SMALL-TOWN HOSPITALITY POWERS DUNSTONE RINK
Wadena residents opened their hearts and curling rink to Saskatchewan team
If Matt Dunstone's Saskatchewan curling team can find a way to end the province's 41-year drought at the Tim Hortons Brier over the next 10 days, he and his teammates will surely take the Tankard Trophy to the town that adopted them in the weeks leading up to the Canadian men's championship.
Tiny Wadena, Sask., population 1,306, opened its doors, hearts and curling rink to Dunstone and his Regina teammates, providing them with a safe, COVID-FREE practice space where they could prepare for a trip to the bubble Brier in Calgary.
“Small-town Saskatchewan came together to do everything they possibly could to get us ready for the Brier,” said Kirk Muyres, who plays second on Team Saskatchewan.
“It was really cool to be a part of. We're really, really grateful for how they kind of made us part of their community.”
It all started with a phone call from Wadena Curling Club board member Dustin Mikush. The proposal was that the club could provide the Dunstone team with high-quality ice, keys to the rink, and all the practice time needed.
The Dunstone rink had been struggling to find available ice, with so many curling clubs shut down by the COVID -19 pandemic. They loved the Wadena plan. so they rented a house there for two weeks, isolating together in advance of the Brier and practised twice a day on ice made by curling colleague Scott Comfort.
“We had the keys to the club, so they would go there in the morning and make the ice and we would come in 45 minutes later and practise,” Dunstone said ahead of his team's game against Nunavut on Friday night at the Markin Macphail Centre in Calgary.
“In the afternoon they would do the same thing, we'd do the same thing, and then we'd lock up the club for the day. It was the same thing for pretty much two weeks straight.
“It was a pretty awesome setup. Pretty cool story.”
Originally, the plan was to keep everything on the down low, but it didn't take long for word to leak out that the team was practising in town.
“Everyone was so hospitable,” Dunstone said. “As word got around town that we were there, some locals started making us some great meals. We had supper made for us for pretty much 10 days straight. They would just drop it off on our doorstep. There were some serious meals. too. There were some steaks, baked potatoes, asparagus, smoked chicken.
“It was amazing. You never think, in a million years, that you're going to be a part of something like that. As soon as the locals found out about it, they went head over heels for us, to make sure we enjoyed our stay.”
Comfort and Mikush are curlers themselves who had played with and against members of the Dunstone team, which also includes third Braeden Moskowy and lead Dustin Kidby.
“Any small town would have stepped up in the same situation,” Comfort said. “We just happened to have our ice in somewhat usable condition.
“The town definitely got behind them. It turned into a bit of a contest with the meals … who could get the best compliments out of the team. They were so gracious all the time, it was tough to determine which meal they liked most.”
Comfort said the town is really into it now. Youth curlers have been sending video messages of encouragement to members of Dunstone's rink. Elementary school students will wear green during Brier week, while the curling club has started a #smalltownproud hashtag campaign to show support.
The Saskatchewan team members did their due diligence before moving into Wadena.
Each player was tested multiple times for COVID -19 before travelling to the town. Part of the plan was to quarantine together in the weeks leading up to the Brier so they could simply travel to Calgary together and go seamlessly into the bubble.
“I've never been a part of a team that's been able to prepare so well for an event, in terms of two weeks of straight focusing on curling,” said Muyres, a former skip who joined the Dunstone team this year. “(Comfort) made the ice exactly how we wanted it and made it as close as he could to Brier ice.
“It was also the first time we were going to spend a lot of time together, as we were quarantining for two weeks. I needed to get to know the guys a little better and that two weeks of spending time together was huge.”
It's been well documented in recent years that no Saskatchewan team has won the Brier since Rick Folk of Saskatoon did so in 1980.
Dunstone won a bronze medal in Kingston, Ont., last year and is seen as the best potential drought buster to come along in years.
Comfort, Mikush and the people of Wadena just wanted to do what they could to help.
“We weren't in it for praise or anything, we just wanted to help out the team and help out the boys, and maybe we'll break that 41-year drought,” Comfort said.