WADENA TO THE RESCUE
Sask. Brier rink finds practice ice
Team Saskatchewan took a COVID-19 detour on the road to the 2021 Canadian men's curling championship.
Skip Matt Dunstone, third Braeden Moskowy, second Kirk Muyres and lead Dustin Kidby spent two weeks at the Wadena Curling Club preparing for the Brier, which opens Friday in Calgary.
The Regina-based foursome followed all of the protocols established by the Saskatchewan Health Authority while practising in the town of Wadena, about 200 kilometres north of Regina.
“We had a lot of help from the locals to make it all work out,” Dunstone said Tuesday. “We were able to see the inside of a curling rink and that's what our lives have been like for the last few weeks. Looking back, what better preparation could there be leading into the Brier?”
Team Dunstone plays out of the Highland Curling Club and would have practised there leading up to the Brier. However, the Highland, along with most of Saskatchewan's curling clubs, has been closed for several months due to the coronavirus.
Dustin Mikush of the Wadena Curling Club reached out to gauge the team's interest in curling in his community. It was quite the gesture considering that the curling club hadn't had any artificial ice since November, when COVID -19 restrictions were tightened.
The SHA cleared Dunstone and Co. to practise together, but under a strict quarantine. Team Saskatchewan
also was limited to four players on the ice.
Those options weren't available when the 2020 Saskatchewan men's champions were selected in January by Curlsask to serve as its provincial representative at the Brier. The 2021 provincial playdowns were cancelled due to the pandemic.
“We did our due diligence with it all and making sure that we didn't do anything that we shouldn't be doing,” Dunstone said.
Mikush and Scott Comfort reinstalled and maintained the artificial ice while keeping their distance from the curlers.
“It's unique because we couldn't have anyone else in the rink,” Moskowy said. “They would make the ice and lock the doors when they left. We had a key to the rink and we would come in an hour later, practise, and then lock up.”
Curling club board member Dwight Pomedli arranged for a house in which the team could reside while in Wadena. Other residents of the town helped out by dropping off meals. Mikush looked after buying and delivering groceries.
“It was a big deal, but we tried to keep it as quiet as we could because we knew that the boys were trying to isolate as much as possible,” Comfort said. “They were here for two weeks and I only saw them through the window of my truck and through their window when we dropped off some pizzas.”
The scenario was similar to what Team Saskatchewan will face in Calgary, where the Brier is being staged under a bubble. Players are to be tested regularly. There won't be any fans in the stands.
“We've been locked down and isolated for well over two weeks,” Dunstone said. “We've already had a bunch of COVID testing so we all know that we're in the clear right now and that makes us much more comfortable with the situation.”
The team is so appreciative of the efforts of the people of Wadena that the town's curling club will be listed as the home rink at the Brier, as opposed to the Highland.
“Scott promised Brier-like ice and he delivered, so it was absolutely no problem for us to represent them,” Dunstone said. “What a great story and a great town. We're so grateful that everything worked out.”