balayages / sweepings - Pointe Claire Curling Club

Volume 1 Issue 2
December 2013
JOYEUX NOËL ET BONNE ANNÉE
Merry Christmas & a Happy New
Cover Photograph By Keith Mallette
BALAYAGES / SWEEPINGS
THE POINTE CLAIRE CURLING CLUB NEWS
Blythe Yule an a Guid Hogmanay
2
The President’s Dinner Dance 2013
These are some of the wonderful people who make things happen at our club.
Please feel free to join them; your help will be greatly appreciated and you’re sure to
have fun. Alex Simard, Editor
President’s Message
4
New Members’ Lunch
8
One Evening in Spain
14
Mediterranean Cruise
18
Suffer Success
24
Dead Dods Tour
26
Turkey to the Button
28
One Evening in Spain
Inside this issue:
3
Message du Président
Avec la publication de cette deuxième édition de
événement de curling à Montréal des derniers 30 ans.
Balayages, nous atteignons déjà la moitié de la saison de
curling 2013-2014. Le temps passe vite quand on
s’amuse!
Vous aurez remarqué une affiche près du bar vous
rappelant de ne pas boire et conduire. Durant le temps
des fêtes, il est possible de faire des excès. Mais si vous
avez pris un petit coup de trop, ou si quelqu’un du club
vous déconseille de conduire, laissez votre voiture au
club et prenez un taxi. Nous vous rembourserons même
le prix du taxi.
À la fin de novembre, nous avons reçu un avis de la
commission municipale nous informant que notre
exemption de taxes est sous révision. Il y a neuf ans,
nous avons obtenu de cette commission un statut
d’institution d’éducation ne payant pas de taxes
municipales, ce qui nous a permis des économies de plus
de 250 000$ depuis. Un comité de nos membres travaille
à préparer les données et rapports que nous présenterons
en janvier. Nous vous tiendrons au courant des
développements. Entretemps, n’oubliez pas d’assister
aux sessions d’éducation avant la plupart des matches,
ainsi qu’aux cliniques et autres activités éducatives
offertes au club.
Sur un sujet plus plaisant, nous avons connu des
événements sociaux excitants cet automne, notamment
notre «Nuit espagnole» lors du souper dansant du
président, avec un spectaculaire décor, de la danse
espagnole authentique et un délicieux repas de tapas. La
soirée s’est avéré un grand succès. Nous remercions
Patricia Brown et son équipe de bénévoles, ainsi que nos
préposés de bar qui ont offert le service durant cette
soirée.
Lorsque vous lirez ce numéro, le bonspiel de la dinde et
le souper de Noel auront déjà eu lieu. Notre prochain
événement sera la Levée du Jour de l’An et le match War
Memorial. Réservez quelques heures lors de la première
journée de l’année pour y rencontrer vos amis et jouer
vos premiers bouts de curling. Nous vous offrirons
bouffe et apéritifs. Sachez toutefois que notre
cornemusier des dernières années, Kirk Johnstone, ne
pourra pas nous conduire sur la glace. Kirk est
malheureusement décédé cet automne. Nous espérons
trouver un remplaçant mais Kirk nous manquera
grandement.
Le 11 janvier prochain débutera le bonspiel Invitation
des Dames. À la fin de janvier, c’est le fameux bonspiel
Calcutta. Si vous aimez la compétition, n’oubliez pas de
vous inscrire, ou de faire partie d’un syndicat, ou d’y
assister pour encourager votre équipe favorite.
Le Tournoi des Cœurs Scotties se tiendra du 1 au 9
février à l’aréna Maurice Richard. Je suis fier de vous
mentionner que plusieurs membres du CCPC y seront
présents comme bénévoles. Pour les autres, faites en
sorte de voir une partie de l’action au plus prestigieux
Je vous souhaite de joyeuses fêtes, santé, bonheur et prospérité
pour l’année nouvelle.
Keith Mallette
4
President’s Message
With the publication of this second edition of Sweepings,
we are already close to the mid-point of the 2013-2014
curling season. How time flies when you are having fun!
At the end of November, the club received word from
the Commission municipal that our Tax Exempt Status
was under review. It had been nine years since we had
last appeared before the Commission to show that we
qualified as an educational institution in order not to pay
municipal taxes. This resulted in our saving over a
quarter of a million dollars during that span. We
currently have a committee of members putting together
all of the data and reports in order to prepare our brief in
early January. We will keep you informed of the
proceedings. In the meantime, be sure to attend the
educational sessions before most matches as well as the
clinics and other educational programs offered by the
club.
On a more pleasant subject, we have already had some
great social events, in particular our magical “One Night
in Spain” President’s Dinner Dance, featuring terrific
décor, authentic Spanish entertainment and a delicious
tapas cuisine. By all accounts, the evening was a great
success and thanks go out to Patricia Brown and her
crew of volunteers and to our bartenders who also acted
as wait staff for the evening.
We will have enjoyed another great Turkey Bonspiel and
Christmas Dinner by the time that this issue of
Sweepings goes to press and the next event will be the
New Year’s Day Levee and War Memorial match. Be
sure to make a few hours available on New Year’s Day
to stop by the club to usher in the New Year and play in
the first matches of 2014. Food and drink are on the club.
On a related note, we were saddened to hear that our
long-time bagpiper for this event, Kirk Johnstone, passed
away this fall and Peter is looking to for a replacement to
take his place. He will be missed.
Coming up on January 11th will be the Day Ladies
Invitational Bonspiel. At the end of January the annual
Calcutta bonspiel will take place. If you’re up for the
competition, don’t forget to sign up; if not, make sure to
join one of the syndicates or attend to cheer on the teams.
