SPEAKER_04 0:01

Extra Ends, a curling podcast with Chris, Norm, and sometimes Rob.

SPEAKER_05 0:08

Welcome to Extra Ends, a Curling Podcast. This is a very special episode this week. You're probably already hearing it with the celebrations in the background, but we are recording on location from the High Park Club. Now you're probably wondering why. We're here promoting and celebrating the 13th annual crosstown challenge being held this coming Saturday, both at the Royal Canadian Curling Club on the other side of town and here at the High Park Club. Currently, the Royal Canadian Curling Club has won six of the 12 events that have happened already. And that other club, the one currently hosting us, has also won six.

unknown 0:46

That other club.

SPEAKER_07 0:47

Yes, that other club.

SPEAKER_05 0:49

Just ignore the hecklers in the background, folks. For the first time ever, High Park could take the lead unless the Royal Canadians bring their A game. Yeah, baby. I am joined as usual with my co-hosts Kevin McDonald. Norm here. And Rob Ainsley. Hi from High Park. We also expect to have a few pop-ins, as you've already heard, from members here at the High Park Club. Censors, be ready to hit that bleep button. So, as everyone knows, just as a reminder to our new listeners, the whole point of this podcast is to promote Curling Week in Canada. From January 10th to January 17th, almost all of Canada's provinces are going to be holding their play downs for men's and women's during the same week. And on January 17th, all of them will be holding their final. We are counting down the 69 days to go until Curling Week in Canada. And we hope you join us on that journey. So, guys, how's your week? Like, what's uh how's it good? Like, we're way over here on the west side, like the the the sun sets later on this side of town. I mean, they even have TV shows on at the same time of day here, right? Right. It's so crazy to be here. It's it's absolutely crazy to be over here, but uh, did did were you able to find your way this far west through the treacherous, you know, Toronto traffic?

SPEAKER_07 2:06

I I think we've managed to find a way to be here. I think it was completely reasonable, all because Rob Carpooled with us and became in the same car, so that would be probably reasonable. I drove you, Chris.

SPEAKER_05 2:16

Well, from the passenger seat, it looked like a harrowing journey. So, all right, let's get into this one. That's what the Gardner Expressway is like on a regular weekday, right? So, for those of you listeners who aren't in Toronto, this episode is gonna be a little more Toronto side-centric, but we really hope you stick around and listen because we're gonna be talking a lot about the Crosstown Challenge, which is an event that happens between the High Park Club and the Royal Canadian Curling Club every year. We're gonna get into that in a little bit when we get into our view from the hack. But first, let's go through the curling world and talk a little bit about what happened last week. So, as listed, we had a very large number of events last week. We had the European Championships, the Rose Dolan Women's Fall Classic, the RBC Dominion Securities Western Showdown, and the Ontario Club Curling Provincials, which our very own Kevin McDonald was a coach in. So we're gonna do a quick review of each one of those, and we're gonna get a report from our on-site reporter at the at the club provincials as well. Um, last week uh in the Euros, we don't talk a lot about Europe, but uh Team Rana beat Team Patz on the women's side for the European Championship. I assume that gives them a berth into the worlds, is that correct?

SPEAKER_07 3:26

I believe that's the approach that they decide, uh, the world rep, yes, absolutely. And then also there's the qualifying for the Europeans where the top X number of teams, I can't remember exactly how many it is, um, uh get an automatic buy-in. So I believe it's uh top six uh get a buy into the the uh world championship, so therefore that's good for them that they get in, and then the next few teams that follow behind them also are gonna get a spot in. We'll look this up officially and look at it, but we're always Canadian focused, so we're less focused on I want to know who the Canada rep is versus uh the European reps. But yeah, so the normal top teams on both the men's and women's side were there. So who was there on the men, Chris?

SPEAKER_05 4:02

On the men's side, Team White beat Team Erickson. I guess there was no boop in this game.

SPEAKER_07 4:07

There was absolutely no boop, but there was a drop room, and there was a very, very good clip that occurred on Instagram where uh I saw it, it was probably on TikTok too, where there was uh Ross White said, I don't know, you've been known to be in concurling controversy until they stopped the game. So it was a very interesting situation.

SPEAKER_05 4:23

You know what? As a Canadian, we're never gonna live that boot down, and I think we just have to come to terms with it. Also happening this past week was the Rose Dolan Women's Fall Classic, where Team Sherry Madaugh or Team Madaugh family won it all. Now, remind me again, how many Madaz are on that team?

SPEAKER_07 4:41

There are three Madas on that team. Uh Sherry is the skip, and Kelly and Emily, her two daughters, are also on the team, and then Megan Smith is the only person not named Maddah is also on the team, and then of course Wayne Madaugh is their coach. So basically, all four members of the Madaugh family are together going to these events and uh doing quite well because I believe this is their second one in the season, which positions them very well to be able to qualify for the Ontario Scotties this upcoming year in Cornwall, Ontario, or in uh January.

SPEAKER_05 5:07

I would uh I would try that with the Rouge family, but I've never seen a game work with four skips uh where everyone skips. So um is that how bad that would be? That is how bad that uh that would be. Um so and then we had the uh RBC Dominion Securities Western Showdown, uh, where Ueno beat Kitzawa.

SPEAKER_07 5:28

Kitesawa.

SPEAKER_05 5:29

Kirosawa, sorry. Kirisawa, yes. Awesome. And then um just for the listeners, I want to remind them whenever you're talking about these events, make sure to name the named sponsors. These sponsors paid a lot of money to name these events, and we want to say thank you wherever possible because they support curling and they support our community. So, once again, thank you to Rose Dolan. Thank you to RBC Dominion, thank you to uh in fact, the Crosstown Challenge is sponsored by a Sahi beer, which we're enjoying some of right now.

