Between Pat Simmons and Russ Howard, there were enough Brier appearances on the Power Dodge Curling Centre Tuesday night to fill a current pool at this year’s Tim Hortons Brier.
Simmons and Howard were in Estevan on behalf of the Saskatchewan Curling Association to help introduce the sport to some in the area and give others tips on warming up and stretching better.
“I think this is important for community involvement but also the off chance that there’s a couple of ittle kids here who want to carry on and play at a higher level,” said Simmons, director of high performance and former Brier-winning skip. “(I’m just) introducing the sport and getting more people participating and playing is a good thing.”
Simmons and Howard touched on various aspects of curling that are now familiar to those who have watched the sport and wish to continue onwards, for a two-hour session.
“The general basics, as far as delivery is concerned with some sweeping and a little bit of everything,” he said. “It’s not a lot of time but we’ll try to cover what we can in that amount of time.”
As a high school and junior curler, Simmons was one of the best in the province.
“Everyone started somewhere,” said Simmons. “I would have attended things similar to this when I was their age. It begins with lighting a spark and lighting a flame under. Sometimes that’s all it takes.”
The sport got a recent boost in high profile fandom at the PyongChang Olympics through the mixed doubles, in which Canada won gold, and the gold medal winning performance of the American men’s team.
“There’s so many more people watching,” said Simmons. “The Olympics brings the audience that isn’t just curling-related. With that comes the chance of attracting people to the sport. I think a lot of people growing up now, their focus will shift a little bit from other things to dreaming of being an Olympian and all the perks and amazing experience that would go with that.”