The Scotties Tournament of Hearts runs from February 1
to 9 at the Maurice Richard Arena and I am proud to
report that we have a significant number of PCCC
members volunteering. For the rest of you, make a point
of taking in some of the action at the most prestigious
curling event to be held in Montreal in over thirty years.
You will have noticed that we have a sign at the bar
reminding members not to drink and drive. With the
upcoming holidays, we may all have a drink or two but if
you feel that you should not drive or are told by our staff
that you should not drive, leave your car at the club and
take a cab home. We’ll reimburse the cab fare.
With that, I’d like to wish everyone Happy Holidays and
“Santé” for the New Year.
Keith Mallette
5
MIND YOUR
NUMBERS
By
Jim Cadieux,
Treasurer
In 2004, Club’s representatives accompanied by
Alfred Belisle, lawyer, appeared before the
Commission Municipale to obtain an exemption
from our property taxes because the Club was a
not for profit corporation, and provided training in
the sport of curling.
The exemption was obtained for a period of nine
years. We still pay a “tax compensatoire” which is
minimal compared to the full amount of property
taxes.
In late November, we received a request from the
Commission Municipale to provide financial
statements and activity reports showing a
representative year. These documents must be
submitted before the end of January.
Our report will be reviewed by an administrative
judge and he or she will determine if our
exemption will be renewed or if we need to
appear before the Commission again.
A small committee made up of myself, Keith
Mallette (who appeared before the Commission in
2004) and Geoff Smith, who is in charge of
education, will be preparing the report..
Financial results to Nov 30, 2013
Revenues:
Our main sources of income in decreasing order
of importance are:
•
Membership dues
• Net income i.e. sales less cost of product, staff
and other items necessary to run the bar
•
Market space rental
• Advertising revenue in the roster and on the
web site
•
Rental of the ice and hall
Sale of Merchandise
Advertising, rentals and merchandise sales
contribute less than the other sources of income.
Total membership dues are ahead of last year by
$7,000 but below the budget by $4,000. Although
we had a membership dues increase from 3% to
5% our total number of playing members is down
by 9. Some thirty new members joined but some
forty did not return. Our membership chair, Elaine
Hall, has reviewed the list of departures and most
of them are related to medical reasons or leaving
the area.
Bar revenues are ahead of last year and gross
margin (sales less cost of product) is on target.
Net bar income after salaries and other expenses
are less than last year and it appears we will not
meet the budget. Bar staffing arrangements will
be reviewed as at times the bar is staffed with
very little sales. The rental of space to the
Summer Market is on budget and we will be
meeting the owner soon to negotiate the
arrangements for next summer.
Advertising revenues will be on budget.
It appears that we will not be able to meet the
budget for ice rental as it was thought that we
would be able to rent Saturday evenings which
has not materialized.
Operating expenses:
For all intents and purposes our operating costs
are fixed. In decreasing order of importance these
are:
•
Manager salary and fringe benefits
•
Ice preparation and maintenance
•
Heat and lighting
•
Property cleaning
•
Maintenance and repairs
6
Insurance
Overall we should be within our operating budget
when we finish the year. This assumes that we
will not have a repeat of last year with the ice
plant issues and power outages.
Maintenance
Cleaning costs are lower than last year as there
was no construction during the summer months
(i.e. no clean-up required). Maintenance and
repairs are also lower than last year as last year
we took advantage of the construction work to
deal with many repairs that were required.
Cash position:
Our cash position is ahead of last year by some
$15,000. Our accounts receivable (i.e. owed by
members) stands at some $27,000. Several still
have half their annual dues still outstanding.
Looking ahead
In summary, although our net income will not
meet our budget, we should end the year in a
better position than last year.
S.V.P. Settle your accounts as soon as possible
S.V.P. RÉGLER LE SOLDE DE VOTRE
COMPTE LE PLUS TÔT POSSIBLE
Please remember that your
Pointe Claire Curling Club is
not a lending institution.
Volunteers are still urgently
needed for the Scotties
Tourney from Feb 1-9, 2014.
Help welcome our visitors.
Spend some time with real
Curling Champions.
7
New Members’ Lunch
The annual New Members’
Lunch took place on Saturday the
9th of November. It was a
pleasure to welcome so many of
our 36 new members and to
present them with their club pins.
As the tradition goes, the new members were
waited upon by second year curlers Ellen
Arnold, Pat Donvito, Alain Dubé, David
O’Hashi & Sue Stefanison. The bonus this year
was the additional help given by some Board
Members, David Leith, Jim Cadieux, Derek
Walton & Bill Arnold. It was good to see them
all with their aprons on. A big shout out goes to
Patricia Brown for her help in planning the
lunch.
Our guest speaker Mike Boone had members
chuckling and nodding in agreement as he was
telling many tales of his time in journalism.
I think that it is fair to say that we were one of
the first official engagements for the New
Mayor of Pointe-Claire, Morris Trudeau.
As I said at the lunch I would like to extend a
very warm welcome to you, the newest
members of the Pointe Claire Curling Club. I
can’t emphasise enough that this is now your
club, please get involved. If you have any
questions please ask – if not me, then any
member of the club. Your skips are more than
willing to help too.
Good curling, Elaine Hall
...And a very good time was had by all
8
9
MARCH 29TH 2014 - K4K BONSPIEL
What is Kurling for Kids?
Kurling for Kids is a Registered Charity dedicated to improving the lives of children and their families. Kurling for Kids
has received many recognition awards through the years, most recently it was named curling event of the year (2013)
by the Quebec Curling Association.