SPEAKER_07 6:00

No, no, no, no. We're we're very professional podcasters. So we're drinking while we're doing this as Chris takes a sip right now. Yes, absolutely. Tastes great, doesn't it, Chris? That's just delicious.

SPEAKER_05 6:10

Yes. So also last week was the Ontario Curling Club Provincials. And uh Norm, we're gonna ask you to put on your coach's hat here and give us the report from the Curling Club Provincials.

SPEAKER_07 6:20

Absolutely. Thank you for uh asking that for me. So this is the uh uh club game where you have uh players from the club game. There are some people, as I mentioned on last week's podcast, that are representatives that do curl on tour. You're allowed, I believe, one uh player per team at that level. I the rules have changed very recently, and we're trying to always keep track of all of them, but it's uh very good. Um uh but the uh quality of the teams, this is like the teams that have like excelled at each of their clubs. So pick the best uh team at your club in your men's and women's league, have them then play off against other clubs in their region and then go to provincials and play off against each other. So these are these are really good teams, these are really good teams. So just think whoever your A1 top team at your club is against the other top clubs in your area. So the teams are very, very good. And uh I was fortunate enough to have been coaching a team, uh Team Davis out of the Dixie Curling Center, and uh uh we didn't quite uh do as well as we'd hope. We went two and three in our pool. There were, of course, five uh five games that uh every team played in their pool, and then there were tiebreakers, and then the semis in the finals were on the final Sunday. So it was a very solid weekend with a lot of good curling involved and a very, very good time. Uh the banquet came on, of course, on the uh on the Saturday night, which had Halloween. Was it good? Was it a good banquet? Was there chicken? It was a very good banquet. No, it was spaghetti meatballs. How dare you? Yes, absolutely. Another good uh uh curling club uh Bontsville food. But uh nonetheless, um, it came down to the end that we ended up having team uh Nathan Scott played against a team from the villains of Hyde Park, the skipped by Mike McCutcheon. And unfortunately for us at Royals here, team Mike McCutcheon, uh Hyde Park won another banner. Congratulations to them, but also boo at the same time for Hyde Park succeeding itself.

SPEAKER_05 8:01

Congratulations to our friends at Hyde Park on winning the club championships. It will help salve the wound of losing the Crosstown Challenge this coming weekend. But as I said, I'm I'm getting ahead of myself. We're gonna get a little more, we're gonna get a little more into that l uh the weekend shortly. Rob, was there any curling that you caught this week that was interesting? Not a shot.

SPEAKER_07 8:24

This is why we're called sometimes Rob, and it's why he's the best sports analyst in this game. There was one other on the women's side. We of course had team team Susan Froud, who is a former world senior champion with a completely different team uh from her world senior championship, uh, was fortunate enough to have won the women's side over uh Jen Harvey from Cornwall. So that was another well-played game uh that uh finished a little earlier than I think everyone anticipated, but uh definitely it was a well-earned team because there was one lady on that that had never been to any provincials before. And the first time she goes to provincial, she wins. So that's an amazing accomplishment.

SPEAKER_05 8:57

That's absolutely wonderful. And congratulations, not just to the winners, but all the curlers who made it. The pro level of curling, which we're gonna talk a little bit about the upcoming Grand Slam after our sponsors had. But uh pro level isn't the only part of this sport, it is the club level that is the beating heart of curling. And uh, we're really, really happy to see that the club championships are strong, and congratulations to everyone who went and competed this past weekend. Absolutely. It was a pleasure to be there. Today's episode of Extra Ends is not sponsored by the bar at the High Park Club because they are making us pay for these beers we're currently drinking. We're promoting their club a lot. One would have thought they would have covered it for us, but I don't understand. I don't understand, right? Today's episode is also not sponsored by the Royal Canadian Curling Club because we know one of you is going to complain that we did an on-location at High Park before we did an on-location at Royals. And you know where you can file your complaints at the bar with the filing fee of one drink for each of the hosts.

SPEAKER_04 10:00

Stop your complaining.

SPEAKER_05 10:04

So now on to our main topic today. We we're really excited. We are uh only six days away from the crosstown challenge. So, as mentioned in our opening, this will be the 13th Crosstown Challenge, and it will be a tiebreaker event. And the history of the Crosstown, as the rumor goes, as the legend says, and either one of my co-hosts can jump in and correct me on the legend as we go, but the legend is that one night, which is on a very rare occasion, Tony Gilroy and Chris Way, Tony from Royals and Chris from High Park were drinking. Very rare this happens. And they came up with an idea that they should take the already existing camaraderie between the Royal Canadian Curling Club and the High Park Club and hit us against each other.

SPEAKER_07 11:02

Exactly. Make us hate each other instead of loving each other. Absolutely great idea.

SPEAKER_05 11:08

Absolutely great. And this idea quickly came to fruition as the crosstown challenge. It's a points bond spiel. Each club puts in 20 teams.

SPEAKER_07 11:20

That is correct. Yes, there's five sheets that were at at Hyde Park, six of Royals, so we have an empty sheet at Royals for it because we can't have an extra games at Royals.

SPEAKER_05 11:28

But each club puts in 20 teams. I'd say they put in their 20 best teams, but I think it's more they put in their 20 available teams in both cases.

SPEAKER_07 11:39

It's a bit of a mixture of both, but yes, absolutely it is. There's definitely some individuals who've been in this event multiple times.

