#BetweenTheSheets: If You Can Play, You Can Play
Is it time for curling to find its social conscious?
Normally this blog is reserved to discuss the action on the curling ice. What are the big topics affecting the game? We had #BroomGate. We had #FreeAgentFrenzy. We continue to have my favourite topic of #RankingsRedux. But sometimes we need to shift focus to not just the issues or topics on the game itself but rather the big picture impact the sport can have on those who play and love the sport: The People!
With #YYCPride underway this week, including the upcoming Pride Parade over the long weekend, I thought this would be the perfect time to make the connection between sport and social consciousness. Now for some reading this blog post this may be considered a controversial topic of discussion based on your own personal moral and/or ethical beliefs. I am not here to discuss those or force an opinion down your curling loving throat. Rather I ask you just read on with an open mind and hear me out.
Remember, big picture, we are all fans of this sport and are united through our curling passion. Plus, the #TourLifePredictions for this upcoming weekend are included in this blog post so, worse case scenario, you could skip down and read those at least right? But I really think you should read the entire post.
We good rock heads and stoners?
How many of you are familiar with the You Can Play Project? The You Can Play Project is a movement with sport where the focus is on playing a game - any game - and winning. All the important aspects of sports success are the main focus. Hard working. Dedication. Competitive spirit. Setting goals and achieving them. Skill. Honesty. The key word in this list is honesty.
You Can Play places an emphasis on the base for team building is the personality trait of honesty. Players need to be honest and open with another. Athletes need to feel safe and secure with those they play the sport with. It is almost impossible to build the other core foundations of a successful sports team when one or more team members feel they cannot be honest and open with who they are. This is the world faced by many athletes who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer.
Here is the mission statement of the You Can Play Project:
You Can Play is dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
You Can Play works to guarantee that athletes are given a fair opportunity to compete, judged by other athletes and fans alike, and only by what they contribute to the sport or their team's success.
You Can Play seeks to challenge the culture of locker rooms and spectator areas by focusing only on an athlete's skills, work ethic and competitive spirit.
Hence the statement: If You Can Play, You Can Play! The focus of equality and fair opportunity as a competitor is front and centre while also helping to break down the barriers we know exist. We often refer to those barriers are "lockerroom talk" where comments of discrimination and slurs are overheard and used. Don't hide it or deny it. You have heard them. You may have even said them. We are not here to shame anyone but rather elevate the conversation to help end this from happening.
Whether the intent behind the comment is to hurt or be negative or not, we often do not think how our words can impact others. Just pay a quick visit to NoHomophobes.com to see the negative impact of casual homophobia in real time. As I write this 'no homo' has been used 18,000+ times this week while 'f***ot' has been used more than 28,000 times JUST THIS WEEK! This kind of activity and word usage DOES exist all over the world and DOES exist daily folks. We cannot pretend it does not nor can we be ignorant into thinking it doesn't happen around us. It does. It is.
So what role does the sport of curling have in this larger social conversation you ask? It is quite simple. When looking at the partner organizations of the You Can Play Project, the great white ice sport has no mention. The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) was the first sports organization to step up and support the project back in 2012. Since then other sport organizations have followed: American East Conference (December 2012), NHL (April 2013), Go! Athletes and Campus Pride (April 2013), MLS (June 2013), CFL (June 2014), North Atlantic Conference (November 2014), Canadian Olympic Committee (December 2014) and The Sporting News (March 2015). These are some big time leagues and organizations supporting the message and movement of the You Can Play Project. And it spans professional and amateur sport. We have universities and colleges. We see NCAA support. A national Olympic committee. But where is curling?
Now the simple argument may be, "well those are all governing sport bodies for leagues, making it easier for them to unite and support the project." True. They are. But isn't the World Curling Tour a governing body of sorts? What about the World Curling Federation? What about Curling Canada? USA Curling? Swiss Curling? Each WCF member nation has a member association governing body. Why should we not hope the World Curling Federation adopt a similar support measure behind You Can Play as we see with the NHL and CFL and CWHL? Those teams, or in our case of curling member associations, under the larger sport umbrella would come together to support the message and movement. Seems pretty simple to me!
