The opening ceremony of the 2013 Ford World Men鈥檚 Curling Championship was a trip down memory lane for several participants on Saturday afternoon.
Marcel Rocque, a three-time world champion wih Randy Ferbey鈥檚 Alberta rink, fondly recalled the last time the international event was held at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre when the former lead, second Scott Pfeifer, skip Ferbey and last-rock thrower Dave Nedohin pulled off the victory for sa国际传媒.
鈥淚t was an event I will probably never forget,鈥� said Rocque, who was part of Saturday鈥檚 opening rock delivery of the ceremonies, sweeping for sa国际传媒鈥檚 Greg McAulay, who won the 2000 world title.
Co-chairs Chris Atchison (sweeping) and Keith Dagg (holding the broom) were also involved in the ceremonial first rock, along with the front end from the 1964 world championship team, Lyall Dagg and Leo Hebert, who were recognized before the small, but appreciative crowd.
鈥淚t was almost written in the stars because we had some good fortune along the way. We hung in there long enough to get it done,鈥� Rocque recalled of winning the 2005 gold medal, the team鈥檚 third and final world crown.
鈥淭here have been a lot of good memories. A lot of things you almost forget about,鈥� said Rocque. 鈥淭hinking back to that six-way tie [for first place] and all the tiebreakers.
鈥淛ust walking in today, I recalled we were the first [sporting] event in this building and I asked the icemakers this year if they had to build makeshift rooms because, back then, there was loose lumber and there they were 鈥� with two-by-fours and hammers and nails 鈥� building.
鈥淭hey were drilling in the rails as we were having practice on the Friday, with dust everywhere. It was neat coming in today, remembering all that stuff.鈥�
The biggest cheer of the ceremonies was for Team sa国际传媒鈥檚 Brad Jacobs rink, as the host country was introduced last.
Kate Caithness, president of the World Curling Federation, welcomed fans to the nine-day event and also referred back to 2005.
鈥淎 high standard was set that year and we expect this to be an equally unforgettable experience,鈥� she said.
Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin 鈥渨elcomed鈥� Asian reps, Japan and China, in their native language, promised the other teams if they were back he would learn their dialect. He then turned his focus to sa国际传媒 and said, 鈥淲elcome eh.鈥�
听
THEY鈥橰E BAGGED
Many of the WCF reps arrived in Victoria this week from the women鈥檚 championship in Riga, Latvia.
Caithness also welcomed the teams at the opening banquet on Friday evening at The Fairmont Empress hotel, telling the group she arrived without her luggage.
鈥淪adly, I was still without it this morning. But I went out shopping. I鈥檓 supporting the local economy,鈥� she told the group Friday night.
TSN play-by-play man, Vic Rauter, took the same route earlier in the week, but had an unscheduled stopover in Iceland because of an 鈥渦nruly passenger.鈥�
THIS 鈥橬 鈥橳HAT:
- One big change from 2005 is the video screen on the scoreboard above centre ice, a tremendous benefit for fans in the building, watching the TSN feed.
- Scotland drew a strong cheer from a group of about 50 fans at the ceremonies waving the Saint Andrew鈥檚 Cross, the national flag.
- Aside from medals and pride, this event is also a qualifier for the 2014 Olympics where 10 men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams will compete in Sochi, Russia. The top seven associations (excluding host Russia) who have collected the most points from Worlds held in 2012 and 2013 will qualify.
For those who do not make the top seven, a last chance event is slated for Dec. 2013 to determine the last two spots.
Twitter/tc_vicsports