SPEAKER_05 11:46

It's a point spiel. Like most curling point spiels, there's points for the win, points for ends, and quarter points or half points for point for number of rocks.

SPEAKER_07 11:54

Number of rocks, number of rock scar. Yes.

SPEAKER_05 11:56

And this is all totaled up, not by team, but by club. And so what how it goes is the royals will always have the uh the hammer at one club and the high park will always have the hammer at the other club. To start the game. To start the game, and they will always have the same colored rock. So you can look across every sheet and you know here at the Royal Canadian Curling Club, the Royals is always yellow.

SPEAKER_04 12:20

If anyone's familiar with the silver tankered format, it's like a giant silver tankered where you've got 20 teams instead of two teams.

SPEAKER_05 12:28

Yeah. Exactly. And they go against each other, the points are all totaled up, and we all meet at a banquet here at the High Park Club at the end of the night. We share and break bread with our siblings from across the city, and then a whole lot of bragging rights go into who wins the event. And then there's there usually somebody from the losing team tries to steal the trophy. And sometimes that it uh losing team succeeds in stealing the trophy.

SPEAKER_04 12:55

Speaking of, not that we're gonna be the losing team. I might go try and steal that trophy right now.

SPEAKER_05 12:59

Well, it's about 15, it's about eight feet behind you in the trophy case. Yes, it is. It doesn't have its handle on it, so it's hiding.

SPEAKER_07 13:06

Oh, they're hiding it.

SPEAKER_05 13:06

It's right there on the middle shelf on the far right. Oh fit. There we go. Okay. Yes, it is. We are less than 10 feet away. I do see the lock on the trophy cabinet. We are less than 10 feet away from the Crosstown trophy. And that lock is on that cabinet for rumored a good reason. So close, so far.

SPEAKER_07 13:25

There are a couple of uh key uh factors of this that Chris already mentioned about there is the score of the Crosstown is tied at 6'6. And last year was the closest Crosstown challenge ever, where it was decided by a mere two ends out of over 200 that were total played. So it's definitely a very, very close Bonce field and one that um is very competitive while also very fun at the same time because we do run a bus back and forth between the two locations all day long. And as my one friend said when I was in it one, since we walked out the front door of the Royals to go to Hyde Park, he said, This is the best part of the Bonce field.

SPEAKER_04 14:02

Yeah, so a bit more on that. Um you start your game at one club or the other. And if you're starting at the Royals, you're starting at 8 a.m. at the Royals, and after that game is done, you're getting on the shuttle bus to go across the city.

SPEAKER_07 14:14

And then you play your next game at the other club. And some people start at High Park.

SPEAKER_04 14:18

And depending on what kind of bus crowd you got, it can be a party bus.

SPEAKER_05 14:22

It can be a bit of a party bus.

SPEAKER_04 14:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 14:24

But it is it is always a great event. There are new curlers in it. There's always both clubs, make sure to welcome in newer members to the event. Both clubs make sure to also bring some high-caliber curlers to this event. So there's some really good curling in it. And uh I joke and I laugh, but there's a reason we're doing this at the High Park Club today, and that is because this club has become our sibling club. This has become our brothers and sisters from the other side of the city. This has become our teammates in curling, our friends, and we love this event every year, and it's so much fun. The rivalry that has been created, the fight that has been created is always so much fun, and it's an event we look forward to every year. So, for those of you out there who have a curling club and there's a town nearby, or another club in your town, or another club just close by, think about creating that rivalry. Think about creating the cross-town challenge or the cross-county challenge or the cross-city challenge.

SPEAKER_07 15:22

Or the cross-border challenge.

SPEAKER_05 15:23

Or the cross-border challenge challenge. I would love to see the Sault Ste. Marie Club go up against the Sault Ste. Marie Club. That would be amazing, right? Like I think that would be great. But this is the type of thing that grows our sports, creates community, and is amazing. And so we're here to push that and benefit that. And we have a number of people who've been walking by us here. And it's funny because every time they hear us say the crosstown challenge, they just smile and then immediately know what's going on. So that is sort of the best thing about this event. I want each of you guys, and I'll share mine last, but uh, each of you guys, I would love for you to share your most prominent memory of the crosstown.

SPEAKER_04 16:03

I'll start. Um one year, team Chad McMullen got an eight-ender. That was wild.

SPEAKER_05 16:13

I hear Hyde Park still hasn't lived that one down.

SPEAKER_04 16:15

That very same year, I believe um my team took the highest point score, and the Royals still lost with an eight-ender and the highest point score on different teams. And another time the buses broke down. And so, in order to get back to our club, we rented a limo to pick everybody up. So that was a really fun time getting back. And there's all these plans about what bar you're gonna go to when you get back to your end of the city, and usually by the time you get back to your end of the city, you don't end up going anywhere.

SPEAKER_07 16:48

Kevin, there's been various times where someone has said, We're going to the Danforth, and then people get off at the earlier stop on the way home.

SPEAKER_05 16:58

Kevin, what is one of your favorite memories?

SPEAKER_07 17:01

I think for sure it was uh a couple years ago when uh Royals deservedly won the won the Bond Spiel as uh really needs to reside with us regularly. And uh I think that was one that was very surprising based upon uh on how I thought we had played that day. But uh, I think this is one that I have so close to my heart that I've started working with Tony Gilroy, who uh the aforementioned one, and now I'm really helping him do a lot of the organizing of the Bon spiel. So I think that's my favorite part of it. Is this I've now stepped away from even curling in it, and I just simply sit at Royals on Saturday from 8 a.m. and watch curling all day long. And everyone goes, Why are you working? I'm like, this is not work for me. This is the perfect job, and I'm happy as you can't believe. So that is my favorite part that I've done it two years ago.