But lets say your argument of curling operating under a different universal sports model is valid and my argument above was deemed impossible (which it is not for the record), the movement can still be done at a grassroots level. Lets face it, the success of curling as a sport is long-term dependant on continued success at the grassroots level. The clubs and fun leagues. The high schools. The universities. These help #growthesport for the future. How can these athletes help move forward an idea of inclusive curling?
See how the social conscious angle has grown? Pride Tape is not only about being inclusive but also about building equality among the common factor for those participating in sport: People! And Pride Tape, although started with a NHL focus, has grown outside the boards surrounding the ice. We are seeing Pride Tape around baseball bats. We see Pride Tape on football cleats. We see Pride Tape on soccer balls. We see Pride Tape used in a variety of creative ways with various sports. Again I ask, what about curling? How simple would it be for teams to buy a pack of Pride Tape and just tape the end of their curling brooms to show unity and equality? You cannot say taping the butt end of a broom is going to affect your sweeping. More so than a hockey player using the tape on the blade of their stick or on the butt end of their stick? Come on! But a sponsor may not want you to use Pride Tape on their sponsor-supplied curling broom. Really? If that is the message your sponsor wants to have, share with the world and let people know. I wouldn't want to support a sponsor who wouldn't support the message behind Pride Tape.
There are numerous ways the sport of curling can get behind the message of You Can Play and Pride Tape. Does the sport have strict non-discrimination policies? What if a player is overheard using a slur or derogatory comment? What is the course of action? Is it clearly outlined? How is it enforced? By who? Clear policies help set expectations and ensure inclusion by enforcing active respect for players, coaches, volunteers and fans. If these policies exist, are they universally known and enforced? If we asked each athlete, would they know they existed if they do and would they know the message behind the policy? If you are a curler reading this, do you know? Even at the club level, what is your curling club policy on non-discrimination? If you don't know, ask!
What about some fun stuff too? Could we not have a You Can Play/Pride Tape night during a grand slam event? We saw so many teams make these videos and public announcements for their new team formations in the off-season. How about the teams make a fun video showing their support of You Can Play and use of Pride Tape? There are TONS of ideas at YouCanPlayProject.org for teams, players and even tour event organizers to look into. Using my home city, Calgary, as an example professional sports teams (Calgary Flames, Calgary Stampeders, Calgary Roughnecks and Calgary Hitmen) have all supported You Can Play game nights. The University of Calgary has done the same. The sport of curling does not need to reinvent the wheel here.
Look, I get there is an argument to be made that sport and athletes should not always feel a requirement to dip into social conscious topics. Some may not want to. However, whether you want it or not, once you step into the role of athlete at a higher elite level you are now becoming a role model to others. Like it or not, it is happening. It is part of your job. No different than any other job. When you are on the job site, regardless of your profession, you are representing the organization paying your bills. I cannot walk around with my clients swearing and drinking and throwing out slurs. Neither should you as an athlete. Kids look up to our athletes. As do fans of all ages really. Some may argue it is unfair to have the expectation of role model tied to you as an athlete; however, as an athlete you sure don't seem to mind all the TV and media attention and winning paycheques do you? This is a case of you cannot have your cake and eat it to. Responsibilities exist.
In addition, some could argue curling is already inclusive and does not suffer the same "lockerroom" issues we know exist in hockey or football. Really? You know this for certain? For those living with this argument, I mean this with no disrespect, but you are living in pure ignorance. These comments do exist. You cannot tell me every athlete taking up the sport of curling, regardless of the level they play, feels 100% safe and equal and included in their playing environment. Remember high school anyone? College? Come on, lockerroom talk exists and we know it. I have been to enough curling events in my day where I can honestly say I have overheard the slurs and derogatory comments myself. Even used in a "joking" manner (and let me be clear I NEVER take those comments as being funny nor endorse anyone who uses these terms under this mentality) or with no ill will or negative intent, it is still happening. I am confident in believing it happens at EVERY event on tour all season. I personally can tell my own story on the feeling of disrespect and treated as a non-equal human being. Yup, tied to curling too! It hurts. It makes you feel secluded. It also makes you not want to be part of the collective group nor feel you are invited to take part if you want to. Words hurt. #Fact
We know there are professional curling athletes who identify themselves with LGBTQ, perhaps more than most of us know. This is not about them needing to carry the Pride flag on their own but rather the sport as a collective whole coming together to support not only their own athletes but also the fans who love the sport as much as the athletes on the ice.
