N.S. Scotties, Tankard among cancelled events
Murphy rink accepts Brier invite, but skip opts out of national event
News that Curling Nova Scotia cancelled several provincial curling championships due to COVID-19 didn’t come as a surprise to Jamie Murphy.
Murphy is the province’s all-time winningest men’s skip with six Tankard championships to his name and was hoping to have the opportunity to go for No. 7.
But on Monday Curling Nova Scotia announced the cancellation of all provincial championships until March 1, including the Scotties and Tankard.
The Scotties and Tankard were scheduled for Jan. 25-31 at the Bluenose Curling Club in New Glasgow.
Without a tournament to decide a winner for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts (Feb. 20-28) or Tim Hortons Brier (March 6-14) that are being held in a bubble at Calgary’s Markin MacPahil Centre, Curling Nova Scotia offered invitations to Murphy’s rink, the 2020 men’s champions, and Jill Brothers, the 2021 money list leader.
On Monday, Murphy said that his rink of Paul Flemming, Scott Saccary and Philip Crowell accepted the invitation to Brier, but he had to pass on the opportunity.
“I told the guys I didn’t see a clear path for me to be able to attend,” said Murphy. “All of our guys are in slightly different family phases and work availability. I can’t make it work for me. The isolation requirement upon return is really a challenge for me both personally and with work. I don’t have the right household set up, I have three very young children and it just didn’t seem to weigh the risks for me.
“The other three guys are super excited to go and represent the province and I totally support them with that. I will help them in practices over the next few weeks and get them as ready as possible to do well.
“I never thought there would be a day that I would turn down an invitation to go to the Brier, but with all the other factors, it did weigh on me.”
Murphy said his teammates are in the process of finding a fourth player to round out the team.
Flemming, the team’s third, is a three-time Tankard champion with wins in 2013, 1999 and 1998.
STILL DECIDING
The Brothers Mayflower rink that includes Erin Carmody, who is originally from P.E.I., Sarah Murphy, Jen Brine and Emma Logan, was given the opportunity to compete at the national Scotties as Mary-Anne Arsenault's 2020 provincial championship didn’t meet the qualifying standards of having three of the four original members playing together this year.
Arsenault moved to British
Columbia last year, and Logan joined Brothers, leaving Christina Black and Jennifer Baxter as the remaining members.
Brothers, who in December spoke of her concerns about the COVID spike in Alberta and the prospect of a 14-day quarantine upon returning from the national event, said on Monday her team "was talking to employers and families to see if they were able to make this commitment possible".
The rink has until today to make a decision according to
Curling Nova Scotia.
MURPHY EXPECTS SAFE EVENT
Murphy believes Curling Canada has a safe plan in place for the curlers and volunteers but said the event may suffer from a lack of atmosphere.
“(Curling Canada's) plan looked rock solid to keep the players safe, which is ultimately why they will be able to host.
“It definitely will have a different feel. So much of the Brier typically are the things that happen off the ice, and it’s all about the fans. Definitely, a different feel for the players out there because there won’t be any
fans. You have to go directly from the hotel to the rink and nothing in between. But safety is the most important thing.”
A post on Curling Nova Scotia's website stated that all provincial events until March 1 were cancelled as COVID restrictions do not allow for any games, leagues or competitions until at least Jan. 25.
The 10 events scheduled for March will be reviewed and a decision made by Feb. 12.
Other cancelled championship events include the club mixed, grandmasters men and women’s, senior men’s and women’s, open stick, men’s club.