SPEAKER_04 17:46

That means two years ago you were sitting there just watching all of the Royals teams lose every game on home ice.

SPEAKER_07 17:52

I did do that, yes, yes. And I'm in my reserve seat, and normally I'm gonna be missing my favorite uh person who sits next to me because Chris has uh has something that's gonna make him not be able to come this year. It's completely understandable. Normally he sets his calendar around it, but he has a mantra and he's gonna follow his mantra and go for his his uh job that he will be doing some very important stuff for that. But uh normally Chris and I are sitting each other and are assigned seats on those tools at the bar watching curly.

SPEAKER_05 18:20

It is always so much fun. Now, my favorite, my favorite memory of the crosstown unfortunately doesn't involve much curling, but it does involve the night after, the later in the evening after Royals found out that they had lost for the first time in a number of years. And while I was president of the Royal Canadian Curling Club at the time, so I can say that the investigation, the internal investigation at Royals is still ongoing into this, and we are waiting for the exhaustive and extensive report to come back from the committee on what exactly happened here. But I can give some preliminary results of the report. At some point in the evening of the festivities, a certain individual that may or may not be known to many curlers from both clubs managed to get their hands on the crosstown trophy. Allegedly. Allegedly. And this person was not a member of the High Park Club. And as far as my records show, they are also not a member of the Royal Canadian Club. They may be supportive of the Royal Canadian Club, but not a member. And I'm enjoying my drink, and then I suddenly see them making a beeline for the door.

SPEAKER_07 19:41

I remember this too. I was standing beside the I was standing beside that person as they made that beeline to the door.

SPEAKER_05 19:47

At top speed, with a giggle in her voice. Oh, her. Now we dared it down now. Their voice, their voice, their voice. As the crosstown trophy made its way out the door, and it would not return to the High Park Club, who technically owned, had ownership of it for the year, until February, when it suddenly disappeared from its temporary home. And there's an active investigation going on into the perpetrators of said. There's another active investigation going on into the perpetrators of that theft. I feel it will come to a conclusion long before the other one does. All of this to say thank you. Thank you to the members of the Royal Canadian Curling Club. Thank you to the members of the High Park Club who make this event amazing. And specifically, thank you to the founding organizers of this event, Tony Gilroy from Royals and Chris Way from High Park. You guys have built something that is bigger than I think either of you even imagined it, but it is now something that curlers across the city build their calendars around. So this is our small thank you and our small tribute to you and the amazing event that you've put on together and our encouragement to curlers everywhere else to think outside the box and think about how to do something like this. My last comment on this is it is the Asahi Crosstown Challenge. It is sponsored by Asahi Beer, and we were very grateful for their support. Because of them, we're able to do things like pay for a bus that drives between our two clubs. We're able to do things like augment the costs of the dinner and things like that. So thank you to the sponsors Asahi. And these are why finding local sponsors to these events is so important. If you run a business, if you run something in your community and you got a little marketing money budget available, talk to your local curling club. I guarantee you they can get you some brand recognition that yield value. Do you guys have any other stories or thoughts or anything you want to mention on the crosstown? Remembering that we are recording this from the belly of the beast in the lounge at the High Park Club.

SPEAKER_07 21:53

Uh, I have only one thing to say is uh I bear no responsibility whatsoever for in any situation that's Theft of the trophy under any circumstances. And I have disavowed myself from anything. I will help with the investigation, though.

SPEAKER_05 22:08

Long words from Kevin McDonald.

SPEAKER_07 22:11

Long words. There we go.

SPEAKER_05 22:12

Rob, any final thoughts?

SPEAKER_07 22:16

That's why he's the best analyst in the business.

SPEAKER_04 22:20

I think really hard about my answers.

SPEAKER_05 22:24

All right. Let's let's get back to the curling world. We thank you so much for listening to our talk of the Crosstown Challenge. If if you are uh if you are a person who uses the internet, we suspect Hyde Park will be broadcasting some of the games online this weekend. Make sure to tune in on YouTube for the Hyde Park Club. But we also have other curling, which is almost as important as the Crosstown Challenge happening this week. And that is the Grand Slam of Curling Masters from Medicine Hat. And to make sure we shout out the sponsors, it is the PH Masters. PH Masters from Medicine Hat. Also, the presented sponsor of the Grand Slam of Curling is now Molson. So thank you to Molson. Molson Canadian. Yes, thank you. This is going to be a great event. It has all of our usual players uh from the Grand Slam series. Uh, and there is one game right off the top to watch, and that is going to be Team Epping versus Team Botcher. As we know that the Horgan brothers on Team Botcher used to curl with John Epping. So we're seeing another uh former teammate rivalry game here. I'm looking forward to it. What are you guys looking forward to?

SPEAKER_07 23:29

I think that's the biggest thing I'm looking forward to. I'm also looking forward to uh some of those teams that just came off Europeans uh traveling across the pond again very quickly in order to get to Canada and seeing how if they're able to maintain that momentum that they carried uh through that major event that is very high stress and high importance to them uh to qualify for worlds and then see how they do in the slam themselves.

SPEAKER_05 23:52

I don't even know what time it is in BC right now, let alone Europe, because of the new time zones. So this is going to be very, very interesting. But Medicine Hat is a fun city, they always put on a good show. I'm very looking forward to it. Uh, because of the changes in the standings over the last couple weeks, uh, there's gonna be some new patch matchups, some reorganized pools. Uh, all right, guys. So, what are your predictions for the Grand Slam this week?

