GTA Backyard Snowbomb Scotties Curling

This year the Scotties are being held essentially in my backyard, in Mississauga, Ont. Well, crossing the city in a snowstorm makes it a bit more of a journey, but it’s still closer than most years.

I was there on the weekend. I won’t be there today. I can’t get out of my driveway.

I was shocked to find out that this was the first Scotties to be held in the Greater Toronto Area. Toronto has an incredibly rich curling history and a huge number of curlers and fans. The Brier has not been held in Toronto since 1941, slightly before I started curling. Hopefully this event is a sign of more things to come.

With the amount of golf/country clubs rudely shutting down their curling sections – the latest being Oshawa Golf & Pickleball Club (that’s all kinds of rude) – curling in the GTA certainly needs a boost. Despite the biggest population base in Canada, and a still-impressive amount of six-plus-sheet curling clubs, GTA curling feels like it is losing momentum. This event should help.

The Paramount Foods Center is a 5000+ seat arena and the perfect size for a Scotties, and was reasonably full for the opening Saturday. And amazingly, the arena poutine was satisfactory even for an ex-Quebecer.

I am a big fan of the Scotties. It has provided an exceptional level of drama over the years. There is something about the lights and cameras that bring out the best in the Canadian game. Live curling is very compelling, and TSN’s coverage of Canada’s national events is still the gold standard. And the Brier and Scotties provide something that the Slams do not: relatable curling stars.

There is something special about a national championship; the crowds seem more engaged, there is energy in the building. There are loud gasps when a shot is missed – and even louder cheers for made shots. As I sat enjoying my Mississauga Saturday night, I am hopeful that this will help provide a needed boost for curling in the metro and surrounding area.

This year’s event has a number of compelling storylines, the first one being who is not here. Rachel Homan will soon be on her way to the Olympics in Italy, and thus will not be playing this week. Homan is arguably the best women’s team in the world and would have been a heavy favourite this week, but her absence opens the door for some new champions.

Every team has at least one player who has never won before, so there will be a new name on the trophy, and storyline that will be more compelling than “Homan crushes field and wins again.”

Without a doubt, the favourite this week will be Team Canada, skipped Kerri Einerson. Kerri’s team was a dominant force a few years back before Homan began her run of titles. She is also coming off of a good Slam a few weeks ago. But in watching her game against Ontario a tight Team Canada victory, she doesn’t appear to be at the same level they were a few years back. They are very good, but will not waltz through the field like they did in the past.

Christina Black won a ton of fans by making it to the Olympic Trials final back in December. This Homan-free Scotties will give her squad an opportunity to climb another rung. I watched their game against Alberta’s Selena Sturmay, and Black seems to be in the same zone she was in at the Trials.

But this year will also present opportunities for teams like Kaitlyn Lawes, Kyla Skrlik, Beth Peterson, Krista Scharf and Sturmay. The field is also full of rookie teams with young skips that will surely have some moments of glory.

While it’s difficult to see a first-timer winning this week, weird things tend to happen in an Olympic year. Hailey Armstrong, Taylour Stevens and Taylor Reese-Hanson might be among the rookie skips here, but have a strong pedigree and should win more games than they lose.

Either way, this Scotties will make for a compelling watch. I was encouraged to see butts in the seats, and I’m not surprised the weather drive some away for a couple of days. I hope more butts show up as the week progresses.

The atmosphere is fun, and the Patch was on (for the uninitiated, the “Patch” refers to a large makeshift bar next to the event where fans and curlers gather between and after games).

And hopes are high that this event, followed soon by the Olympics, will help provide a bit of momentum for a city and a sport that sorely needs it.