Who benefits from the fundraising?
Kurling for Kids shares its funds equally between the Montreal Children’s hospital foundation and the St-Justine
Foundation.
What is our goal?
We strive to raise funds to allow both hospitals to purchase leading edge medical and surgical equipment which
would otherwise be out of reach with current budgets. In our first 15 events, we have raised over $1,588,627 for the
Montreal Children's and CHU Sainte-Justine's hospital foundations. From humble beginnings of $6,628 in our first
year (1999), we are now setting a fundraising objective of $260,000 for 2014 for the 13 participating Montreal area
Curling Clubs!!!
Last year, the hospital foundations each received over $120,000 thanks to very generous support of our corporate
and individual donors. We were able to purchase a Pulmonary physiology unit and Apnea monitors for children at
Ste-Justine’s hospital. The Montreal Children’s’ hospital received a “Giraffe” for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
along with funds going towards a dedicated Kurling for Kids play area in the new hospital.
Each year we ask both foundations for their most urgent equipment needs within our targeted fundraising goal. We
have made this request with both foundations for the 2014 campaign and we are awaiting their suggestions.
How can you help?
Our own Pointe-Claire Curling Club is proud to participate again this year in the 2014 edition of Kurling for Kids
fundraising event. You can help by participating in the annual K4K Bonspiel which will take place on March 29th 2014.
You can also help raise funds by reaching out to corporate sponsors within your own network for donations.
Sign up today to reserve your spot in the K4K bonspiel by contacting one of the members of the PCCC K4K
Organizing Committee:
Bruce Lerner: [email protected]
Tom Litchfield: [email protected]
Jeanny Houde: [email protected]
So let’s all join together to help raise the much needed funds
and make this event a great success for the children!
Photo By Robert Rondeau
The “Giraffe”: State of the art
incubator
combined with radiant warmer
providing superior care to
premature newborns.
10
11
Thinking About CompuGroup
By Bob Wood
The computer world, as we know it, is constantly
getting better. Each supplier is attempting to beat the
competition, but for most of the average users the
changes are pressing us to understand all the ways of
using the tools that we purchase.
The browsers are the way we access the internet, and
often used are Explorer with Microsoft and Safari
with Apple. But there are others that are associated
with the new creative suppliers on the net. Google is
one pushing new technology and offers the Chrome
browser, and then we have another very popular item
called Firefox. These two tend to be the most used in
the internet world. Opera is popular in Europe and
North America, and there is also an item called Coast
that is very popular as an App on the iPad.
I know that a lot of system users do not change from
their original browsers, but often it is worthwhile to
take a look at new ways to access information.
Now we are working the net to assist suppliers and
customers to communicate with each other. Many
people are doing away with home telephones as the
technology moves rapidly to have a better cell phone,
with person to person video, text messages and other
apps like Face Time, Messages from Apple and
Hangouts from Google. All of these assist us in
communicating around the country and the world. Of
course, I am now digressing from the regular
computer, laptop etc., to the use of the Apple iPad
from Apple and other look-alike pads.
With the new telephones available the tools are all
available with a walk-around system that is
essentially a full-based system; heck, even printing is
possible where you require the hard copy, plus you
usually have a camera as part of the package.
Travel by air now gets the boarding pass to your
printer before you see the airport, making travel a lot
easier and more convenient.
As we start to age, we see changes happening which
are replacing a lot of the old ways of doing things.
As we see the post office starting to diminish, it puts
the problem on the Government as how to replace
the service. About 10% of the population does not
have a computer and or Wi-Fi service, so the Postal
Service will have to arrive at a new way to handle
the service while reducing the overall costs.
The next thing that we shall see is a revised internet,
as we know it. We will see companies targeting
specific areas. The telephone companies will push
back as they want the net ownership but suppliers
like airlines and banks will want open areas – as we
see at the airports – to communicate with their
important customers.
But first we have to know the tools to use, and as I
see it the Pads - iPads from Apple, and Android Pads
from Google and Samsung – are going to be the tools
of choice, with the cameras for fun, and we will all
be able to communicate with each other.
These items are starting to replace, for many, the
computer as we know it. The hard drive is being
replaced by the computer suppliers. Apple with
iCloud, Microsoft with the Cloud look-alike and
Google with Cloud format replace the need for a
large hard drive; we now have a back-up for a great
deal of our system, some free, and a small charge for
volume usage.
Most of the users I know are using the systems as I
do, to communicate with family around the world
and with our suppliers like telephone and electric
power to pay our bills.
12
What is that tall trophy sitting on
the table at PCCC?
It is the Quebec Challenge Cup, which has been
in active competition since 1874!
By Rick Stanton
The Challenge Cup is a
trophy competed for by
member clubs of the
Canadian Branch of the
Royal Caledonian Curling
Club. Each curling season, on
an almost bi-weekly basis,
member clubs participate for
a chance to win the trophy.
With a long list of clubs on
the competition list, there is
an approximate 5-year cycle
before a club gets a chance to
challenge for the trophy.
The first challenge of the
2013-2014 season was
between Metcalfe Curling
Club and the Pointe Claire
Curling Club (the
challengers). PCCC was
represented by Don Aitken,
Bruce Lerner, Bob
Suderman, Harold Aubie,
Matt Kennerknecht, Kelso Mallette, Rick Stanton
and Tom Labelle. The two teams travelled to
Metcalfe and played two side-by-side, 10-end, total
point matches.
After the tightly
contested games
were completed,
PCCC emerged
victorious.