SPEAKER_07 24:19

Uh I for uh I'm gonna pick the women's uh game first, and I'm gonna pick uh Team Rano to uh double up from their uh European championships to keep the streak going.

SPEAKER_04 24:31

Um I think uh Patz and uh Jacobs. Ooh.

SPEAKER_05 24:37

Do you want to pick a men's?

SPEAKER_07 24:38

No, no, you can go ahead and pick yours and pick the men's.

SPEAKER_05 24:41

I am going to I am going to say I I I think this is the breakout week for Team Botcher. I'm I'm not backing off. Uh I am not backing off Team Botcher. This is their breakout week, and I am doubling down on Team Enerson. I think they're gonna grow on their build from uh from Victoria and just keep it rolling from there. So those are my predictions.

SPEAKER_07 25:01

And I am going to be taking Team Hardy again. I think I picked them last time, and I'm gonna pick them again. Uh, to again, um, they won the Europeans. I'm picking them to continue on on that streak and go forward.

SPEAKER_05 25:16

Oh, this is gonna be great. I I can't wait to watch this this weekend. Uh, as I said, as you as you intoned, I'm I'm unfortunately have to work this weekend, so I'm gonna be watching all of this remotely, but uh looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_07 25:30

I also have one more game to watch. If everyone remembers, there was some uh drama last time when Team Casper played Team Dunstone at that slam where uh there was some uh request about celebration, except celebration by Team Casper, and then Team Dunstone came back and said, that's when you celebrate, and they will be playing each other primetime on Friday night. Oh, primetime show. So drama.

SPEAKER_04 25:55

Plus, Dunstone allegedly made a handshake agreement. Allegedly.

SPEAKER_07 25:58

Allegedly. We're not talking about that.

SPEAKER_04 26:01

No, we've already discussed it. We've discussed it in our opinion as well.

SPEAKER_05 26:04

Check out our episode from two weeks ago.

SPEAKER_04 26:07

But Casper was a team that uh was on the other side of that.

SPEAKER_05 26:10

Check out our episode from two weeks ago to discover uh what what our thoughts were on whether or not uh a tiebreaker event is controversy or not. This is this is gonna be a great event. Uh, is there any other events you guys are watching in the coming week other than the Crosstown Challenge and the Grand Slam of Curling? What's uh in the week ahead in the Curling World?

SPEAKER_07 26:30

There's really nothing else on the Curling Calendar that matters to me other than those two events, so that's about it that I'm gonna be watching.

SPEAKER_04 26:35

This weekend coming up is actually notorious for being a very quiet weekend on the tour.

SPEAKER_07 26:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 26:40

Great. Should we uh pause for a minute and see if we drum up a is there anyone who wants to be a special guest from the High Park Club?

SPEAKER_00 26:50

A few moments later.

SPEAKER_05 26:52

All right, here we are with uh we we managed to get some reprobates to come over and be guests on our podcast here. Uh, we're once again in the heart of enemy territory at the High Park Club. We have two wonderful guests. How about you guys introduce yourselves? Hi, I'm uh John McCachin. I'm Eric Fenneck. Alright, and John and Eric, I understand both of you were at the club provincials this past weekend. Is that correct? That is correct. Well, our our very own co-host, Norm McDonald, was there as well. McDonald's, Kevin McDonald. Norm's Kevin McDonald, yes. Norm's his nickname.

SPEAKER_07 27:25

Uh, but uh Norm, uh, I think you have some important questions for us. I have some important questions. So, how did the how did the event go for both you two guys?

SPEAKER_03 27:33

We went as good as you can get. We won it. You know, it was great. Well, you guys, you guys are provincial champions.

SPEAKER_05 27:40

Yeah, feels good. Amazing. Congratulations. That's actually really cool. We've been pumping the club provincials here really, really hard. So really cool to meet you guys, and congratulations. I appreciate it. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_07 27:51

This was your first club provincials, though, wasn't it? That is correct. And you guys have been curling together for like about how long? Like you've had like variations of the team.

SPEAKER_02 27:59

Yeah, I mean, we've had a few different teams. Like, I've been playing, my dad's on the team. He's the skip. I've been playing with him for probably about six years now, and Eric's been in the for a couple. Yeah. Yeah. And then I've been playing mixed with uh our our vice Rob Curry for a couple years now. Um, but yeah, this is our first time playing together as a as a four of us. Yeah, it's good.

SPEAKER_07 28:24

And you guys have been to provincials in other competitions before in the past, right?

SPEAKER_02 28:28

Yeah, we've had a bunch of OUAs and junior provincials mixed and everything like that. But never won a provincial championship.

SPEAKER_07 28:37

So now you get your name on a banner that will hang forever at the High Park clock. Exactly. That's that's the goal. How does that feel?

SPEAKER_03 28:44

It feels amazing, honestly.

SPEAKER_02 28:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:46

You know, we've made it to nationals before, but never as you know, a winner. You know, when we went, we were with school and you can become second or third, and so you still qualify, but you didn't we didn't get the gold, so I'm sure it's it's not the same.

SPEAKER_02 29:00

Yeah, you know, so it's amazing. The feeling of wearing an Ontario jacket is gonna be pretty cool.

SPEAKER_04 29:06

So tell us a bit about the event. What was the format like? Um, how were you feeling when you got into the playoffs? Um, did were you just on a heater?

