News 2005

April 25, 2005:
Ice Cup: Spectators at Men's World eleven times in a row!

Just for fun we will be introducing the teams playing in Ice Cup here on our web. This helps us wait for this exciting event and gives us something to do while counting down the days.

From Canada we will have a team formed within the interesting and fun club, Margarita Curling Club. It is a travelling family team of Joan and Stephen Hambly, Joan's son Robert Gagen and his girlfriend Kristy Holt.

Joan is lead but sometimes she skips after throwing the lead rocks. Stephen is second, Kristy is vice and Robert is the skip.

Kristy and Rob curl together in a very competitive club but Joan and Stephen curl at another club. Together these four only curl in bonspiels since they live one hours drive apart. They have travelled to many places in Europe to curl, for example Andorra, Pragure, Switzerland, Scotland, Luxembourg, England and Amsterdam. They are all proud members of the Margarita Curling Club and jump at the chance to curl somewhere they haven't been before! They are also all "Turtles" (another club) and according to Rob, if you ask one of them “are you a Turtle"? – you will be surprised at the answer you'll get! Joan, Stephen and Rob also belong to another club called the "Pondhoppers". To belong to this club you have to cross "the pond" (the ocean) and attend a World Curling Championship.

Joan and Stephen have been curling about 15 years. They curl in Men's, Ladies and Mixed leagues out of Burlington Golf and Country Club. Stephen is a Dr. of Psychology and Joan is retired – but Stephen keeps her very busy though, Rob says. Joan and Stephen do more than curl, they are passionate spectators also and have attended the last 11 World Curling Championships in a row. 

Kristy is the real pro, Rob says. She has been curling for 19 years, since she was 4 and came up through the junior curling program and stuck with it. “Her slide is amazing and she can throw some very big weight when needed.” Kristy curls in an open league in Oshawa Curling Club with a team of ladies, and is Rob’s vice in their mixed team at Tam Heather Curling Club. Kristy works as a Recreation Programmer for the City of Pickering.

Rob has been curling for 9 years but seems to have picked it up fast. He curled in both men's and mixed leagues for all those years except this year when he decided to take a year off from men's due to late nights of curling and early work hours he claims were wearing on him. He could not stop for long though and has already committed to a men's team for next year. Rob has also been helping to teach in a "Learn to Curl" clinic at his club and next year he will do the same and also take a course to get his level 1 coaching certificate. Rob works as an Horticulturalist for the City of Pickerig and… “that's where I met Kristy, she was admiring my tulips!!!” he says.

There is no doubt that the team Margarita Canada will take Ice Cup up one level or two just by showing up on the ice. Icelandic curlers are getting excited to have them – and all the other teams of course, which will be introduced the next days.