#TwineTime poses a challenge to all players and teams for the 2018/19 season. Start making the move towards creating an inclusive sport NOW. Look at the links I shared above. Talk to your teammates and opposition about it. Spread the word. Spread the message. Buy a role of Pride Tape and tape your broom. Make a fun video. Have the conversations with your club or governing body and ask them what they are doing to support the You Can Play mandate. Also, reach out to You Can Play Project and Pride Tape and ask them questions. Ask how they can maybe be a partner or assist you in trying to get something going at your club or event. I do not live in a world where I think my opinion or voice can make a great change in society but if even one or two players/teams reads this blog post and just adds Pride Tape to their team look for this season, what a success! And Sportsnet, Grand Slam of Curling....lets have one You Can Play night this season. One event. Any slam. One Friday night. Please!
Ok that is my pitch for social consciousness within the curling community folks. I hope some, if not all, of you read the entire post to this point and, even if you do not agree completely at least have a different outlook or perspective on the topic. I encourage you to please share your thoughts in the comment section below or message me on social media. I would love this conversation to continue.
But lets shift focus back to the action on the ice now rocks heads and stoners. Last week we kicked off the season with events in Baden, SUI and Winnipeg, MB. Overall it wasn't too bad of a weekend for #TwineTime predictions. In Baden, 7/8 qualifiers were correct and Team Edin reaching the final was accurate. Ok I have the #SwedishVikings as repeat winners but they lost to their rivals Team Ulsrud. In Winnipeg, only 2/4 for men's qualifiers and neither finalist while 4/5 for women's qualifiers and predicting Team Robertson in the final. Again, similar to Baden, I had them coming up short similar to last year but this year they ended up winning. Pretty solid start to the season though for the #TwineTime blog. Overall Grade: B+
Worth noting, the teams who found the most success opening weekend were the teams, in general, who did not have an off-season change to their line-up. Ulsrud, Edin, De Cruz, Walstad, Schwaller, Robertson, Sidorova. These were some of the big winners for opening weekend. Team Calvert made the biggest change out of the opening weekend success stories with a new front end. And #TheIcebreaker finalist Team Shuster made one minor change in adding Chris Plys. As expected early on, team dynamics and familiarity reigns supreme. But will it continue? When will the newly formed teams start gelling and making their move towards championship glory?
Time to look at Week 2 of the season in our #TourLifePredictions, with only one men's and women's event to focus on BUT we also welcome the first mixed doubles event of the season:
MEN
Oakville Fall Classic (Tour 250)
Oakville, ON
2017 Champion: Team Bruce Mouat
Format: 21 team RR with 3 pools of 5 and 1 pool of 6. Top 8 qualify.
Top Teams Entered (Top 10): Team De Cruz
Favourite: Based on early season results is there any doubt as to who should be tabbed as the favourite heading into Oakville? #HoppSchwiiz! But which one? Well we have to go with the higher ranked Team De Cruz, coming off a strong SF showing last weekend in Baden. Most of their competition this weekend will be playing their first event of the season so hitting the competitive ice last weekend, and playing some strong European teams, is going to be a benefit for the team from Geneve. But do not undersell the other teams from Switzerland who made QF appearances last weekend in Team Schwaller and Team Hess. The overall favourite for the event may just be the Swiss teams as a collective trio. De Cruz was placed in the one pool of six teams, joined with Scotland's Ross Whyte, Russia's Alexey Timofeev and home province fav Wayne Tuck Jr.. It won't be easy but it is not too daunting either.
#TeamUpset: Anytime Tanner Horgan enters an event, especially in home province Ontario, you have to consider him to be a contender. It feels like we have been watching and supporting Horgan for years but remember he is still only a young buck at the age of 20! Yup, 20 folks!! He is still a pup on the men's tour but he has put together a solid team this year, adding 2015 Ontario Tankard champion and #TwineTimeFam member Mark Kean as his vice. On the front end he has Jacob Horgan and Maxime Blais leading the ship. Keaner will be the experienced leader on this young team so it will be interesting to see how the 20, 20 and 18 year olds gel with their 30 year old vice. Yup, you are now the old man on the team Keaner...happens to us all eventually. Horgan draws a tricky pool with Hess, Japan's Shinya Abe, Quebec's Pierre-Luc Morissette (who had a strong season last year) and the surprise USA champs from a year ago Rich Ruohonen. This is probably the hardest pool in the event but if they can navigate at least two wins they have a shot at the playoffs.