SPEAKER_02 29:14

Yeah, I mean, honestly, like we lost our first game, which was tough. And then the second game, we were getting absolutely pumped. And uh we had given up in the fourth end. We were like, this game's over, we're done. Our our skip wanted to quit. Um, but we figured it out. We got a few misses out of the other team, which saved us a bit. We got got the win and kind of just moved on from there and ended up winning the rest into playoffs.

SPEAKER_03 29:44

Kept winning, kept you know, making great shootouts, getting the hammer, just you know, dominating after that.

SPEAKER_04 29:50

That's great. Never quit, never quit. The game's not over until it's over.

SPEAKER_07 29:54

Yeah. Tell me about uh uh your reaction in uh the fifth game, the final game of the round, Robin went in your pool when you ended up uh stealing in the extra end uh watching the stream on that one. I thought I saw John you kind of like look away as the opposing skip was throwing his last.

SPEAKER_02 30:09

Yeah, honestly, I was terrified. Like he was making everything. He he he had a few misses near the end to kind of keep us in that game. He missed his last in the seventh end and then his last in the eighth end. Yeah, but everything else he was making. So I I just I'm sitting there, I'm like, there's no chance he's gonna miss this shot. I just have my head on my broom. I was like, this is it, we're done. We're gonna have to play in a in a you know a qualifying tiebreaker game this evening, but ended up working out for us and got the night off.

SPEAKER_04 30:43

So congratulations, guys. That's amazing. We're really happy for you. Um, next big thing we're talking about today, uh, we got Crosstown Challenge on our minds. You guys know about the Crosstown Challenge this weekend? Of course.

SPEAKER_05 30:53

And I assume since you're really good curlers, you're busy that weekend, right? You're not here, right? Uh we need a time off.

SPEAKER_04 30:59

We played a week before, played. So are you are you playing in the crosstown? No.

SPEAKER_03 31:03

No, no, neither of us are.

SPEAKER_04 31:05

Okay, so no. It's too bad. Uh I guess sorry, guys. Yeah. What are your thoughts on the event? And uh why do you think the Royals are gonna win this year?

SPEAKER_02 31:16

Um, well, Hyde Park's gonna win.

SPEAKER_07 31:18

Um solidated.

SPEAKER_02 31:22

No, honestly, it seems like a great event. I've never played in it, but I've heard a lot of good stories about it.

SPEAKER_05 31:28

Based on your provincial performance, continue to not play in the class.

SPEAKER_07 31:32

Yeah. So when are nationals, guys? They're like not that far away.

SPEAKER_05 31:36

Yeah, like three weeks from now.

SPEAKER_07 31:38

Wow, that was fast.

SPEAKER_05 31:40

And where and where are the nationals being held this year?

SPEAKER_04 31:42

In St. Thomas, Ontario.

SPEAKER_08 31:44

So another beautiful trip.

SPEAKER_04 31:45

That's too bad. You don't really get to go anywhere. You go anywhere in Canada two hours away.

SPEAKER_05 31:49

Yeah, exactly where we want to be. That's great. Well, listen, uh, despite the crosstown rivalry, we will be cheering you on at Nationals.

SPEAKER_04 31:57

Hopefully, because somewhat local, you can get a nice big local crowd. Yeah, get a local crowd there. That's the plan.

SPEAKER_05 32:03

Yeah, yeah. That's good. That's great, guys. Thank you so much for coming by today. We really appreciate it. And uh, as I said, we're really glad you're not curling on Saturday. Maybe next year. Thank you, guys. I think Hypark can pull it out with us. There you go. There you go. Thanks, guys. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Oh, that was that that was great. I was like, I did not expect to actually have like a provincial level like champion curler here. This is awesome. You know, we keep having very special guests. It's awesome.

SPEAKER_07 32:29

We somehow managed to find very special guests. Really, all this was Rob went over to the table and said, Hey, you guys want to come over here? They said yes.

SPEAKER_05 32:35

Once again, congratulations, guys, on your win. It was so exciting that uh you won the provincials. We're gonna be cheering you on and watching at least online. And depending on the weekend, we might we might end up in St. Thomas cheering you on, but you no matter what, we'll be cheering you guys online. And uh once again, very glad you're not curling the crosstown this weekend.

SPEAKER_00 32:55

A few moments later.

SPEAKER_05 32:58

Yay! We have our second guest here from the High Park Club. This is really exciting. We've never had two guests in one episode. So I'd like to welcome Jen Gray, former president of the High Park Club, to the podcast. Welcome, Jen. I hear you're a long-term fan.

SPEAKER_01 33:17

A long-term fan of the podcast? Absolutely. I listen all the time.

SPEAKER_05 33:22

Thank you very much for that line. I appreciate you.

SPEAKER_01 33:23

I wanted this or seven people?

SPEAKER_05 33:26

Yeah, it's about uh you're giving it feet a little crazy ambitious there. It's more like two or three. So, Jen, as you know, this Saturday is the Crosstown Challenge, the competition between the Royal Canadian Curling Club uh that is continually trying to push back against the evil and dreaded High Park Club. Um what Jen is agas right now. Can't believe it. How do you think the High Park Club will react when Royals wins this Saturday?

SPEAKER_01 33:55

Well, I don't think Royals will win this Saturday. I mean, I'm pretty sure that we will indeed crush you again this year. I mean, I think it's now been how long since you've won?

SPEAKER_07 34:06

No, no, we won two years ago, first of all. Norm is very up to date on all of this stuff, and it's tie 6-6 right now.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

Yeah, but we've had a pretty good string. I think we've probably won.

SPEAKER_07 34:17

We don't know what happened with that, but yes.

