When you think of the quintessentially Canadian sport of curling, it’s set in a rink. Of course, there’s ice.
That’s not the case for this set of curling rocks. One Ocean Expeditions, an adventure cruise company with a base in Squamish, is giving a floor curling set to Iqaluit in Nunavut. There, the community can learn the game without needing a traditional curling rink.
First, the set is traveling the country. Last week, it made a stop over in Squamish before its journey to Ottawa and finally going to its new home in Iqaluit.
While here, curling champion Kristen Pilote, who lives in Squamish, taught the One Ocean team how to curl in her home rink.
“A bunch of them had never even played before,” Pilote said. “There were huge improvements from the first few rocks thrown to the end of the game.”
Pilote herself learned how to curl at a young age. Her grandfather was from the Prairies — the natural flat landscape lending itself well to curling — and brought his love of the sport with him when the family moved to B.C.
"We grew up at the rink when we were kids. My whole family curls," Pilote said.
At the end of January, Pilote and her curling team won the 2019 Scotties BC Women’s Curling Provincials in Quesnel. She also was on a winning team in 2015.
In February, Pilote and her team headed to Sydney, Nova Scotia, where they won a spot in the champion round of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. While they didn't win enough games to play in the final weekend of the annual Canadian women's curling championship, Pilote said, "Overall we were so proud of our accomplishments throughout the week. We definitely proved to ourselves that we belonged there."
When she’s not competing (officially, at least), Pilote curls at ladies’ night in the Howe Sound Curling Club. While the season is over, she’s still sharing her love of the sport.
She hopes the floor curling set going to Iqaluit will inspire others to learn how to play.
“The one thing I love about curling is you can play at any age. It doesn't matter how old you are, what your skill level is, it's something you can pick up at any time in your life,” she said. “It's really, truly a sport for a team. You build friendships and relationships with the people that you play with every year. It's a really fun way to go out and be part of a team at any age.”
