Morinville Curling Team gears up for the Alberta Masters Championship

by Stephen Dafoe

The Curling Alberta 2024 Kananaskis Nordic Spa Alberta Masters Championships took place at the Morinville Curling Club from Feb. 28 to Mar. 3, gathering 16 of the best over 60 curling teams for five days of competition.

A local group comprised of Lead Keith Franklin, Second Doug MacArthur, Third Gary Kearns, Skip Jack Olson, and alternate Guy Meunier were among the eight men’s teams competing.

Kearns, a Morinville Curling Club director, said hosting the event locally called for incorporating a local flavour.

Although Meunier and Franklin play together regularly, the rest of the team’s seasoned curlers came together just before one of three provincial qualifiers in Lamont in early February.

“They were all high-calibre teams,” Kearns said of the nine teams who took to the ice in Lamont, noting the Morinville team lost their first two games, which dropped them to C. A third loss would mean they were out. “We did a slight shuffle after losing two, and the team just sort of gelled,” he said.

But after those initial two losses, they beat a team from Strathmore in their first C game, moving on to the semi-final only to win again. The Morinville crew defeated a team from Spruce Grove in the C final to earn a place in the Masters’ Championships.

Last week’s Masters event was a round-robin format, kicking off on Wednesday, Feb. 28, with a ladies’ draw in the afternoon, opening ceremonies in the evening, and a men’s draw after the ceremonies. Thursday, Friday and Saturday saw two draws each day for men’s and women’s curling teams. The event culminated with the top three men’s and ladies’ teams taking to playoffs on Sunday. The top men’s and ladies’ teams got a bye in their respective semi-finals. Results were not available by our press deadline.

Tough competition – top talent

All the local team members have a wealth of experience in the sport. Gary Kearns is a longtime curler, past president of the Morinville Curling Club and current director. He was also instrumental in getting the Masters in Morinville. Skip Jack Olson started curling in Saskatoon and has been in the sport for 50 years, during which time he has served as Morinville Curling Club President twice. Lead Keith Franklin learned the game from his father and has curled for about 50 years, 30 of those in Morinville. In his 40th year as a member of the Morinville Curling Club, Doug MacArthur learned to curl as a teenager in 4H but gave it up until the early 1980s. Alternate Guy Meunier started curling in Junior High School and has spent 58 years curling in St. Albert and Morinville. Meunier, who was involved in the Morinville Curling Club’s early days, also taught Junior Curling during those days.

Despite a team made up of five curlers used to being the skip, the positions and shooting order for this crew broke the norm a bit. Jack Olson was Skip and shot the second stones. Doug MacArthur was second and shot third stones. Gary Kearns was third but will shoot Skip’s stones. Keith Franklin was Lead and, as the position implies, shot lead stones. Guy Meunier, in addition to being alternate, assisted with coaching, strategy and debriefing after the games.

“Having a team of five skips, you have to put your ego in your wallet and say, ‘These are our new roles. We have to gell as a team,'” Kearns said, adding the current positions were not the original positions. “We mixed and matched, and we were pliable enough that we could do that.”

Despite the team’s ability to flip some team roles, Kearns knew they were going in as an underdog team.

Still, confidence was high among the team members heading into the competition last week.

Skip Jack Olson said the team needs to get on a roll and take things one game at a time. “It’s a cliche, but if you can get one going and go again and again—to me, it’s all about getting on a go,” he said. “Don’t get down when you lose a game. Keep it close, and that’s when you get a roll.”

For Lead Keith Franklin, hitting the Masters was a little surreal. “It’s kind of scary on one point, but I’m excited at the other point,” Franklin said. “The competition is tough, and you’ve got to be on your game.”

Team Second Doug MacArthur is hopeful of the team’s chances. “I think we have a decent chance in this competition. I’d be thrilled to finish .500, at least. Win one more game than that, and you are in the three spots,” MacArthur said. “I like our chances. Maybe our odds improve because of home-ice advantage, and we know the ice a little bit.”

For Guy Meunier, who has curled in three Alberta Winter Games for seniors over 55, taking silver in Grand Prairie, there is an awareness of the calibre of teams hitting the ice in Morinville. “You’ve got to be alert. This is good competition here,” he said.

But above all, the men were looking to have fun with the competition, knowing they had a plan and the players to make it happen.

Olson said a key component heading into the competition was the trust among the team. “We’re going to have fun. We’re going to enjoy the experience,” he said. “Like someone else said, enjoy your time there. You don’t know if it’ll ever come around again. Enjoy it. The experience will be good for the town, too.”