The Metcalfe
curlers provided
an opportunity
for great
competition,
great
camaraderie, and
were super hosts
for the day's
event.
We are now
being challenged
by the
Huntington
Curling Club and
an excitnig
match takes
place Sunday, December 22nd.
Be there to support our side!
13
The President’s Dinner Dance 2013
14
One Evening in Spain
15
‘Twas the First Day of Curling
‘
Twas the first day of curling and out on the ice,
The greens were all praying, “I sure hope my skip’s nice”.
What Sharon had taught us, we tried to recall,
About in turns and out turns and my goodness, don’t fall.
Remember your handle, keep your eye on the broom,
And if you’re lucky, you’ll have lots of room.
From the house the skip points and holds out her arm,
We step into the hack and try to stay calm.
The slider comes back and forward with ease,
Then outwards we glide and the rock we release.
We watch as it curls and hope for a guard,
And the skip from the house yells “sweep, hurry, hard!”
The game was unfolding as one thought it might,
With rocks a little too heavy and a little too light.
Some were too narrow and some were too wide,
Our inexperience, really, was quite hard to hide.
The sweepers either puffed or saw stones zoom by,
The skip watched from the house with her expert eye.
Then all of a sudden there arose such a clatter
Everyone turned to see what was the matter.
And what to their wondering eyes did they see?
A green got a guard up and was jumping with glee!
Her eyes – how they twinkled, her dimples how merry!
Her cheeks were all rosy, her nose like a cherry.
To the top of the twelve foot, to the button it came,
If we remember that weight, we’ve mastered the game!
The teams whistled and shouted and called us by name,
Now Cheryl, now Debbie, on Joanne, Ellen and Sue,
“You’ve found your draw weight and you’re a good sweeper too!
16
We knew you could do it, we’re so proud of you.”
And then in a twinkling, our first game was done,
We collected our brooms and spoke of the fun.
We’ve survived not only that first day on the ice,
We’ve survived our first year and found everyone nice.
Then we heard Helen whisper as we gathered our gear,
“They’re a nice group of Greens; hope they curl better next year!”
Written by Day Ladies, Greens 2012
Cheryl McLachlan, Debbie Heuff, Joanne Maher,
Ellen Arnold and Sue Stefanison
Merry Christmas to all...and to all a good night.
17
“We Packed Our Bags and Went…” on a Mediterranean Adventure
Club President Keith Mallette had long tried to
convince his wife, Jo Howard, to take a cruise, to no
avail. She had, however, always dreamed of visiting a
number of destinations in the Mediterranean and a
cruise that she found online seemed to be the perfect
compromise. So they sat down at the computer and
booked the cruise, including shore excursions and
onboard food and drink packages as well as flights,
hotels and train trips. This trip was planned to
celebrate Keith’s retirement after 37 years with the
City of Dollard-des-Ormeaux.
On August 30th, Keith and Jo flew into Rome to
spend three days in the Italian capital, visiting all of
the famous sites including the Trevi Fountain, the
Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, Colosseum and Roman
Forum as well as touring the Vatican (saving time
with a Rick Steves’ recommended shortcut between
the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica). They
discovered that all of the sites in Rome were easily
reached on foot from their hotel near the main
Termini train station, an area that also featured a
number of reasonably
priced restaurants.
The cruise, aboard the
Celebrity Silhouette,
began on September 3rd
from Civitavecchia, a
one-hour train ride from
Rome. Home away from
home was a surprisingly
spacious starboard ninth-deck stateroom with a
balcony complete with chaises-longues. With sixteen
decks, a 1,200-seat theatre, eleven restaurants and
thirteen bars, it felt more like staying in a five-star
hotel and waking up in a different city every morning.
The top deck even featured real grass lawns for bocce
and croquet. For
the three formal
nights, Keith
proudly wore his
PCCC blazer,
which prompted
discussions about
curling among the
many Canadians
on board.
The ship’s first port
was Naples, where
they visited the ruins
of Pompeii in the
shadow of Vesuvius
and Jo fondly
recalled her high
school Latin textbooks.
Then, it was on to Malta with a visit to the cathedral,
dazzlingly brilliant with gold in every nook and
cranny up to the rafters, built by the Knights of St.
John from the Crusades. They even located a Maltese
falcon in a shop in the ancient city of Mdina. From
there, the ship arrived two days later in Piraeus, the
port of Athens, with the must-see visit to the
Acropolis and its stunning views of the city.
Stops in Mykonos and Santorini provided
quintessential examples of Greek island life, such as
rows of seaside “tavernas” and locals riding through
town on donkeys. Santorini is the remains of an
ancient exploded volcano open to the sea and the ship
actually moors the middle of the caldera. To reach the
cliff-top villages, you can take a cable car or ride a
donkey up the switchback pathway. The village of
Oia has to be one of the most picturesque places on
earth – you’ve probably seen the Greek tourism
posters featuring the blue domed churches!
The one stop in
Turkey was next,
docking in the
seaside resort of
Kusadasi. They
took an excursion
to
ancient city of
Ephesus, with
some of the best preserved Roman ruins anywhere
and then were treated to the mandatory Turkish carpet
sales pitch in the local bazaar back in Kusadasi. From
there, it was off to Rhodes and more architectural
examples of the influence of the Knights of the
Crusades. The last port in Greece was the island of
Crete, where they visited some of the small villages
and seaside resorts and the local market and marina in
the town of Chania.
18
Two days later, they
arrived on the
Saturday morning in
Venice, the last port
of call. With
breakfast on the
balcony and Andrea
Bocelli playing over
the ship’s P.A. system, they sailed slowly past the
Doges’ Palace and St. Mark’s Square.