SPEAKER_04 34:19

We won the first three years in a row, and then you guys had to catch up four years in a row.

SPEAKER_01 34:23

So I've actually been part of every single Crosstown since the very beginning. So I am a veteran of the Crosstown. Yeah, it is an amazing gon spiel. And like over the years, we've come to like you get to play the same teams, you get to see that like very similar people. It's just a really great opportunity for some great camaraderie and trophy winning. And Royals is infamous for trophy stealing.

SPEAKER_05 34:49

I wouldn't say we have no idea. I'm sure as mentioned allegedly, allegedly, as mentioned in an earlier segment, when I was president of Royals, we instituted an in-depth investigation into these allegations. We are still awaiting the report back on said investigation before we make any conclusions.

SPEAKER_01 35:07

Last year, you tried to personally spoil it.

SPEAKER_08 35:11

Well, you allegedly allegedly.

SPEAKER_01 35:15

Well, I personally took it back from you, so I do happen to remember the incident.

SPEAKER_04 35:22

I don't know anything about that because, like the podcast with the crosstown, I am also sometimes wrong. I'm only here once in a while, and I get a lot of flack for stealing that trophy when I'm not even here.

SPEAKER_01 35:34

We usually put in a locker at some point.

SPEAKER_05 35:39

Yeah, we we've actually received an email on this podcast from the High Park Trophy Case Committee.

SPEAKER_01 35:45

Wow. I didn't even know we had a committee.

SPEAKER_05 35:47

Neither did we until we received their emails. Um so whatever subcommittee you have created to specifically focus. It's actually for committee.

SPEAKER_04 35:56

It's a committee of the board. Ah, to follow up the email, we got uh texts to each of us from uh a staff member. From a staff member, a staff member pretending to be the trophy, taking it on journeys throughout the city.

SPEAKER_01 36:10

So why do you think the three of you were implicated by the committee?

SPEAKER_07 36:14

I I have completely disavowed myself from anything that's saying about stealing the trophy. I've never had anything to do with it. I have reported it as I to uh the general manager and the interim general manager.

SPEAKER_05 36:25

And I'm only sometimes here. Long long words, long words from my co-host. Um back to the serious nature, well, the somewhat serious nature of it. Uh I think you're completely right, Jen. As we mentioned earlier, this event creates camaraderie, it creates a connection between two clubs across the city. It's great for both clubs, it promotes both clubs. Um and we get to see some really good curling in it as well.

SPEAKER_01 36:47

Totally. I mean, with the I think it's our best curlers. We started to get them out a little bit more, which is I think why we're starting to beat you more often.

SPEAKER_04 36:56

So you're saying you've been stacking your teams?

SPEAKER_01 36:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:00

That's how winning works.

SPEAKER_07 37:01

Yeah, and and uh as one of the members on the committee, uh I can attest that uh Royals has done a little bit more of that this season. So good luck. Good luck. There may be some surprises. Uh, we'd like to know about your team that you've been playing in this.

SPEAKER_01 37:14

So I play with the same team that I played with for the last several years. I play with your icemaker.

SPEAKER_08 37:19

You players. The traitorous.

SPEAKER_01 37:25

Every year I call it. Well, I played with for 10 years in this club. Um, I also play with my husband and a friend of ours, Sarah Jegger. So the four of us will play, and we're gonna have a ton of fun. Oh, it's it's the second game is sometimes a little sketchy in terms of like the amount of booze. I mean, you start with the eye openers, and then there's the lunch drinks, and then there's the bus drinking.

SPEAKER_05 37:47

Well, no, no, well, well, no, no, no, no, no, no, drinks on the bus. I don't know what you're talking about. That we don't talk about illegal activities in this podcast.

SPEAKER_01 37:55

I mean, we usually bring the drinks and the speaker on the bus. That's usually my team.

SPEAKER_04 38:00

How do you feel about the ice set royals? Going and playing something that's unfamiliar from your user.

SPEAKER_01 38:04

That's ice. The only thing I don't love about your ice is the how loud it is on the ice. I mean, it it kind of you can it really you hear the noise a lot. It's a bit harder to hear.

SPEAKER_04 38:14

It's a loud arena. Very repeating.

SPEAKER_01 38:15

Yeah, well, I think the um the acoustics make it very loud, but the ice is beautiful. I even love the honeycomb structure under it. Ice is fabulous.

SPEAKER_05 38:24

The the the ice is great. The one of the fascinating things, and I I both love this and I find it frustrating when I play at High Park, is I can't hear the rock. And it it's gonna sound weird, but as uh when you play front end, you can judge the front of the rock. You can you can hear the rock, you can hear it rolling down the ice, it reverberates.

SPEAKER_01 38:42

You're not a skip.

SPEAKER_05 38:43

Well, I am now, but I used to not be.

SPEAKER_01 38:44

Okay, because if you're a skip, you're not hearing it.

SPEAKER_05 38:46

No, you're not hearing it.

SPEAKER_04 38:47

Royal still has that tradition of the roaring game.

SPEAKER_05 38:50

The rocks literally roar, and you could all like if you're paying close attention, you can tell the speed of the rock by the sound it's making. And the game is Do you close your eyes for that?

SPEAKER_01 38:58

A little bit, yes. Does it help with calling line? No, no.

SPEAKER_04 39:02

Um I wonder if you start opening your eyes if you'd actually improve.

SPEAKER_05 39:06

Probably not, but you know, I I would rather, as we were talking about excuses for missing our shots, closing my eyes is one of my top excuses for missing my shots.