W2W4: Most people will be focused on seeing how the teams who have yet to hit the ice this season will perform. Dunstone, De Cruz, Schwaller, Hess and Abe have some curling under their belts already so they should be early favourites in their opening draws (although Hess opens with Abe). The fun part will be watching the other teams step on the ice for the first time. Which will find instant success and which will take the #BambiBumble early. Keep your eyes on USA's Ruohonen too. Last season's remarkable run to the USA title and playoffs at the world championships was a continued #TeamUpset story for USA Curling, following the foot steps of Team Shuster's Olympic win. But this is a new season and expectations are going to be high on this team. We will see how they handle the extra pressure and exposure now. They are not flying under the radar now.
Qualifiers: Team Dunstone, Team Schwaller, Team Hess, Team De Cruz, Team Paterson, Team Horgan, Team McDonald, Team Tuck Jr.
Championship: Team De Cruz def. Team Schwaller
WOMEN
Oakville Fall Classic (Tour 250)
Oakville, ON
2017 Champion: Team Uliana Vasilyeva
Format: 12 team RR with 2 pools of 6. Top 6 qualify.
Top Teams Entered (Top 10): N/A - Top ranked team is Team Sidorova (#14)
Favourite: Similar to the men's favourite in Oakville, the favourite for the women will be not only the highest ranked team in the field but also the only team who has slid out on competitive ice this season. Russia's Anna Sidorova had a great start to their season last weekend in Winnipeg, reaching the championship final and coming up just short in an explosive finale vs. Team Robertson. Sidorova has some pressure on her this year. After failing to qualify for both the Olympics and women's worlds this team needs to rediscover their footing on the ice and re-establish themselves as a threat on the world scene. With rival Victoria Moiseeva retiring, the Russian curling door is WIDE open for Sidorova once again this season. But they will want the strong results on the ice to build momentum on the season and help erase the disaster last year. Sidorova does have the harder pool placement, drawing vet Mary-Anne Arsenault, upstart Scottish skip Sophie Jackson, the possible future of Swiss women's curling Elena Stern and another young upstart skip in Quebec's Laurie St.-Georges.
#TeamUpset: We love seeing the move from junior curling to the women's tour and Quebec's Laurie St.-Georges is the one to carry the #TeamUpset flag this weekend. Last season St.-Georges and her team from Laval reached the Canadian junior championship, coming up short against Nova Scotia's Kaitlyn Jones. This team instantly became a crowd favourite with their positive demeanour and fun attitude on and off the ice. Many of the teams perhaps have not seen this team play so they will be an unknown, which works to their advantage. They play a fearless game too, meaning expect some rocks in play and while they may give up big ends they can also score a few of their own. If they keep the fresh and fun energetic attitude going this season, Oakville could be a nice breakout tournament for them to start the season. It won't be easy drawing the most difficult, and most experienced, pool but the experience of playing those top teams is only going to make them stronger in the long-run. Don't sleep on this teams potential.
