The Convivial Charms of Curling

Convivium, 10 March 2020

Spending time at the Brier is a proud mix of citizenship, friendship and sporting glory.

The Brier – Canada’s national men’s curling championship – was held this past week in Kingston and I did my civic duty by going along to take in the action. There is a lot of it. There are nine days, each of which has six or nine hours of curling, sometimes four games going on at once. I went four or five times for a few hours at a time. It felt like a proud act of citizenship.

“It means a ton to be representing Canada again,” said Brad Gushue, skip of the winning rink (team) from Newfoundland. It was Gushue’s third Brier championship in four years. As the winner, his rink will represent Canada at the world curling championships later this month in Scotland. 

“We live in the best country in the world and the best curling nation in the world,” Gushue gushed. “When you get to wear that Maple Leaf, it’s a huge honour.”

I had read about the Brier and watched it on television over the years, but I had never been on hand to experience this festival of pure Canadiana. 

It doesn’t disappoint on that score, from the Tim Horton’s mobile dispensary outside pouring free hot chocolate and coffee to passersby to the disarming friendliness of everyone present. It might just be the 300-plus volunteers who give up a week’s time to help everything run smoothly. Somehow on a mass scale they manage to re-create the ambience of curling rinks in small towns across the land.

Continue reading at Convivium:
https://www.convivium.ca/articles/the-convivial-charms-of-curling/