#ROTR Men's Preview

#BetweenTheSheets: Roar of the Rings Men's Preview

Special Guest Jason Gunnlaugson helps preview the race to crown #TeamCanada

Hello December!  The temperatures are dropping.  The snow is falling.  The hours of sunlight are declining.  Christmas anticipation is rising.  The holiday season excitement is increasing.  And the time to crown curling's #TeamCanada representatives for PyeongChang is happening!

The past 3 years have built up to this moment.  When the first competitive rock slides out of the hack on Saturday afternoon, all the anticipation, hard work, dedication, commitment and drive from the athletes competing in Ottawa will become a reality.  Butterfly's will swell and swarm in each athlete's stomach, especially leading up to that first game of the event.  There will be moments of pressure.  There will be moments of disappointment.  There will be moments of pure joy and exhilaration.

Welcome to the Roar of the Rings 2017!

Daniela Jentsch

#BetweenTheSheets With Daniela Jentsch

Olympic excitement, being a mom, Andrea Schoepp and....tattoo regrets?

When living in a curling hot bed nation like Canada we sometimes take for granted the fine luxuries our athletes are provided.  We have a plethora of curling clubs across our nation where our athletes can fine tune their skills, whether at home or on the road.  We have stiff competition where our athletes can challenge themselves to play against and compete with the top teams and players in the world.  We have media coverage where our athletes can promote the sport through TV coverage or social media or interviews with journalists covering an event.

But the world around us does not live in the same utopia curling environment Canadian athletes and curling fans have become accustomed to.  Some nations have little to no dedicated sheets of curling ice for their athletes to practice on.  Others have only a handful of competitive curlers to compete against and hone their skills.  And few have the media attention and fan excitement where a team returns home from a strong performance at a world championship and has journalists and fans awaiting their arrival at an airport.  To truly understand the sport of curling, we need to look outside our own national boundaries and learn more about how the sport functions, grows and operates around the world.

In doing so, please help me in welcoming the newest member of the #TwineTime family, representing Team Germany, Daniela Jentsch!

#CMCC2018 Preview

#BetweenTheSheets: Canadian Mixed Curling 

Championships Preview

The Season of Champions continues in Swan River, Manitoba

Curling fans around the world have been fixated on the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics this season but let us not overlook the Season of Champions.  For Canadian curling fans, the Road to the Roar pre-trials will conclude in perfect time for us to slip on our sliders and clean our rocks in preparation for another Canadian big-time event.

Welcome to Swan River, Manitoba and the 2018 Canadian Mixed Curling Championships!

For those unfamiliar, the mixed curling championships should not be confused with the debut Olympic mixed doubles curling event.  Mixed curling is a full team of 4 players, comprised of two men and two women with each position alternating between men and women.  And the Canadian Mixed Curling Championships have a rich curling history in our fare nation.

US Olympic Team Trials Preview

#BetweenTheSheets: USA Olympic Trials Preview

Who takes Gold to wear Red, White and Blue?

"O-ma-ha! O-ma-ha! O-ma-ha!" No you are not suffering flashbacks from the days of Peyton Manning yelling for an audible at the line with the Denver Broncos.  Rather, these are the chants of USA curling fans heading to the great state of Nebraska ready to crown their PyeongChang representative.

The U.S. Olympic Team Curling Trials are set to begin Saturday November 11 and wrap up with the crowning of their Olympic men's and women's representatives on Friday November 17 or Saturday November 18, depending how the finals play out (more on that below).

With similarities to Manning letting his team know time was running out and the shift to Plan B was needed, teams heading to Baxter Arena may be calling an "Omaha" of their own as the time for preparation is over.

Welcome to your Olympic dream.....or Olympic heartbreak?!

#RTTR2017 Preview

#BetweenTheSheets: Road To The Roar Preview

Olympic dreams continue for some and end for most in PEI

Oh how I love the month of November.  We anticipate the arrival of snow...lots and lots of snow!  We reflect on those who have fought for our country.  We prepare for the upcoming Christmas season.  We celebrate personal milestones (it is the #TwineTime birthday month after all).  And, for 2017 at least, we start the dog fight known as the Olympic trials.

November will either go down as a month of joy or a month of heartbreak for numerous curling athletes around the world.  The US Olympic trials are set to go this month.  As are the European Championships, which hold some Olympic dreams based on results.  And of course we start the path towards naming the men's and women's representatives for Team Canada in PyeongChang.  The #Roadto2018 will end for many within a week's time while curling fans are left salivating over the process.

Welcome to the 2017 Road to the Roar curling fans!

#PACC2017 Preview

#BetweenTheSheets: Curling Down Under

The Pacific-Asia Curling Championships hit Aussie ice

The World Championships.  The Brier.  The Scotties.  The European Curling Championships.  The grand slams.  These are often the big events attracting the most interest among curling fans during the season.  This year add in The Olympics.  But aren't we forgetting the largest growing region within the sport?  It might be time we add the Pacific-Asia Curling Championships to the list of exciting championship events every year.

Curling is taking off within the Pacific-Asia region.  There are more curling clubs being built in nations like Japan and Korea.  Most of the nations within the region are seeing an increase in curling registrations, whether it be just simple Learn to Curl sessions at the club or signing up to compete in fun spiels and events.  And, on a competitive level, we have seen a steady increase in the number of #PACC teams competing on the World Curling Tour.

Teams from the Pacific-Asia region are not only growing annually on the #wct but they are competing and winning.