Sweeping changes may be coming for Alberta’s curling associations
WESTLOCK It’s not a done deal. But there’s every indication that it’s a “getting-done” deal.
Wholesale changes are almost certainly on the way in Alberta curling, and brooms aren’t involved.
Alberta, the only province to have more than one governing body, is close to slaying the multiheaded dragon and getting in step with the rest of the nation.
For years there’s been the NACA, SACA and PCA — the Northern Alberta, Southern Alberta and the Peace Curling Associations. Each operates like the governing body of one of the other provincial associations.
Then there’s the Alberta Curling Federation, which is nothing like those three but is mostly responsible for organizing provincial championships such as this week’s Boston Pizza Cup underway here.
Combining these separate fiefdoms, each with their own castles and crowns, has been tried and failed before. But as your correspondent has learned, the expectations are that the creation of ‘Curling Alberta’ could be complete by this time next year.
And provincial playoff format changes could follow.
After a success in Ontario this year, there’s debate about merging the men’s and women’s championships into a weeklong, bigger, better festival of the sport in the Canadian province regarded as the world capital of curling.
A man in the middle of all this is a man in the middle of the Boston Pizza Cup, Edmonton skip Ted Appelman. Not only is he here competing but he spent much of Wednesday back in the city for a board meeting of the Edmonton 2017 Ford Men’s World Curling Championship as a vice-chairman of the organizing committee.
“We’ve actually been working on this for two full years,” said Appelman of the Curling Alberta project. “Because this has been tried without success before, we wanted to get it done right before bringing it out in public. It’s never managed to get this far before.
“We have the right people in all the organizations and they all seem to have bought in. We’re a long way down the road on this now. My hopes are up that we’re now going to get this done.”
Dennis Nowicki, president of NACA, said it’s to the point where he now expects it to happen.
“It’s very close. It could now happen quickly,” he said.
It will need to be voted on by all the members of all of the associations.
The committee, equally funded by the associations and the Alberta Curling Federation, features two representatives from each group.
Curtis Fairhurst and Bill Paterson represent SACA, Appelman and Brad Gibb from NACA, Bob Cooper and Dan Kleinschroth from the PCA and Brenda Asmussen and Joan Westgard from the AFC.
The advantages include one strong voice to present to Curling Canada, the ability to grow the sport consistently throughout the province, standardization of rules, policies, procedures and playdowns and operational efficiencies.
“More focus on grassroots and our 185 curling clubs in the province,” said Appelman. “I think we’re going to get it done. I’m very optimistic.”
To many fans of the sport who aren’t involved as curlers but form the fan base that have set all the attendance records in the sport it’s the possible format changes that would be of most interest.
It might come with totally revamped Jiffy Lube Alberta Scotties and Boston Pizza Cup Alberta men’s championships.
The two could be combined together and made into one weeklong festival of curling possibly featuring two pools of round robin play with a Page playoff system at the end.
“It’s been talked about,” said Appelman after losing his first game of the triple knockout here Thursday morning.
“I definitely think it would be great from a fans perspective to combine men’s and women’s under one roof,” said Mick Lizmore of Edmonton, who upset Charley Thomas to get to last night’s A Event Final.
“We’ve seen Ontario do it with some success. I think all of the players, if given a choice, would want to play in an arena.”
For the past two years, the women’s event has been held in a curling club and the men’s in an arena.
Lizmore thinks it would also be a better event for both players and fans to go from the tripleknockout format used here to a round robin with two pools.
“The triple knockout doesn’t leave much room for slow starters,” he said. “Just look at Wayne Tuck in Ontario last week. He dropped his first three before ringing off a whole bunch of wins before the final.
“And the biggest advantage of the pools format to me is that fans can mark off games and draws they are most interested in. They’re scheduled in the round robin.”
Appleman, Lizmore, Thomas and Brendan Bottcher were the only curlers on the ice for Thursday’s 9 a.m. draw before a less-than-capacity crowd in the Spirit Centre.
“Those are the top four teams. That should never be a morning draw. That should be an evening draw with a full house like we had Wednesday night,” he said.
With the round robin format you’d eliminate the three-andout situation that exists every Friday morning.
Three teams will check out of their hotels here and drive home after the 9 a.m. draw.
“I’m a big fan of the round robin. If you have to take a week off work you’d prefer to play in a big weeklong event and more than possibly only playing three games,” said Graham Powell of Grande Prairie.
“Having teams out Friday morning after only playing three games is sort of discouraging,” said Aaron Sluchinski of Airdrie. Jamie King, the 43-year-old Edmonton skip in his 11th provincials is all for combining the men and the women. I haven’t found anybody here who doesn’t like the idea.
“I think the idea of combining men’s and women’s provincials is great,” he said. You see it now with the Slam events and it’s gone over great with both the players and the fans.
“And I don’t think it’s really fair to the ladies to miss out on the arena ice setting and arena ice conditions as they look to gain experience and preparation in getting to a Scotties.”
But King for one says not so fast on ditching the triple knockout.
“I don’t like the idea of the round robin, though. People forget. We had that a few years ago and went away from it. As a competitor it was never desired to still be playing in an event and already eliminated from the playoffs.”
Maybe. But you never hear teams wanting to go home from the Brier after they’ve lost three.
Curlers have come to the Boston Pizza Cup on multiple occasions and never once played Randy Ferbey, Kevin Martin or Kevin Koe.
NACA president Nowicki can relate to that.
He once played in the Alberta provincials. All these years later, he says, the No. 1 thing he was able to take away was to be able to say he once played against Hec Gervais at an Alberta tankard.