Curling: alive and thriving on P.E.I.

Harold, the ice keeper at the Charlottetown curling club, had a beef with one of the club members. He resolutely and erroneously believed if he used tape to mark the lines under the ice surface on the curling sheets, instead of painting them on, the water would freeze smoothly and uniformly, leaving no obstacles for curlers.
Wendell MacDonald, an avid curler, disagreed. And that is where the problem had its genesis. MacDonald, otherwise known affectionately among curlers in the area as Dr. Wen, contended the water did not actually freeze smoothly, but, in fact, would leave an edge over which curlers would have to operate; essentially making for more challenges in the game than were necessary.
Harold decided to settle the conflict with a challenge. He used tape on one sheet of ice – and on one sheet of ice only – sheet #3 – without conveying to Dr. Wen which one he had marked in this fashion. So the contest was on, officially.
Dr. Wen was to curl on the ice surfaces, testing each one to determine if he could find any difference between ice surfaces. He would look for drag on a rock, a tell-tale sign he was correct and an edge had been created by the strip of tape, as he had suggested.
What he did not tell Harold was he had secretly ferreted out the truth from Carole Kennedy, a curler at the club who knew what Harold had done. Kennedy had overheard Harold telling another curler his secret. Dr. Wen entered the contest with a decided advantage. He curled rocks on all surfaces, doing his best to hide the fact he already knew what Harold had done – coming to the end of the contest with a rather startling statement. “The taped surface is under sheet #3.” Harold never did find out how he had been ratter out and from that day forward, painted the lines on all the sheets of ice at the club.
Kennedy, who started curling when she was about 50 and was named rookie of the year her first season, tells the story with a giggle and tone of voice which conveys respect and affection for the two men. She says even if Harold had discovered Dr. Wen’s deception, he would have realized it was all good fun. No feelings would have been hurt and the story has lived on as part of the chronological personality of the Charlottetown Curling Club.
“At the curling club, there is so much camaraderie; nobody takes offence at anything that is said. It’s a delightful fun thing just to be there.”
Lloyd Lawless, former president of the Silver Fox Curling and Yachting Club in Summerside, P.E.I. agrees with Kennedy about the nature of the sport on Island; indeed, all over the world.
“Curlers are tight knit,” he says. And there is a “comradeship amongst curlers.”
Lawless began curling in Summerside at age 20 and caught on quickly to the rhythm of the game, he says.
“I became fairly adept at it because I was athletic.”
Lawless served as club president at the Summerside rink from 1979-1981 and from 1987-1988. He also became a proficient skip, leading his teams skilfully and with passion. He stands about 5’9” and leaves no doubt to his listeners he knows the business of curling. Yet, the business end is often punctuated by the dedicated which he says curlers have for each other, even outside the rink.
Many times, as he travelled, he would be on lengthy layovers at airports. Lawless would remember he knew a fellow curler who lived near any given airport. He would call the person and take time to spend time reminiscing about the game.
“I know people right across Canada,” he says.
The role curling plays on P.E.I. has changed over the years, he says. It was more of a social thing years ago and more curling was done on weekends. Today, the focus is more on weekdays. Seniors dominate the mornings and a junior team uses the rink after school hours on Fridays in Summerside. P.E.I. has caught up to the pace of advancing technology and there is simply more to compete for leisure dollars on the Island, so curling has taken more of a backseat. What had also changed a great deal is how it used to be frequented by those of station and influence. Now, anymore with a membership fee, love of the game, a few spare hours and a slider can join in the fun.
And Kennedy says curlers do have a lot of fun. The Charlottetown club plans a women’s event every year called the Momma-Mia bonspiel, she says. Karen McIntee organizes the event. The theme for this year’s event is a PJ party.
“It’s the greatest bonspiel you ever saw.”
“It gets into your blood because it’s fun,” she adds.
The unifying trademark of curlers all over the planet is every club produces pins which they trade with one another during both social and competitive events. Curlers collect and display their pins with pride and affection. P.E.I. curlers are no exception. And young curlers are taught etiquette very early on, says Lawless. They have to learn to shake hands before and after each game, he says.
“That is synonymous with curling. It’s very important that the juniors develop that.”
So the gentlemanly influence of elitist curlers from the sport’s early years has remained intact. Perhaps curling had lived on here on Spud Island as a testimony to the reluctance of Islanders to trade the old ways for the new...For now it is healthy, thriving and continues to engage young players and fans on a regular basis.