Overnighting on the ship in Venice allowed them to
take a tour down the Grand Canal on the Vaporetto
and stroll along the narrow, maze-like pedestrian
streets linking the many bridges of this island city.
ride out to the Leonardo da Vinci airport for the flight
home. One note of interest: Keith had downloaded
Rick Steves’ Audio Europe free audio guides onto his
phone for many of the sites visited on the trip, which
proved to be a great source
of information and useful
hints – two sets of
headphones and a splitter
made Rick Steves a private
tour guide. The trip covered
four countries, nine ports of
call and eighteen different towns and cities in twenty
days; a truly magnificent retirement trip.
A two-hour high-speed
train ride on the
Trentalia
Frecciargento (silver
rocket) brought them
to their final
destination, Florence,
the capital of the
Italian region of Tuscany and a UNESCO-designated
World Heritage site. Florence was home to the likes
of the Medicis, Machiavelli, Dante, Michelangelo and
Leonardo da Vinci.
With a three-night stay in a centrally located hotel,
they took in all of the sites, including the Il Duomo
Cathedral, the Uffizi Gallery, the Ponte Vecchio, the
Boboli Gardens and the Academia, where
Michelangelo’s statue of David resides. Having just
read Dan Brown’s latest book Inferno, they enjoyed
seeking out the sites described in the book.
Sadly, after 20 days away, it was another ride on the
Frecciargento back to Rome and another short train
Photographs by Keith Mallette
19
The Lanthier
The Lanthier season began with 24 incomplete teams. This was partly due to the fact that there
were 2 more teams than last year with approximately 6 players not returning. With the hard work
of Al Ward and the guidance of Tom Litchfield, I am happy to report that we now have 24 full
teams as of November 09 2013. We also have a healthy spare list.
This year’s format will be different in that the top 12 teams will make the playoffs. More changes
might occur next season to this popular league and any input would be appreciated. It’s positive to
see more players from the mix now joining the Lanthier and we hope that this trend continues.
All the information such as schedule, standings, spares, etc. are available on our website as well
as on the bulletin boards downstairs. Playoffs start March 19, 2014 and there will be winners and
runners up in A, B, and C.
Good luck, good curling and Happy Holidays.
Your Lanthier Chairman
Ken Aitchison
CURL SAFELY
Guidelines for new, and not so new curlers
The Pointe Claire Curling Club and its Day Ladies Section both offer curling clinics, with qualified
instructors, at the beginning of, and during, the curling season. In order to make your curling experience
safer and more enjoyable, it is highly recommended that new curlers take advantage of this free
opportunity. You may wish to ask your instructor to let you know when they feel you are ready to
participate in a real game.
When you are ready for your first game it is most important to have the correct equipment - especially
shoes and a gripper.
Remember - Always step onto the ice with your gripper foot and keep your gripper foot on the ice when
stepping off the ice.
If you take a practice slide, until you feel steady, it is safest to use two stabilizers. Do not use a stabilizer
placed horizontally in front of you.
In your first few games, you might consider sweeping only between the hog lines to avoid entering the
house where rocks may be a hazard for tripping.
If a rock is travelling too quickly, you can back off and let the Second take the rock to the other end.
Stay close to the side lines when not delivering or sweeping.
Never practice alone on the ice.
And....please no cell phones or liquor on the ice.
ENJOY A SAFE CURLING EXPERIENCE
Submitted by Connie Corish
20
The Ladies President's Trophy Winners, December 5th
.
Left to right
Helen Forest,
Kathleen Wilson,
Skip Linda Ellyett
presented by:
President, Connie Corish
21
THE JUNIOR CURLING REPORT
By Kathryn Bliss-Johnson
It is hard to believe that we are already at the
holiday break. The first two months of curling have
just flown by!
Both the little rocks and juniors have had a couple
of interclub matches under their belts. The juniors
so far have had mixed results, but as a group they
seem to be coming together. The little rocks have
also had mixed results, but the coaches have
enjoyed watching as the seniors little rocks take
more control of the game. This can make for some
long ends, as there is a lot of debating over each
stone. It has also been interesting to watch the
curlers, who only two months ago were stepping
out onto the ice for the very first time. We’ve had
some falls and bumps along the way, but they are
fast learners, and eager to show that they can get
the rock down the ice!
Tim Caverly will be coming up right after
Christmas, Dec 27-29th. Little rocks will play their
matches out in St Lambert on the 27th, with the
PCCC 2013 President’s Cup Champions
Lead: Alex Simard Second: Caroline Thall
Third: Keith Mallette Skip: Ken Aitchison
juniors playing on all three days in a couple of
different rinks. As always we will be opening up
the Tim Caverly Café. So why don’t you come
down, have a snack and support the junior program.
As always the program would never work without
the tireless efforts put in by our coaches. A big
thanks to Bob Jackson, Neil Gargul, Scott Johnson,
Mike Wroblewski, Andrew Mackay, Danielle Mills
as well as Jim Kyle. I would also like to thank the
parents who have volunteered so far this year. Don't
let that list fool you though; we are always in need
of help. Anyone who would like to give up an
occasional Saturday afternoon, your time would be
greatly appreciated!
Lastly I would like to congratulate little rock
curlers Hannah Gargul and Emilie Thibeault; both
girls have been chosen as Junior Stars for the
Scotties Tournament of Hearts this coming
February! Well done to both girls!
PCCC 2013 President’s Cup Runners-Up
Lead: Nancy Erickson Second: Phil W-Battet
Third: Geoff Smith Skip: Jim Cadieux
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The Senate 2008 and 2013
Photos by Bob Rondeau
Plus ça change...
