All The Curling Feels Times Two

Sunday night’s 2021 Canadian Mixed Championship finale offered all the feels. 

It was the first one contested since November of 2019, no thanks to COVID-19. 

It reminded curling fans that amongst the hoopla of the now Olympic-disciplined mixed doubles format there remains a fun event for males and females to contest that has been around for a really long time, and is still a popular pastime at community curling clubs.

It featured a Heritage Moment clash of historic Upper and Lower Canada, as Ontario battled Quebec for gold. And it showcased a tussle between players who are often challenging each other in the same region.

Jean-Michel Ménard—who has played in Ottawa area leagues for years—skipped the Quebec team from Etchemin/Des Collines while Mike McLean led the opposing Ottawa Curling Club troops. Ménard, the 2006 Brier champion, retired from high-performance men’s play a few years ago and it was great to see him back on the national scene, still wielding his ancient Brownie brush—and winning.

It’s been 20 years since Ménard last won the Canadian Mixed title. He got the feels too, big time, and second Ian Belleau seemed to chuckle at the sight of his skip shedding tears after the big congratulatory hug.

So why, are some of you wondering, is there a different Quebec team also pictured with the trophy in this story?

That Quebec team, skipped by Jean-Sébastien Roy, won the previous Canadian Mixed hosted two years ago. But whereas Ménard and company (Marie-France Larouche, Belleau and Annie Lemay) now advance to the World Mixed Championship next October in Aberdeen, Scotland, the 2020 champions never made it to the worlds—twice, in fact.

Indeed, the global pandemic wrecked the world championship plans of Roy and teammates Amélie Blais, Dan deWaard and Brenda Nichols. They not only missed the 2020 worlds as they were originally scheduled, but they also missed the rescheduled event, too. Both were planned for Aberdeen.

They held out hope—even when Blais moved to Saskatchewan—that something could be accommodated in 2021, but it was not to be. In early September, the team’s Facebook page announced the “end of (our) journey.”

“Earlier this week, Curling Canada confirmed that no option was going to be possible for our team for the 2021-2022 season.

“Since our victory at the Mixed National in November 2019, our team has experienced many emotions, including disappointment for the cancellation of two world championships. Despite the obstacles we faced, our team trained consistently and relentlessly to be prepared for any eventuality and to represent our country at the mixed world championship.

“We are definitely saddened by this news but also understand the extraordinary circumstances caused by the pandemic.

“Unfortunately, our team journey ends as Amélie now lives in Saskatchewan and can no longer represent Quebec in mixed.

“Each of us will continue to compete, whether in men, women, mixed or mixed doubles. We hope to see you back on the ice soon and we want to thank you again for your support after this difficult news.”

So on that sad note, we pay homage to both Team Roy and Team Ménard. Let’s celebrate both winning teams. Both are from Quebec, both represent the same home club, and both were set to compete at the worlds in Scotland—but only one shall go (fingers crossed) ...