By the time you read this, the good folks over at Curl Sudbury (actually officially the Northern Credit Union Community Centre as of noon on Friday) will have started their 130-end celebration of curling that carries into Saturday night.
Bruce Munro only feels like he curled 130 ends last week.
That’s quite alright.
Basking in the after-glow of their second national title, the Al Hackner masters rink of Eric Harden, Frank Morisette and Munro, a fixture at the Idylwylde Golf & Country Club over the years, will have plenty of reason to ease some of the stiffness and soreness they encountered as they reminisce on a gold medal run that culminated with a 7-6 win over Gord Bell of Saskatchewan.
“I think we all found it physically demanding with 12 games in six and a half days,” said Munro, who at age 66 is the young pup of this crew. “And a big part of Masters Curling is the camaraderie and the socializing, hanging with the curlers and the curling fans – so you do tend to burn the candle at both ends.”
“But it’s great. I don’t know how many pictures Al got hauled away for from curling fans.”
With three appearances at Canadians under the collective belts and two golds and a silver to show for their efforts, it’s clear that the four-time NOCA champs are well entrenched among the top contenders for the grouping that features athletes ages sixty and over.
“There is an awful lot of experience at each position,” said Munro with a laugh. “Frank has been to the Brier and lost, as a skip, in the Alberta semi-finals to the likes of (Kevin) Martin and (Randy) Ferbey. Eric has been to numerous Briers. I think Al is the best skip that has played the game – and I know that’s a stretch in today’s world.”
“In his day, he was certainly the best.”
After reeling off eight straight wins to start the bonspiel, Hackner and company dropped their only game in championship round play, with Manitoba (Murray Warren) squeaking out a wild 11-10 victory. That still left the “Fear the Moose” brigade in top spot at 9-1, looking absolutely dominant in eliminating British Columbia (Wes Craig) 10-2 in the semi-final affair.
“We were pretty well in control this time around,” acknowledged Munro. “I think there was more pressure on Al in 2017, when he was trying to become the first skip to win a Brier, Seniors and Masters. We were a little more on edge in 2017. We were pretty relaxed this year.”
Relaxed is exactly what the Curl Sudbury administrative tandem of Kelly Irvine and Tom Leonard would like to see from their curlers this weekend, some 208 men and women strong, all part of the incredible party that is a 130-end game.
“I think that this year, it means more than anything to just have a party, a celebration of curling,” said Irvine, taking a little time away from her role as one of the co-chairs of the 2023 Nickel City Curling Championships in March that will see both the CCAA/U Sports nationals as well as the Canadian Mixed Doubles all contested in Sudbury over the course of 17 days or so.
“This is also a way to reward those people who helped get us through the last two years,” she added.
Beginning at 12:15 p.m. on Friday, teams of four (either Team Red or Team Blue) will take to the ice for five end games, with the ensuing rinks beginning their match on an adjacent ice exactly 75 minutes after the previous match begins. In keeping with the fact that it’s been 130 years since the Sudbury Curling Club was founded in 1892 by James Orr, the entry fee per team was set at $130, or $32.50 a person for five ends of curling and more on-going food and fun than you can possibly imagine.
Fans of curling are welcome to stop by any time on Friday and Saturday to take in a little of what is likely to become a club mainstay event, even if it’s run simply at five year intervals.
The Rachel Homan rink featuring local star Tracy Fleury picked up their second title in short order, capturing the Prism Flow Red Deer Curling Classic last week. The Ontario-based crew would put together a six-game winning streak in Alberta, a run that included victories over Amber Holland (7-5), Tabitha Peterson (8-7), Jessie Hunkin (7-4), Hunkin again (6-3 – QF), Peterson for a second time (5-3 SF) and Casey Scheidegger (5-1) in the final.
Meanwhile, the Tanner Horgan foursome that brings together Darren Moulding, Jake Horgan, Colin Hodgson and the young local skip also enjoyed one of their best runs of the season, making their way to the men’s semi-final of the same event before being knocked out by Kevin Koe of Alberta 6-5.
Qualifying via the “C” bracket, the Ontario entry went an extra end in the quarter finals before slipping past Riku Yanagisawa of Japan 7-6.