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If at First
You Succeed,
Go and Suffer Success
-
by Jon Austen
Today may be my best day this
week. Actually, it’s early in the
day and if you approach life in the negative, I suppose
the day also has a chance to be my worst day this
week.
I guess I won’t really know until the week is over, and
if I choose to do so I can review the week in my mind
and then pick what I thought was the best or worst
day. One thing is for sure; one of the days this week
will qualify quite nicely as my worst.
One doesn’t set out to have their worst day; it just
happens. If I knew ahead of time that tomorrow was
going to be a real clunker of a day, I might just decide
to sleep in, sleep through it. However, all that does is
transfer a potentially worst day to some other
unsuspecting worst day.
Actually, we can rate everything we do from best to
worst, one to ten, first to last; we do it all the time. I
realize that if I finish writing this, it could be the
worst thing I did all week. I hope not, but I don’t
purposely set out to perform badly or write bad stuff,
it just turns out that way. And, it could be that I might
do this while I am setting out to do my best stuff. Yet,
deep down I think we can agree that some things end
up much better than others.
Think about it. If you are a natural athlete or have an
immediate talent, you will end up doing everything
easily and not really having to work at it. The rest of
us go on to strain and train to learn the fundamentals
and skills that help us become successful. In most
cases it’s the hard worker, the one who suffered the
most setbacks that goes on to achieve great things.
Yes, suffer success. My sister will say, “Did you
suffer success,” as opposed to, “did you win?” I guess
she also feels that unless you suffer along the way,
you can’t be totally satisfied with your win or your
success.
My dad, on the other hand, had his own special
approach. He would allow himself seven mistakes a
day – “free of charge.” That’s a lot of mistakes, but
he said he never got there; he never used up the full
seven in a day and therefore never had a reason to get
down on himself; he just kept learning one mistake at
a time.
This being said I don’t think we are ready yet to go up
to someone we love and say, “I wish you failure,”
thinking that with failure comes a chance for them to
overcome their setbacks, tax their creative minds, and
watch them grow and go on to suffer great success.
“Nothing fails like success because we don't learn
from it. We learn only from failure”
Kenneth Boulding
If anyone is still with me I’d go on to say that the
thing that turned out to be the best thing I did, I
learned the least from. Mostly if you’ve done
something really well it’s because you are good at it,
and previously spent a lot of time to become good at
it. Therefore it was a very safe thing to do in the first
place, and in my case, I was lazy, and just baffed it off
to get it over with – not a lot of thought went into it
because I’d done it before - been there, done that,
learned it long ago! You know what, the things I now
do ‘well,’ probably are the things I judged as the
“worst” things I did at one time long ago. Yup, what
I’m good at, I learn the least from.
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Back to Curling
Musings from a prodigal daughter
By Jeanne Marie Shipley
So when I first started curling many moons ago,
getting into the hack was easy, my mother and father
were curling, my husband Gord was wearing his
yellow sweater on Boxing Day at the family curling
and being young and green was a great way to ease
into curling. Shooting out of the hack, resting on the
broom’s edge was easy, balance and control ability
intact. Games were plenty and my bones didn’t hurt
no matter how many games I played in a week.
Flash forward after a four-year hiatus and I look
around to see new faces and realize that many good
friends have left the grand old game. My older bones
feel the cold. I feel my hamstrings and gluts as they
stretch out crying for absolution. My feet don’t even
fit my old shoes. My pants and jacket fit, which is
some consolation, but my gloves are tight….
something called arthritis. My broom looks like a
relic of times gone by, but not as bad as having a
straw broom. The ice looks brighter, cleaner and
pebble is finer.
I still remember my first morning return. Getting
there as per usual for me, 5 minutes before game
time and finding the code changed on the front door.
Thank goodness someone heard my desperate cries.
The old code was a lot easier… just look up.
Carrying all my paraphernalia, I quickly changed into
my curling clothes. I then realized my insoles don’t
fit into the curling shoes, and as a matter of fact I
have to remove everything from the shoes just to get
my feet in. The bulletin boards are now filled to
capacity and a new mailbox spot exists. On my way
to the ice I spot the new bar and the swanky coffee
machine. All I can say is wow!! Descending the
stairs my stomach does a few flips. It is still just as
cold as I remember, as I step into the rink that first
morning of the Windmill. Okay guys, who put the
shoeshine machine out? What is with the flytrap
paper on the floor? What is that? A water cooler? I
guess Peter tired of bringing the water for us. There I
am in my old blue jacket and blue pants and
everyone is in black, white and red. Wait a minute…
some aren’t even in uniform. Very few wear their
pins now, which is good because I lost mine. The
game was almost like old times, with me chatting to
everyone, saying hello, and then trying to focus on
the game. Heck, I can see the broom but it would
probably be better if I wore my glasses. Tried the
stabilizer but ditched that after a few games. Leg
drive isn’t as predictable as before. I couldn’t
remember what side to sweep on. One thing is the
same; winning still takes second place to being with
friends out on the ice laughing and teasing. Those
who had been just starting out a few years back have
now been promoted and look fabulous as they leave
the hack hitting their mark… or should I say the
broom. I look forward to many more games and to
hearing the greens sing at the Christmas luncheon.
Speaking of which, what about the bonspiel at the
luncheon? I need a second crystal to go with my one
wine glass, when 10 years ago, we were good enough
to merit one.
