For the second time in three years, a local curler is off to Sweden for the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.
After Humboldt’s Dustin Kalthoff won the Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling title in 2016, St. Gregor’s Kirk Muyres matched the feat this year.
Muyres and his partner Laura Crocker captured the mixed doubles title with an 8-7 win over the pair of Colton Lott and Kadriana Sahaidak in the final.
It was Muyres’ first Canadian title since winning the 2011 Canadian Junior Curling Championship.
“I’m getting to that point in my career where it’s time to step up and maybe win another one of these and get that feeling and get some of that experience in those big games and now at the world championships. So it feels great to say I’m a national champion and put that gold medal around my neck,” summed up Muyres.
Of course, Muyres joins a long list of Canadian greats to win a Canadian title, and joins a smaller list of those to win a Canadian mixed doubles title.
The most recent winners of a Canadian title in mixed doubles were the pair of John Morris and Kaitlyn Lawes, who won the Olympic trials, and eventually the Olympic title.
Muyres says having his name mentioned in the same breath as some of Canada’s other great curlers is “huge.”
“With mixed doubles being so popular and having so many great players playing it, and having to beat so many great players to win the national title, it feels pretty good. I’m honoured to be a part of that group but I have a few more national titles to win before I can put myself with the likes of some of those other players.”
The pair of Crocker and Muyres rolled through the national championship, accumulating a record of 9-1.
It was that lone loss that turned their bonspiel around, says Muyres.
Muyres and Crocker lost to the team of Emilie and Robert Desjardins 9-7 in draw 11, after opening the bonspiel 5-0.
“We kind of looked back on it wondering why maybe we lost that one and it really came down to communication. We weren’t quite communicating well enough in that game to pick up the little nuances in the ice and so we said from that moment forward we’re going to make sure we really over communicate anything we’re seeing out there,” noted Muyres.
That seemed to work for the pair as they rattled off four straight wins to claim the national title.
“That’s really what was the game changer for us going into the playoffs and going into the final game where it was really going to be a pressure cooker. We kind of kept that communication high and it worked for us.”
While the pair won nine of ten times to claim the national title, it was far from easy, particularly in the final.
After grabbing a 5-2 lead through four ends, the team of Crocker and Muyres gave up five of the next six points to trail by one heading into the eighth and final end.
The national championship came down to the final stone, with Crocker needing to score two to claim the national title.
Heading into that final shot, Muyres says the pair just tried play smart.
“I was just trying to settle down and make sure Laura and I were thinking about it right and thinking about the process that needed to happen, not just necessarily running down and throwing it. So we took a few seconds, we talked about what we needed to do, went down the ice talking about how we needed to make it.”
Muyres says he was thinking about how he would sweep if Crocker was wide.
That situation never came to pass, as Crocker threw a perfect shot and the pair were named national champions.
“When the dust all settled it was pretty wild. It was just kind of a feeling of relief and happiness that I can say I’m a national champion again and we get a trip to Sweden to hopefully win Canada’s first World Championship in mixed doubles. So pretty exciting and pretty relaxing almost at the same time,” remembered Muyres after the final rock settled.
The win sends the pair to the championship in Oestersund, Sweden from April 21-28.
While Muyres says he is not sure what to expect, he says he does know it will not be easy with 40 teams in action.
“We’re going to have to play hard, we’re going to have to deal with jet lag and a lot of different things we don’t see in Canada but other than that I’m just going to enjoy the ride, enjoy the pressure, enjoy the excitement, and enjoy my teammates that I’m going with.”
While Muyres will be heading to Sweden to compete at worlds, he says it is wearing the Canadian uniform that he is most looking forward to.
“Anytime obviously any person gets to represent their country it’s pretty special but to represent Canada in curling, it’s kind of another level so I can’t wait to get over there, put on the red and white jacket and compete for national pride and hopefully that world championship.”
For Muyres and Crocker to end Canada’s mixed doubles world championship drought, the St. Gregor native says it will be important for the pair to continue communicating.
“Keep that communication level high, keep that excitement high and compete and play hard… when the two of us really communicate and understand the ice surface and help each other make shots, that’ll do the trick for us I think. I don’t think we have to do anything more or anything less than we did last week, just more of the same and hopefully the rocks slide the right way again.”
This experience will also serve to boost both Muyres, and his new teammates, heading into next season, says Muyres, who notes it will just give him another level of experience.
“Hopefully I can bring that back to the guys and kind of explain to them what it feels like for when we get into those big matches. Hopefully the brier final and the Olympic trails final in the next few years. So it’s just taking that experience, using it to our advantage on the four-person team as well as just kind of learning and gaining any little tips I can get.”
