As we approach the holidays –that magical time of year when
competitive curlers try to reintroduce themselves into their family lives from
which they have been absent for a few months (“Uhh kids – this is your Dad. Do
you remember him from last summer?”), I thought I would give you all a quick
recap of what has been going on the Quebec competitive curling scene.
Charlevoix
First of all, I made money at Charlevoix. Wait – let me
repeat that- I MADE MONEY AT CHARLEVOIX. Charlevoix has been sucking cash and time
away from me for over a decade now – but this year was different. We qualified
A-Side by beating the Chinese National team in the A-Qualifier – before losing
a tough Quarter Final to my man-crush Greg Balsdon.
So to summarize 2016: Trump wins the presidency, the Cubs won the
World Series and Fournier makes money in Charlevoix – all proving that the end
of the world must be right around the corner.
On a side-note, playing the Chinese National team is fun – they
travel with their coach (multiple Brier winner Marcel Roque), a trainer, a nutritionist,
a translator, an animal handler, a massage therapist, a court jester and a team
of actual minions. Seriously – they are a very good team and seem like nice
guys although post-game conversation is pretty minimalist.
Quebec teams did not fare particularly well this year, with
the final featuring 2 teams from the Maritimes.
Halifax
The week before Charlevoix we made the semi-finals on our
curling road-trip adventure in Halifax.
The highlight of the weekend was clearly
being web-streamed live in the B-Qualifier against Chad Stevens. The local TV
crew apparently tried to be as little-informed as possible about the teams that
they were commenting on. So according to the live commentary team - I was
Michel Fournier – a French-speaking transplanted toe-tucker from Manitoba (?!?)
who was curling with a 14-year old that I picked up in a windowless-van while
driving through Quebec. I am only sad
that I can’t find a replay of the game on Youtube.
We ended up losing the semi-final to Jamie Murphy, arguably
the best team in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia now features a couple of strong teams
that might be able to get through relegation and back into the Brier this year;
Murphy has played well this year and so has Stuart Thompson – who managed to
win in Charlevoix.
BTW - driving 12 hours to play a curling tournament is a bit crazy.
So our season has been going pretty well so far. We have put
a few bucks in the team bank account – we won a tournament and are qualified
for Quebec Provincials January 7-14 in Levis (the city, not the jeans). So now we practice!
***
Eight teams have already qualified for Quebec Provincials
through dollars won (and the Circuit Finals): Fournier, Ménard, Ferland, Roy,
Morisette, Martel, Chartrand and Munroe. The remaining 6 spots will be filled
next week in regional playdowns.
I have heard some grumbling from teams saying that some
teams earned their spot by winning cash in low-quality regional events as opposed
to playing in elite-level cashspiels. To those who complain – I say TOO BAD.
The fact is, if you want to go out and play in every single event you can find
to win every last dollar possible, I say you have earned your spot at
provincials. However, I do believe that to WIN provincials, you need to have
experience playing against the best in the game at higher-level events – but if
you think it is easy to win lots of cash playing on opens on club ice week in
and week out, then I suggest you give it a try. None of the teams qualified
this year do not deserve their spot. Winning opens is tough.
The system has been changed slightly for next season, with 3
spots being decided by CTRS (Canadian Team Ranking System) points and three
spots for leading money winners. I do not think this will change much, as the
leading CTRS teams are also usually the leading money winners. But the current
14-team format seems to be able to ensure that most serious teams end up at
provincials, and there are some spots for regional and lesser-known teams to
make it to provincials anyway and earn some experience and motivation for the
future.
***
I am amazed at how streaky elite level competitive curling is. Right
now, Reid Caruthers is on a crazy streak of red-hot curling. They cannot lose. They
are beating everyone in competitive curling. They won the Canada Cup to earn an
Olympic Qualifier spot, and as I write this they are poised to win a Grand Slam
in the Soo.
It seems there is always a hot team – that varies from
season to season. A few years back it was Jacobs who could not lose, then
McEwen, , then Gushue, then Koe, then Epping, then Edin, now Caruthers. The top
teams seem to take turns at being red hot. The team winning each week on tour
is the team who’s skip/3rd are most on fire.
This makes it hard to predict who will win the Olympic
Qualifier next winter, as all of the teams listed have shown themselves capable
of going on a streak of insane curling.
I must say that the Mustard-Yellow pads have made the games
more fun to watch – it is within the realm of the possible that teams miss
every so often!
On a side note - I have
started recycling our old mustard-yellow broom pads – and used the material to make this superb mustard-yellow
couch:
It’s not terribly effective or comfortable, but everyone can
usually agree where to sit on it!
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