SPEAKER_07 39:13

Probably solid or either.

SPEAKER_05 39:14

But uh here at Hyde Park, the rocks run very, very silent. Again, great club, great ice, and I actually like that you could have a couple words go back and forth down the ice here because you can't have that at Royals at all. You can actually hear your skip give instructions, which is so nice.

SPEAKER_04 39:29

The Royals has actually uh been using the same guy who soundproof this facility. We did this, uh the baffling. Yeah. This past summer they did our lounge, and um, we're using that as a tester to see if we're gonna do the arena. So it's tough because they're two very different environments to tell if one will work and one will not. Height of the ceiling.

SPEAKER_06 39:49

And they have to be done very differently. Not that Rob knows a lot about them, not that I know much about them at all. How did you see someone going so far, Jack?

SPEAKER_01 39:55

Um, actually, really good. Just won a game out there. Um I play on the bananas. Big shout out to the bananas, Savannah Bananas. Yeah, and tonight we had four women. So we've it's an open league, and we have four women on our we have a six-person team, four women, and we beat four men.

SPEAKER_05 40:11

Oh, amazing. Now, do you have this is a little not curling related, but have you signed up for Toronto tickets for Savannah Bananas when they come next season?

SPEAKER_01 40:18

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_05 40:18

Oh, yeah, I'm on the waiting list as well.

SPEAKER_01 40:20

In the in the draw, they signed up for the um, I think it's just a draw they put in. Yeah, it's a lottery.

SPEAKER_05 40:25

It's a lottery because you can't resell them, they don't allow you to mark up.

SPEAKER_01 40:28

But we have friends that have been, um, like banana friends. So there are over 30 bananas in our chat. Um and so we have a six-person team, and then we get when we can't uh have a uh a regular player, we have someone come up from that chat and spare in a game.

SPEAKER_05 40:42

That's amazing. Now, could we expect you to see see you at any of the tour events or grand slam events wearing the banana costume? Shout and peel as well?

SPEAKER_01 40:50

Probably not.

SPEAKER_05 40:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 40:52

Oh, okay. Thank you, friends. Maybe, maybe at the crosstown.

SPEAKER_05 40:56

Maybe at the crosstown, maybe at the crosstown.

SPEAKER_04 40:58

Maybe.

SPEAKER_05 40:59

Jen, thank you. Maybe thank you so much for coming and talking to us today.

SPEAKER_04 41:03

Do you have uh a favorite crosstown memory? Oh, you've been running for 12 years, you've been at every single one. Uh is there any specific moment that stood out to you?

SPEAKER_01 41:11

I miss the steam whistle trophy. Very phallic.

SPEAKER_04 41:17

So not a memory, but I got memories. Not quite a memory. Oh, she's got memories. Oh wow.

SPEAKER_07 41:25

Some that are lost, though, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_04 41:28

And with that, we'll say goodbye.

SPEAKER_05 41:29

All right, thank you so much, Jed, for coming in. Thank you. Alright, well, let's move on to our next section. Welcome to Coach's Corner with Rob. Coach's Corner. Raw. Some people tried your advice from last week about dealing with a stubborn skip who doesn't listen, and it didn't work. In fact, it made things worse. Do you have any additional thoughts?

SPEAKER_04 41:57

Well, Chris, like a Rouge family curling weekend, skip happens.

SPEAKER_05 42:03

This has been Coach's Corner with Rob. Alright, welcome to one of our favorite segments here, which is gonna change next week. There's gonna be some more Overheard next week. But, anyways, welcome to Overheard at Royals. And while we're not currently at Royals, we have overheard some things at Royals. Spooky, right after Halloween. There's plenty of gossip out of the Royal Canadian Curling Club, and in the true honor of the columns from student newspapers and elsewhere that this segment is based on, we're going to keep the people we're talking about anonymous here. Anonymous person number one. I hear the crosstown is next week. How much high park ass are we going to kick on Saturday? Anonymous number two. We are going to kick so much high park ass this Saturday at the Crosstown Challenge. Now pour me another drink, Emily. Anonymous number one. Sure thing, Tony.

SPEAKER_07 43:04

Was that first one an actual question, or was it a rhetorical question? I believe it was rhetorical, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_05 43:09

Listen, I'm not going to judge what these anonymous people were saying. I mean, of course, right? I mean, we're just overhearing this and reporting it.

SPEAKER_04 43:14

Emily's the bartender, so we don't know who anonymous number one is.

SPEAKER_05 43:17

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_07 43:19

So, a very interesting overheard at Royals this week. And so, of course, for next week's edition, it will be overheard at Royals slash High Park because we will be reporting. We're on site here.

SPEAKER_05 43:31

Next week will be overheard at the Crosstown. Yes. I'm sure that'll give us enough content for its own whole episode. All right, we have come to the end of our show. We have had a lot of fun today. I want to thank everyone who came on our podcast, both our special guests here at High Park, uh, as well as the club in general, and Emily, the manager here, who has let us take over a corner and berade her members. Uh, thank you so much for being hosts. Thank you so much for putting up with our jokes. Um, it's been so much fun. For those of you listening, if you enjoy what you've heard, please like, subscribe, and share this podcast. Share it with board members of curling clubs who should do their own crosstown challenge. Share it with your friends who enjoy a good laugh and having a drink after the game. Uh, do you guys have anything to add before we close out? Uh Rose is gonna win the Crosstown this year.

SPEAKER_04 44:24

100%.

SPEAKER_05 44:26

Thank you very much, everybody, and may your ice be curly in the shed and cold and on rocks in the lounge. Have a great day.