Not your typical first day

TRAVEL DELAYS WREAK HAVOK AS UNDER-18 CHAMPIONSHIP GETS UNDERWAY IN SASKATOON 

After the first day of competition at the Canadian Under-18 Curling Championships, a few things were very clear. 

First, the players were more than ready to hit the ice and get into the competition. 

Second, the 24-hour postponement of the first round-robin – and the ensuing schedule-juggling – was met with acceptance and understanding by all the players and coaches affected. 

Third, there are still teams who haven’t made their way to Saskatoon yet, while other teams have been in the province for several days. 

While four draws of seven games were completed, five teams – all from the Atlantic provinces – have been enduring a several-day travel nightmare which has included countless weather delays, cancelled flights, false starts, and multiple nights at airport hotels.  

The teams, stuck at Toronto’s Pearson Airport, were also in the building (and some on the tarmac) when a Delta flight crashed and rolled over after skidding off the runway on Monday, injuring 18 passengers. 

While their opening matches have been pushed back again, some of teams did find some ice near Toronto and got some fun games in while waiting out their most recent delays.  

“The stranded teams have been on an emotional roller coaster,” wrote Curl PEI’s Amy Duncan in an email to Curling Canada. “But today we took a few minutes to enjoy some ice time and new friends!” 

Teams from Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia participated in the Chinguacousi Curling Club’s Family Day drop-in event, while other players from Newfoundland and Labrador were scrambling to get on another flight.  

Meanwhile, some curling did get underway in Saskatoon after a full day’s delay. 

“We were all really excited to play, we just had a little extra prep time,” said Waterloo, Ontario’s Tyler MacTavish.  “We did lots of stretching, so we weren’t just sitting around all day, and we had lots of extra time for homework. Some of us, anyway.” 

MacTavish and team took on Northern Ontario’s Justin MacKay in the afternoon draw, managing a handy 6-3 win. 

“We were well prepared for that gamt,” said MacTavish. “For some of our guys, it’s their first nationals, so our coach did a good job to prepare us all for some of the things that we’re going to experience… We had a really good idea of what to expect going into it.” 

While all game involving the delayed teams have been pushed back, a full slate of 28 games was completed Monday. Eight teams played two games with only Alberta’s Abby Desormeau and Quebec’s Raphael Tremblay opening with two wins. 

The rest of the schedule remains a work-in-progress as the arrival time of the remaining teams is still uncertain. Event organizers have created a variety of scheduling options over the past two days, and even so, future changes are certain.  

“It’s our priority to make sure that all teams have a full national championship,” said Curling Canada’s Robyn Mattie, manager of the event. “We want to make sure everybody gets to play their games, and that nobody is forced to forfeit games because of bad travel luck. It’s been refreshing that all the other teams are on board, and willing to roll with the schedule changes.” 

The most up-to-date schedules can be found at http://curling.ca/scoreboard but is subject to change!