gets spread a little bit thin
sometimes. Not to say that’s what causing it,
but I think it’s helping the rest of the world.”
Jones agrees.
“That’s part of it. They select their team
and they focus on one team and put a lot of
resources into making them the best they can.”
It’s not that the rest of the world plays a
different style. The women’s game has been
changing in recent years as the curlers become
more talented, more confident and more willing to take risks.
“In the women’s game I think we’re
“
It’s really
quite easy.
The rest of
the teams
around the
world are
amazing.
­— Jennifer Jones
starting to see a lot more rocks in play, more
aggressiveness and I think that’s great for
curling,” said Officer.
But it’s a change that’s happening everywhere in the world.
Then, of course, there’s the still the myth.
Canadians and curling … the world’s best.
That, says Officer, means every game Canada
is facing an opponent determined to play their
absolute best in hopes of knocking off the
Canadians.
“Everyone gets up to play Canada,”
she said. “It doesn’t matter who represents
Canada, the countries get up to play Canada.
They play their best games against Canada.
And if Canada doesn’t put their best game on
the ice, sometimes it can be a challenge.”
And sometimes, like the past six years,
Canada’s game simply hasn’t been good
enough to win at the world championship.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Dream
FROM PAGE 2
Sigfridsson has been oh-so close to
winning the worlds, with four silvermedal finishes. She won silver at the
Sochi Olympics, so there seems to be a
theme here.
Sidorova of Russia has won
bronze at each of the past two world
championships. She would like to
do better this time. It’s a bit hard to
believe that Sidorova has been to seven
consecutive
world
championships
and just turned 25 last month. It’s like
keeping up with the Muirheads and vice
versa.
“It is not going to be easy to win
the worlds this year for sure,” Sidorova
said. “I think we are going to play well
this time. You never really know until
you start to play, so I hope we are good
enough to win the medals.”
While the Canadian skip hasn’t
curled at the world level, members of her
team have.
Nixon was a bronze-medal winner
at the 2006 Olympics as the third
for Shannon Kleibrink. She was an
alternate when Heather Nedohin won
a bronze medal at the 2012 worlds.
Peterman has skipped at the world
junior level, while Peters played
lead for Nedohin in 2012 and was
the alternate for Colleen Jones at
world championships in 2001 (gold)
and 2003 (silver). O’Connor has an
Olympic silver medal from 2010 when
she was in Cheryl Bernard’s lineup.
Carey expects to be in the hunt at
the end of the week. She’d like to end
Canada’s six-year losing streak at the
event. If this were hockey, there would
EYE
OPENER
Editor ­— Dave Komosky
Associate Editor — Cam
Page 13
no doubt be a national inquiry. The
losing doesn’t speak to a dip in the
quality of Canadian curling as much as
it does about countries around the world
really picking up their games.
“There are certainly more top
Canadian teams in the top 20 on the
world curling tour than any other
country, but it’s tough when you are
just playing for a week. When you play
every team only once over the course
of a round robin, you never know what
is going to happen,” said United States
skip Erika Brown, who is playing in her
eighth world championship and has seen
the change in the balance of power.
Carey said the comparison to hockey
is a good one.
“Curling in Canada is no different
than hockey,” she said. “We had some
droughts on the hockey side in the
juniors and the world championships
and the Olympics and everyone still
expected Canada to win gold. That
expectation never went away despite the
fact the parity is there.
“I definitely think that is the level
of expectation (in Swift Current), but
certainly the world has come on very
strong and you can see that by the bit of
a drought we’ve had from gold medals.
All we can do is go and play.
“There are lots of other teams that
have gone there and tried to win, the
same as we are going to do, and haven’t
unfortunately been able to do it in a
while. Maybe it’s us, maybe it’s not. All
we can do is go there and play our best
and, as cliché as that sounds, that is all
we can control.”
The field is rounded out by Danish
veteran Lene Nielsen, Finland’s Oona
Kauste, Germany’s Daniela Driendl,
Italy’s Federica Apollonio, Japan’s
Satsuki Fujisawa and South Korea’s Ji
Sun Kim.
Canada’s Amy Nixon was a bronze-medal winner at the 2006 Olympics.
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Layout — Dave Connors
Photographer — Mike Burns Jr.
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• Respect teammates,
competitors and
officials both on
and off the ice
• Win with dignity
and lose with grace
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Page 14
CURLING QUIZ
2016 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship
ANSWERS:
1. Scottish lass Eve Muirhead played
the bagpipes. She has competed at
four world bagpiping championships
and is also a scratch golfer.
5. Boy Meets Curl was the 12th
episode in the 21st season of The
Simpsons. Marge and Homer join
forces with Agnes and Seymour
Skinner on a mixed team to compete
in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
4. Ailsa Craig is a Scottish island and
one of two sources for the granite
used to make curling stones. The
other is the Trefor Granite Quarry in
Wales.
3. Anette Norberg appeared on the
Swedish show Let’s Dance 2013 with
figure skater Tobias Karlsson. They
were the third team eliminated.
Eve
Muirhead
2. Scottish third Kelly Wood thought
Mayor Jerrod Schafer was a real
hunk, so she married him.
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at www.sasktel.com.
1. Scottish skip Eve Muirhead did
this during the closing ceremonies
at the 2010 Ford World Women’s
Curling Championships in Swift
Current:
a) She tripped and fell while stepping
up to the podium.
b) She played the bagpipes.
c) She performed a Scottish sword
dance on the podium.
d) She sang Auld Lang Syne.
