By Doug Kennedy
The Kincardine junior curling program is running every Sunday from 1-2 p.m. until the end of March. They can still take eight more kids between the ages of six and 18. You can sign up on the website or contact Chris Turcotte at 519-386-7832 or email smoothmixer77@hotmail.com.
It was great to see the Kincardine curling club up and running these past two weeks. I am sure it was a tough decision whether they should keep this club open or take the ice out. I had put my name in to curl Thursday afternoons, but Trevor Clark said I need another year of fitness training before I could join his team.
It was exciting to watch the Scotties Lady’s Canadian championship for the past ten days. Eighteen teams started off in Calgary (in a bubble) to compete for the top prize. There are some new young teams that looked good this past week, which will hopefully add to the excitement in years to come.
In the end, it came down to the best three teams in Canada. Alberta won the bronze medal. The final was a rematch of last year’s final between Ontario’s Rachel Homan and Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson. Einarson won for the second year in a row, 9-7, over Homan. It was an amazing week for Homan, who is eight months pregnant.
It is just the start of two months of curling in Calgary with the Canadian Men’s Brier up next, followed by the mixed Canadian championship and the World Men’s championships.
This event is another reason to be proud of how Canada has handled the pandemic by utilizing bubbles in curling, and last year with the NHL playoffs. The same cannot be said about sports in the US.
Update on the NHL
The NHL divisions have been interesting to watch. It sure looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs have been in the toughest division the last few years, with Boston and Tampa Bay at or near the top of their divisions. The Canadian division is going to be fun to watch come playoff time. For all you Maple Leaf fans, they have a better chance to win a playoff round this year.
Kincardine minor hockey is well organized
A tip of the hat to KMHA for being organized when the restrictions were lifted, hitting the ice in a quick and well-organized manner. I see other municipalities our size scrambling to find out who wants to play and put ice back in. It is great to see people of all ages back in the rink.
Last thought on the Super Bowl
I have to comment on the Super Bowl win of Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His obvious involvement in recruiting players and being part of the weekly game plan has other quarterbacks speaking up as they would also like to hear their voices heard. It will be interesting to see what Brady will do when he finally does retire (probably not shortly). Will he be a GM, coach or owner? My bet would be an owner.