The world鈥檚 best male curlers may have come and gone from Halifax, but curling spirit is definitely still 鈥渋n the house鈥� at Dal.
It鈥檚 been a big year for Canada鈥檚 other iconic ice sport with Halifax hosting the 2015 Ford Men鈥檚 World Curling Championships, which wrapped up last weekend. But it鈥檚 also been a big curling year at Dal specifically, with Engineering student Adam Casey serving as skip for Team Prince Edward Island at the Brier and Dal鈥檚 own curling squad making it all the way to the Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) championships.
Competitive curling on campus
鈥淚t can be a very long season,鈥� says Joseph Raymond, second on the 麻豆传媒 Men鈥檚 Curling Team and second-year student at Dal. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of unique in that university curling isn鈥檛 the only curling that we do. A lot of us have our own junior teams where we compete at the national junior championships in the hopes that we can compete at the men鈥檚 championships and the Brier one day.鈥� (The Brier is the national men鈥檚 championship; the Tournament of Hearts is the national women's tournament.)
In February, the Dal team traveled to Montague, PEI to compete in the AUS Subway Curling Championships alongside other Atlantic universities. They ended up placing third in the tournament and qualifying for the CIS Canada Curling Championship, but received some bad news while on the road: the roof of the Halifax Curling Club had collapsed in the winter storm, and with it the team鈥檚 primary training facility.
Talk is underway about building another curling club where the previous one collapsed, but it won鈥檛 be ready in time for the coming season. Despite this, Raymond is adamant that the team will maintain close ties with the local club and be active within fundraising efforts to offset costs for it鈥檚 reconstruction.
鈥淚t definitely made preparing for the CIS a little bit difficult which was reflected in our standing,鈥� says Joseph, as the team finished 1-6 at nationals, 鈥渂ut we鈥檙e trying to re-assess how we鈥檙e going to prepare for next year. We鈥檙e very big supporters of the Halifax Curling Club, so anything that we can do help them out in their endeavours, we would be happy to help.鈥�
More imminent than finding a new training facility, the team is facing the task of finding a new skip (the team鈥檚 captain) and keeping an eye out this summer for potential recruits. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to be a big role to fill. It opens the door for a lot of great skips that are out there, and a lot of good talent to be here that can really boost our team.鈥�
Brier bound
While none of the members of the Men鈥檚 curling team, on their own, qualified to compete in the Brier this year, another 麻豆传媒 student did. Adam Casey, Engineering masters鈥� student, was the skip for Team PEI at the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier. Casey competed in the last three Briers for Newfoundland and Labrador, but this year鈥檚 tournament was his first time representing PEI, and his first time skipping at the national men鈥檚 championship level.
鈥淭his year was different because I was skipping, which I hadn鈥檛 done in the past,鈥� says Adam. 鈥淭he first year I competed it was in Edmonton, and it鈥檚 an 18,000-seat arena and there鈥檚 thousands of people watching on television, so it鈥檚 a different outlook to adjust to. The past three years I think I鈥檝e grown and matured a lot, and I obviously know more about the game.鈥�
For Adam, the most important thing about being a competitive athlete is striking a balance. At the Brier especially, juggling autograph sessions, television breaks and commercials with playing several matches a day turned out to be an acquired skill. On top of all that, he鈥檚 also working on his thesis project in applied science.
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鈥淭here鈥檚 not a whole lot of down time, so it鈥檚 about making sure that you properly warm up, cool down, try to maintain a certain level of fitness throughout the week, make sure you get your rest, and stay mentally focused.
鈥淥ver the years, I鈥檝e gotten a lot better at doing work on the road, but obviously it鈥檚 a big commitment when you鈥檙e putting 30-plus hours into curling practice, going to the gym, trying to support the team, and at the same time trying to manage a job and school work.鈥�
Despite the busy schedule of the Brier, Adam is proud of his teammates. After tying for seventh place, he says they鈥檙e happy with the way they performed and are turning it into a learning experience. One of the main things they鈥檙e doing is reviewing what they did well, the ways that they lost and where they can do better in order to benefit for future chances and competitions.
鈥淚鈥檓 finishing my thesis so I鈥檒l probably be in St. John鈥檚 for the next month, but once I鈥檓 back in PEI, I鈥檒l be focusing on getting a team together, getting training, developing a support team and trying to take the next step to figure out what we need to do to get better,鈥� says Adam. 鈥� It鈥檚 about making sure we check off all those little boxes so that when the season rolls around, we鈥檙e ready to go.鈥