HIGH ACHIEVERS: Strong regional competition & development boosts 3 Ottawa curling rinks to home U18 nationals berths

By Martin Cleary

On the surface, the RCMP Curling Club’s Ava Acres team is comprised of four players from four different communities and one coach, who has 20 years of mentoring experience.

But once you work your way through all the push brooms, rocks and reach the cozy viewing gallery, that’s when you’ll discover the full picture as to why this rink has become one of two Ontario representatives for the massive Canadian junior women’s curling championship next month in Ottawa.

Team Acres is Team Extraordinaire.

While Acres of Winchester serves as the skip and is fully supported by third Aila Thompson of Manotick, second Isabella McLean of Kanata and Mya Sharpe of Spencerville, there’s an equally enthusiastic support team standing right behind them.

Gord Butler is responsible for the coaching duties, while Korrine Hutt-Acres, the mother of Ava, is team manager and responsible for travel and food arrangements. Preparing the team for competitions are mental coach Rolf Wagschal of Toronto, sport dietitian Ashley Armstrong of Almonte and off-season fitness coach Stephanie Thompson of Markham, ON. You also cannot forget the dedication of the players’ parents and their multiple roles.

And when it’s time for the big competitions, the level of seriousness is turned up a notch or two.

For the four-day Ontario women’s U18 curling championship, which ended Sunday at the RCMP Curling Club in Ottawa’s east end, the Acres team was booked into a neighbourhood Airbnb home, which was only a five-minute drive from their competition venue.

“We didn’t want any distractions,” Butler said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “To eliminate distraction, you eliminate the potential for distractions. All it does is help the girls be mentally prepared.”

The Acres team was well prepared and resilient as one of five women’s and two men’s rinks from the in the Ottawa Valley Curling Association at provincials, reflecting the strength and depth of youth curling locally. The women’s and men’s draws at the provincial championships had eight teams each.

After placing second in the provincial round-robin at 5-2, Acres faced Huntley Curling Club’s Katrina Frlan, which was third also at 5-2. Frlan, who won the Ontario U18 title in 2023 and qualified for the Canadian championship, scored two points in the eighth and final end to turn back Acres 5-3. Frlan advanced to the main final, but lost to round-robin winner (6-1) Dominique Vivier of the Ottawa Hunt 7-5 as the winners stole two in the extra end to decide the provincial champion.

Read More: Team Vivier from host Ottawa Hunt club claims berth for U18 curling nationals, joined by 2 more local rinks

In the second final to determine Ontario’s No. 2 team for the national championship, Acres led 4-1 after five ends and added two in the seventh and one in the eighth to defeat Frlan 7-3.

On the men’s side, the Owen Nicholls rink of the Rideau Curling Club needed to play three matches on Sunday, the final day, to earn Ontario No. 2 status. After defeating Evan MacDougall of the Hamilton Victoria Curling Club 6-4 in the semifinal, Nicholls dropped the final 6-3 to Tyler MacTavish of the Kitchener-Waterloo Granite Club.

But in the second final for the second Ontario spot, Nicholls rolled by MacDougall 10-5 (seven ends), scoring five in the second end, two in the fourth and three in the seventh.

The Vivier, Acres and Nicholls rinks have earned three of Ontario’s four berths for the Canadian U18 championships, which are set for Feb. 4-10 at the R.A. Centre of Curling Excellence and the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club. There will be 21 teams in each of the men’s and women’s national championship draws.

The OVCA has likely never before had so many entries in the women’s provincial U18 championships. But that’s because of its dedication to providing more opportunities to a growing base of youth curling.

“This is the most (Ottawa women’s teams) I can remember,” Butler added. “I don’t remember five of the eight teams from Ottawa.

“But I’m not really surprised. There’s a lot of really good talent in Ottawa and we have a good feeder system. Peer competition helps to develop the game at the competitive level.”

The Ottawa Junior Curling Series and the provincial Trillium Series regularly sharpen the skills of each rink. The Acres, Vivier and Frlan rinks automatically qualified for the provincial championship by placing in the top four (one, two and three respectively) in the Trillium Series.

Charlotte Wilson of the Rideau Curling Club and Lyra Erhardt of the Manotick Curling Centre reached the Ontario championship through regional playdowns. Wilson placed fourth at provincials and missed the playoffs by one place at 4-2, while Erhardt was eighth at 1-6.

“You need a certified coach (for a team to) compete,” Butler added. “A lot of times, parents get into it because of their children and people like me stay in it,” added Butler, who went on to detail how the Acres team has benefitted from having a mental and fitness coach as well as a sport dietician.

“I believe so strongly that it helps. I’ve learned a lot over the years as a coach, some things work and some things don’t work. The fitness and mental coaches bring a high level of commitment and the parents invest in that commitment.

“Rolf (mental coach) excels, asking probing questions to get the girls to open up.”

When the Team Acres players hear Armstrong talk about what to eat, when to eat and the importance of sleep, her message hits home with meaning.

“Some (other rinks) would take (our) approach, but some have not got to that yet. But it’s become more the norm,” added Butler, who coached the Acres rink to the Ontario Winter Games and Canada Winter Games trial titles in 2023.

The number of youth curlers in Ottawa wasn’t affected too much by the COVID-19 pandemic and as the clubs opened their doors to the public about two years ago, more juniors registered for the popular winter sport.

“I think it’s because of the high visibility. People see it on TV all the time,” Butler said. “They see a competitive, athletic sport and not the guys with the beer bellies and cigarettes of the ’70s. It’s high-level sport.”