Love of the game keeps senior curlers playing
Flight delays added to the chaos at Community First Curling Centre in Sault Ste. Marie as teams taking part in the Canadian Seniors Curling Championship waited for equipment to arrive.
But, once flights arrived, the teams took to the ice to throw some rocks ahead of the competition which begins Monday, Dec. 6.
Many of those competing in the seniors tournament have been curling for decades, some since they were children. Team Saskatchewan's Sherry Anderson has been curling for nearly 50 years.
"It's just a great social sport and it's good competition and it's a good thing to do when you're in 40-below weather," she says. "It gets you out of the house in the wintertime to go and play a sport. So, that's why I enjoy it."
Olympic medalist Cheryl Bernard brought her squad in from Alberta. Despite retiring from the sport, she's found her way back.
"It's hard to walk away," says Bernard. ""It truly is the people. It's a great community across this country. You know, you come to Sault Ste. Marie and I can phone Brad Jacobs and chat with him, or EJ or Ryan and that's a neat part about our game."
Both Anderson and Bernard say getting involved in the sport is as easy as making a call to your local curling club. They say there's plenty of reasons to give the sport a try.
"The beer is always cold, the red wine is just a nice temperature in the lounge, it's really, like I said, a very social sport and it's great for our winters in Canada here to get out and do something," says Anderson.
"The number one comment I get is how hard it is compared to what it looks like," says Bernard. "I've always said you're watching professionals, and so it's going to take a while to get to that level. But I think it's very easy to get a hold of a club and ask for a learn-to-curl, and then you can you can kind of go in some of their open leagues and try the game from there."
Opening ceremonies for the 2021 Canadian Seniors Curling are set for Monday evening (Dec. 6) with the finals set for the following Saturday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Record-breaking N.B. lottery winner kept winning ticket on dresser for nearly a year
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.