The faces have changed and I don’t mean the aging
kind but new faces replacing my dear friends who
have either passed onto to the never ending curling
rink in the sky or left for warmer temperatures. It is
good to be back. For how long, who knows? This
time around I have someone watching me from
above, wishing he could sweep one more stone and
raise one more glass, and saluting a game I have
come to love.
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This summer, I packed my bags . . .
and went on the Dead Dods Tour, 2013 edition
By Robert Dods
As part of a continuous series on summer travels, I
was asked to write up my Dead Dods tour. What is
a Dead Dods tour? Well, it all started back when I
was 16 years old when my maiden schoolteacher
Aunt Betty booked a three week bus tour of Europe
and another 3 weeks travelling through England,
Wales and Scotland visiting relatives and historical
sites. My sister Dianne, 4 years my senior, was to
go but she decided to get married instead. With the
trip booked and not refundable, I was selected to go
in her place and to put it mildly, it changed my life!
Ever since then, my sister would, on occasion,
remind me that I got her trip. Fast forward to last
Christmas, when I offered her and her husband Jeff
an expense paid trip to visit Scotland as I had had
when I was sixteen. They accepted and the
planning began. Given we had our own Scottish
resident guide in Shirley Brown, the 14 day trip
came together rather quickly. Flights, hotels, rental
cottage and cars were booked and a rough itinerary
was produced and reviewed. Central to this was of
course a visit to the family graveyard in the small or
wee hamlet of Garvald, East Lothian, hence the
name I gave this trip – the Dead Dods Tour!
Strangely enough, it is only 14.2 miles from
Shirley’s hometown of Gullane which was the site
of the 2013
British Open at
Muirfield.
Shirley went over
two weeks ahead
of us to visit her
friends and
relatives and to
scout out items of
interests.
A review of the rough itinerary had us landing in
Edinburgh via Heathrow; renting a car; having
supper Sunday night with Ian Waugh and his wife
Marge; driving down to Hull where Jeff’s Dad was
stationed with the 161 Lancaster Bomber Squadron
in World War II; then over to Keswick where cousin
Peter Foden and BethAnn and family were
vacationing; continuing up to Glasgow to visit
friends Gordon and Christine Clark returning to
Edinburgh. A day trip to visit the Dead Dods,
continuing onto East Fortune to the Museum of
Flight where the Concorde and other planes are
displayed, onto Gullane for a walk on Shirley’s
beach, lunch with her brother Ian at his golf course
in North Berwick where he tried to convince my
sight limited sister that you could see Norway from
there and dinner with Shirley’s childhood friends!
On the way home, a quick visit and wee dram visit
with David Edwards –
he of the Lefthanders
fame. Next a day of
sightseeing in
Edinburgh – love
those Hop on-hop off
bus tours and a night
at the Edinburgh
Military Tattoo where
it rained steadily for
the 3-hour performance.
Off through Stirling to see the William Wallace
monument; Aberfeldy to visit Ian Parkinson,
another Scottish Lefthander and onto Inverness
where we rented a holiday
cabin (converted car
garage) just ½ miles from
the Culloden battlegrounds.
Using this as a base, we did
day trips to Culloden,
Gordon and MacPhail’s
‘largest whisky shop”,
Johnstons Woolen Mills in Elgin; the Isle of Skye
where we ran into a
Scottish road block
(Highland cattle on
single path road); and
on to Pitlochry to visit
my favourite distillery,
Edradour and drove
back through Balmoral
and Cairngorms
26
National Park where the
purple heather on the
hills was coming into
bloom.
A day bus trip to the
Orkney Islands and
Kirkwall, the home of
Highland Park distillery
and the Ring of Brodgar; a
day shopping and hop onhop off bus tour in
Inverness; a visit to Glen Ord distillery where all
their single malt goes to Asia; Ian and Maureen
MacKay in Dornoch (yes, more Lefthanders!); Glen
Morangie distillery (are you sensing a theme here?).
Finally, the drive back to Edinburgh going through a
fog near Dundee, supper at Anstruthers Fish and
Chips (voted U.K.’s best fish and chips), St.
Andrews and to the Holiday Inn near the airport.
Alas, like all good things, this trip must end. For
the most part, we saw a lot, drove nearly 1,600
miles, ate haggis 5 times, sampled numerous single
malt scotches and
beers and were still
talking to each other
after the trip.
Next year, the Dead Dods Tour 2014 edition will
feature my son and his girlfriend!
Slainte!
Scottish Traffic Jam
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The First Annual PCCC Turkey Draw to the Button
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And Afterwards
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Tim Hortons Brier
But this was Jacobs' night. His week. His long-time
2013 champion skip Brad Jacobs:
dream come true, as you could easily see as he
began to tear up during his post-game interview.
By Don Landry | Eh Game – Sun, 10 Mar, 2013
The 27-year-old skip from Sault Ste Marie fully and
Brad Jacobs has
completely emerged as a team leader at this Brier,
climbed to the top of
reaching lofty heights in a pressure packed weekend
the Canadian
of do or die skipping. He shot 90% in the 3 vs 4
curling mountain.
game against Brad Gushue. Did that again in the
(CP)
semi-final game against the giant, Glenn
Howard. In the final, Jacobs shot 88%, while his
The Iceman last won a Brier for Northern Ontario
team did even better, amassing a collective 95%.
when Brad Jacobs was about ready to enter this
world. Just a few months after that fabled
Like Rachel Homan at the Scotties, Jacobs led his
championship was etched in the books of curling
(mostly) young and very talented team with a cool
history, Jacobs arrived - in June of that year - with
demeanor and steely-eyed determination.
obviously no earthly idea that he would grow up to
And great shooting.
be the man who'd ultimately end the drought that
was just about to begin.
