Between the Sheets: My First Trip to the Continental Cup!

I cheered for Erika Brown from the US, I high fived with Jennifer Jones, I strategized with Rick Lang, and I swept with Ben Hebert (ok…maybe that’s a stretch). And when it was all said and done, our 26 member, North American team pulled off a huge win at the 2011 Continental Cup of Curling! Fun? Unbelievably so! Exhausting? Oh yeah…the days were long and for some, the nights even longer. And that is why, this blog will be short. There are not a lot of first after you have played this game for 30 plus years. But the Continental Cup was one of them and I am so glad I had the opportunity. Being the newbies, Team Bernard had no idea what to expect. Coach’s Rick Lang and Neil Harrison began the week with a great pep talk, followed by Kevin Martin who imparted his past experience regarding this event. And that was all we needed! The other first, was played mixed doubles…with gold medalist, and powerhouse sweeper Ben Hebert. I can’t remember laughing so much during a game. It was not an event I was at all excited to play, but thanks to a little extra prodding from Coach Lang, I agreed. However the deal was Ben would sweep ALL of the rocks and sweep he did! In fact he pretty much did it all, called line, weight, swept and made shot after shot! Thanks Benny, what a riot! If you ever want to play for the other team, you know who to call! However, the best (and strangest) part was being teammates with people that you’ve played against for years…but never got a chance to know. How often do you get to team up with the USA ? Both Pete Fenson’s team and Erika Brown’s team were a pleasure to get to know. It was a nice change of pace, Merklinger made unbelievably great ice and there were a lot of laughs on and off the ice. But now its time to put prepare for the TSN Skins game this upcoming weekend. So friends become foes as we prepare to take on the Martin team in the Saturday Semi Final, while Koe and Murdoch play in the other semi final. I like the Skins format – I just don’t like the Skins format against Kevin Martin. But we will put it all on the line and see if we can give them a run for their money. Jan 26th we begin our quest for an Alberta Provincial title in Camrose, Alberta. This is the event we have been working toward for most of our season. The ice should be a treat the committee has done a great job and Camrose is ready to cheer. So follow all the action online at https://www.2011albertascotties.com/