2. She said it at the 2010
tournament: “As a team we attended
the opening ceremonies, and we
were walking on the ice and Jerrod
(Schafer), as mayor, was giving
speeches. I remember leaning over
to my skippies at the time and I said,
‘Well, things are looking up girls
because the mayor looks hot.’ He
was good looking so it became a
kind of stand-in joke throughout the
week.”
a) Scottish third Kelly Wood.
b) Swiss skip Binia Feltscher.
c) U.S. skip Erika Brown.
d) Scottish second Lorna Vevers.
3. Former Olympic and world champion
Anette Norberg of Sweden once
appeared on this TV show:
a) Real Housewives of Stockholm
b) Let’s Dance
c) Jeopardy!
d) Wheel of Fortune
4. Ailsa Craig is:
a) Skip of the first world women’s
curling championship team from
Scotland
b) President of the World Curling
Federation
c) Skip of the first women’s team to
score an 8-ender at the world curling
championship
d) The European clothing line that
designs the Norwegian men’s uniforms
e) None of the above
5. Boy Meets Curl was:
a) An episode of The Simpsons
b) A made-for-TV curling movie starring
Will Ferrell and Jim Carrey
c) The first album released by Miley
Cyrus
d) A stage show starring Justin Bieber
during the 2014 Continental Cup in Las
Vegas
WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE SUPPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Page 15
The iceman giveth
His job is to keep the curlers happy
By MICHAEL CONNORS
T
Eye Opener Writer
he first cheer at this tournament, before
the action even starts, should probably
go out to the icemaker and his crew.
They’ve transformed Swift Current’s
Credit Union i-plex into the spotlight of the
curling world. And that’s no small feat.
In terms of ice conrol, what we see during
the action is basically the tip of the iceberg.
“No one sees the three days it takes of 18hour shifts to get it in,” said Jamie Bourassa,
56, head icemaker for this tournament.
From the stands on Friday, Bourassa
outlined what will be on his mind for the
next nine days, and what he describes as the
“Reader’s Digest version” of what it takes to
get a rink ready before the doors open.
“First we paint the ice white,” he said.
“Once sealed, we mark out all the sheets and
walkways. We then find our centres to mark our
circles out and paint the house. We then put our
hog lines in and from there we find out where
the decals go. Then we’ll seal that all in.”
Now for the next nine days, spectators will
be able to see Bourassa and his 23-strong crew
maintaining the ice they diligently laid out.
“Pebbling and scraping happens after every
game. That’s where you really have to watch
your temperatures. You have to know that the
blade is cutting well, and the pebble water has
to be just the right temp. There are just so many
things that go into it,” explained Bourassa.
Bourassa is well versed in all of the finer
details of ice control; he has lived his life and
made a career around curling.
“This is year 39,” he said. “My dad was the
recreational manager in a small town, and I was
always around that, so I guess some of it just
brushed off and I stayed with it.”
Bourassa has worked in rinks across
Canada for major tournaments, and notes
that every facility has “little idiosyncrasies”
when it comes to ice control. The challenge
then is to work with what you have to achieve
consistency throughout the tournament.
“I try to shoot for 4-4.5 feet of curl, 14.5
seconds from hog to hog. That’s the ice
condition I like to shoot for,” said Bourassa.
But as we’ve seen at many tournaments in
the past, the ice doesn’t always cooperate.
“You can’t tell until you get a full crowd
in here and start playing,” he explained. “What
the ice is like a day or two into the competition,
we try and keep it there if it’s good. Whether it
be three feet of curl or five feet of curl – keep it
there because the players will get comfortable
with that, and they’ll feel confident.”
Helping Bourassa and his crew is the latest
tech in ice maintenance, including real-time
control of the ice plant from his computer,
along with readings from nine ice temperature
sensors and five humidity sensors.
“Years ago we didn’t have all this info;
we were flying by the seat of our pants,” said
Bourassa. “It’s gotten tenfold better, just in the
equipment and how we do things. You like at
the ice today and how good it is, and you look
at some of the old pictures from the Briers in
the ’60s: you can’t even compare, it’s not even
apples to apples anymore.”
Stark & Marsh CPA LLP has had roots in Saskatchewan since 1921. Today we
employ 80 people with full time offices in Swift Current and Shaunavon, and
remote offices in Assiniboia, Cabri, Kyle, Leader, Maple Creek, Mankota, Ponteix,
and Val Marie SK.
With a vision of being an exceptional services firm, the team at Stark & Marsh
believes that meaningful relationships are the basis for a successful business.
Our mission is to provide valued service to our clients, opportunities for our
colleagues, and contributions to our communities through volunteering,
community events and projects, scholarships and donations.
We offer accounting services for personal, small, medium or large businesses,
and agricultural producers. We specialize in Succession Planning, Business
Valuations & Tax Advisory.
<< Wishing all the teams the best of luck at the
Ford World Women’s Curling Championship. >>
Elden Moberg
Chief Executive Office, Partner
STARK & MARSH
CPA LLP
Stark & Marsh CPA LLP
365 Central Ave. N | Swift Current, SK
PH: (306) 773-7285 | inquiry@starkmarsh.com
Jamie Bourassa
Page 16
2016 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship
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