W2W4: New teams. New faces. New dynamics. How will it all play out for the teams making not only their first appearance on the ice this season but their first appearance as teammates? Perhaps the two teams to watch most closely are Team Rizzo and Team Murphy. Jo-Ann Rizzo is now skipping her own team after spending the past eight seasons with Sherry Middaugh. Now skipping is not new to Rizzo of course, having skipped prior to joining Middaugh. Plus she is the current two-time defending Ontario senior champion, reaching the Canadian final last season and coming up short vs. Saskatchewan's Sherry Anderson. She is joined by Middaugh teammate Leigh Armstrong at lead and has put together a solid middle of the line-up with Chantal Duhaime (who played with the strong Julie Tippin team last season) and Melissa Foster (who previously played with another strong Ontario team in Jacqueline Harrison). Speaking of former Team Harrison members, Janet Murphy has also stepped away to form her own team. She will stay at vice, supporting her daughter Jestyn Murphy who skipped her own team last season. Janet Murphy will have familiarity with her as a teammate too with Team Harrison second Stephanie Matheson joining her. The new team will be complete with Grace Holyoke at lead (played last season with Team Wallingford). Both of these teams are in the wide open Pool B so both have an opportunity to start their season with success as new teams. We have seen a lot of change in Ontario women's teams during the off-season, time to find out if some of these new teams are ready to step up as contenders early on. And we cannot forget Nova Scotia's Mary-Anne Arsenault folks. Her team stays relatively in tack from the one who made the spirited deep run at the 2018 Scotties, with one minor change. Ok minor may be the wrong word as she has added two-time world junior curling champion Kristin Clarke to the fold at lead. This will be Clarke's first season on the ladies tour and partnering up with a two-time women's world champion and five-time Scotties champion is the perfect way to make the jump from junior to ladies. This team was red hot last season. The addition of Clarke could put them into an early season team to Watch Out For at the 2019 Scotties!
Qualifiers: Team Sidorova, Team Cadorin, Team Jackson, Team Rizzo, Team Arsenault, Team Stern
Championship: Team Sidorova def. Team Arsenault
MIXED DOUBLES
Battleford Mixed Doubles Fall Curling Classic
Battleford, SK
2017 Champion: New Event
Format: 16 team triple knockout with 8 qualifiers
Top Teams Entered (Top 10): Laura Walker / Kirk Muyres, Jocelyn Peterman / Brett Gallant, Kalynn Park / Charley Thomas
Favourite: Hard not to call the current Canadian champions the favourite in this event. Plus Kirk Muyres is a good 'ole Sasky boy so you know the fans in Battleford will be cheering on one of their own, even if is partner is from rival Alberta (just kidding, we are more thankful he isn't with someone from Manitoba!). Walker/Muyres are the current world mixed doubles bronze medal winners as well so they have the pedigree to really make a long-standing run in this discipline should they choose to.
#TeamUpset: Most of the field? In all seriousness though, this is mixed doubles so anything can really happen and any duo can beat any other duo on the ice any draw. There are a few interesting teams to keep an eye on though. The biggest headliner team is the new duo of Kristen Streifel and Steve Laycock. The Sask duo formed in the off-season and have put tremendous effort into their training and social media, showing they are indeed in this mixed doubles discipline for the next four year Olympic cycle. Both are big names with solid team resumes behind them as well. It will be interesting to see how they work together as two skips. Who sweeps here? The pro-Sask fans will be supporting this team I imagine.
W2W4: This is the first event on the mixed doubles tour schedule so really who knows what we should expect here. We could see some #TeamUpset qualifiers or maybe even champions. The experienced duos like Walker/Muyres, Peterman/Gallant and Park/Thomas should be the overwhelming favourites to at least qualify. It is worth noting Pat Simmons will return to the ice partnering with daughter Makena, which should be fun to watch. There are a few other mixed doubles specialists in the field as well namely Sherry Just / Ryan Deis and Ashley Quick / Mike Armstrong. Those who have played mixed doubles the most should be favourites but we all know the motto of mixed doubles right? #ExpectTheUnexpected
Qualifiers: Team Walker/Muyres, Team Peterman/Gallant, Team Park/Thomas, Team Streifel/Laycock, Team Just/Deis, Team Quick/Armstrong, Team Campbell/Knapp, Team Knapp/Knapp
Championship: Team Peterman/Gallant def. Team Walker/Muyres
There you have it folks. Quite a different blog post this week I know. I really do challenge each of you to give thought to the proposal of inclusion in the sport of curling and helping the sport truly discover its social conscious. Our great sport does not need to continue to play a back burner position in the role sport has on our society. Curling is already quite unique in the grassroots community feel and we have an unique opportunity to truly elevate the impact curling has on people around the world. While hockey, soccer, football, baseball and others are starting the movement towards equality and inclusion, we want to ensure the curling rock is not left sitting in the hack while others slide on by as leaders and a voice for change!
Enjoy the action on the ice and the upcoming long weekend 😊
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