In the fourth end of his Brier final win, Jacobs could
have easily drawn for two and forged a 5-2 lead.
Al Hackner's 1985 win over Pat Ryan is no longer
Instead, he showed the ferocious confidence and
the region's last national men's curling
killer instinct that his provincial counterpart had
championship. His nickname, "The Iceman" will
shown two weeks before at The Scotties. A thin-as-
forever be his and his alone, although you'd be
you-can pick of a Stoughton stone gave his team a
forgiven if you were tempted to tap Jacobs once on
three spot and a 6-2 lead. “I think that’s more our
each shoulder with a curling broom and dub him
style a shot,” he told TSN at the mid-game break.
worthy of the title. While you're at it, a knighting of
curling's gentleman, Jeff Stoughton would also be
The Soo crew likes a good ol' swashbuckling shot
in order.
and can execute them with great regularity. The
difference this year seems to be that they can also
Manitoba's Stoughton, a three-time Brier champion,
make the touch shots and those that put their
wins raves again for his sportsmanship as he capped
opponents under pressure so often. In the sixth end,
Northern Ontario's 11-4 win by performing two of
Jacobs took out two Manitoba stones and rolled
his patented spin-o-ramas in the ninth end, with the
across the rings to neatly bury behind a wide corner
outcome no longer in doubt.
guard. "That just isn't fair" said Russ Howard, from
his perch in the TSN broadcast booth. Fair it wasn't
30
as Stoughton was forced to play a very difficult
“They’re raising the bar in the fitness level that’s for
come around tap that innocently sailed past Jacobs'
sure," said TSN's Linda Moore, during the
stone and out the back, leaving the Northern Ontario
broadcast. "Their physical preparation has been
skip with an easy draw for two and an 8-4 lead.
superb and it is paying off.”
Had to wonder if Jacobs was ever going to break
That's no small consideration. Stoughton's team
through and take the throne although you'd never
fancies itself a contender to represent Canada at the
have doubted his desire and determination to do so.
Olympics in Sochi, next year. Howard's feels the
Bursting onto the Brier scene in Halifax in 2010,
same as well. Kevin Martin's too. Those and other
Northern Ontario - with Jacobs and the Harnden
challengers to the reigning Canadian champions will
brothers, E.J. and Ryan - ran up a 9 and 2 record
have to decide whether they can match up well with
and a playoff spot. In 2011 they were back, with a 7
the Northern Ontario team, physically. That may
and 4 record but no playoff spot to show for
well be the definitive gap between them now.
it. Regrouping and re-dedicating in 2012, they came
Previously, Jacobs' teams had been able to lay claim
up well short at nationals with a 5 and 6 record and
to the physical high ground but not the strategic and
might have been in jeopardy of fishtailing
emotional ones.
out of sight.
Their romp over Manitoba is the punctuation mark
Instead, a change to the team's line up was made,
on a week that clearly showed the boys from
with 34-year-old vice Ryan Fry coming over after
Northern Ontario are no longer just Brier beefcake.
serving as Gushue's third the previous four seasons.
Fry, who became the second man to represent three
Iceman The Second? Jacobs has earned it. At the
different provinces at a Brier (he'd also played for
very least, he's ensured that the memories of
Manitoba as part of Stoughton's team in 2007)
Northern Ontario's last Brier win are crystal clear
turned out to be just the tonic the team needed to put
now, as opposed to the dusty recollections of a day
them over the top, with the Harndens providing as
long, long ago that had been reduced to a weak
solid a front end combination as there is in curling.
echo, like a forlorn moose call rattling around in the
Fry came in at 94% shooting in the win over
rafters of Edmonton's Rexall Place.
Stoughton, while E.J. Harnden shot 99% at second
and brother Ryan was a perfect 100% at lead.
The Iceman returneth.
While Jacobs' team is not exactly changing the way
the game is played the way Homan's team is, they
are revolutionizing what it takes, physically, to
compete at the highest level.
31
Hope you’re having fun!
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – there’s
more to curling life than just curling! We want to plan
non-curling events that appeal to all members, and to do
that, we need your input.
know… and March is also the date of another social
event – Saturday, March 22nd. Two ideas are under
discussion at the moment – one a food tasting and the
other a port tasting, and we will shortly be polling
everyone for their opinion… you choose!
Closing dinner on April 12th is not to be missed – the
icing on the cake which is the awards ceremony. A night
Some of you have had a chance to attend all of our social of terrific food, fun, music and dancing.
events to date – the Opening Dinner pig roast, the
As always, the success of our social events is largely due
President’s Dinner Dance, and our homecooked
Christmas feast this past week. For those of you whose to volunteers like you… who help plan and execute each
schedules haven’t allowed you to participate, keep your lively occasion with good ideas and good humour. If you
can find the time to help out, come see what really
eye on the bulletin board in the lounge for news of
happens in the PCCC kitchen!
future events.
The annual dinner to kick off Calcutta week is always Contact me anytime. I’m happy to have your ideas, your
a lively affair punctuated by bad jokes and great lasagna, input and your sense of adventure.
and is scheduled for Saturday, January 25th.
Patricia
March might see an impromptu chicken wing bash
[email protected]
around the time of the Skins competition… you never
198 Malcolm Circle, Dorval, QC H9S 1T4
514-634-3841
Imagine your advertisement on the back cover of
Sweepings / Balayages.
Or you can position your ad anywhere you choose
400 club readers per issue
Exposure on the WWW via the PCCC web site
Contact Patricia Brown for page rates
[email protected]
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