Local curling team has good showing at national championship

By Brady Grove, Times Reporter

Skip Scott Garnett and his curling foursome from Strathmore had been defying expectations for weeks when they found themselves representing Team Alberta and were one game away from qualifying for playoffs at the 2018 Travelers Curling Club Championship in Miramichi, N.B. from Nov. 19-24.
All they had to do was beat Team Quebec and they would be in the playoffs at the national level. However, they came up short, losing 8-5 in nine ends.
“That last game against Quebec we definitely could have had, but just a couple mistakes here and there led to an extra end loss,” said Garnett. “Had it not been for that we would have been in the playoffs.”
The team followed a “play for fun and see what happens” mentality that had worked well for them in the past. Team Alberta was up 5-3 going into the seventh end before Quebec managed to claw its way back in and force a final and deciding ninth end.
“I was there for fun for sure and it was nice to be competitive, period,” said Team Alberta third Jason Wilson. “I never dreamed we would have a chance to make it to playoffs.”
Quebec managed to get several in the house and was in control early and ready to push Team Alberta out. It all came down to one shot again. Garnett had faced a similar situation at provincials that he had navigated through to win the game and advance them to the national tournament.
Multiple guards and three deep rocks prevented Garnett from drawing to the button, so he tried to bounce it off one in an attempt to sneak in the winning point, but it didn’t curl enough.
“It was kind of fitting that the same way we won at provincials was how we lost at nationals,” said Garnett.
The team found themselves with a one and two record halfway through the tournament, but they never had any expectations and continued to play hard and have fun. It paid off as they beat Team Yukon 5-4 and Team P.E.I. 9-1. The local club finished with a record 3-3 in the championships which placed them fourth out of seven in Pool A.
“Anytime you get a chance to represent your province at a curling national … it’s quite an honour to get to wear that blue and gold,” said Garnett.
The Travelers Curling Club Championship is different than other tournaments in that teams are only allowed to have one competitive player – Garnett fills that role, and this was his first national tournament since 2010. Garnett and Wilson both praised the play of the front end in lead Cory Campbell and second Brennen Fule who have only been curling for about four seasons and handled the national stage well.
“They’ve only curled with us so they are pretty new curlers and to make it to a national event and to miss out on playoffs by half an inch is pretty lucky,” said Wilson.
Last year the team vied for the Travelers Curling Club Championship at the provincial level but didn’t make it. This year they went all the way and won it for their ticket to the national championship.
“(With) no expectations at all we ended up winning provincials which was pretty incredible,” said Garnett.
According to Garnett and Wilson, there was a huge social aspect to the tournament, including a brewery tour, oyster tasting and a comedian. All the players socialized and enjoyed the hospitality of the east coast which was as much part of the Travelers Curling Club Championship as the curling was. The guys were also getting notice back home.
“The community support was phenomenal,” said Wilson. “We were getting texts after games, people were up at 5 or 6 (a.m.) watching our games streamed online; we couldn’t ask for a better town to get behind us.”
After competing in the 2018 Travelers Curling Club Championship, the team isn’t able to compete in next year’s tournament. So for now, the team has returned to its regular league play on Mondays at the Strathmore and District Curling Club.