Team Bernard and Team Martin – Team Canada!!!

I’m sure most of your watched the games on the weekend and lived through all the shots in the game.  We can now celebrate for both Team Bernard and Team Martin as they begin their quest for the Olympics.   Truly this is a step in the process as both teams have been preparing for Vancouver for four years.   Now simply they add the title of Team Canada to their resume. There were definitely some surprises this week, some debuts of a couple younger teams and some consistent performances from a few of our top four teams.   It was interesting to see two of the top four teams, on both women’s and men’s sides, get into the final.  In my opinion it gave some credibility to the process that this happened although there were a few of the bottom seeds that gave some great showings – Stoughton and McCarville come to mind. I had the opportunity to sit in on the championship meeting with both teams and I must admit they are excited and a tad bit relieved.  This was a long process and now that the biggest step is out of the way, they can relax a bit and get ready for Vancouver.   Both have competitive schedules set up by our National Coaches Elaine Dagg-Jackson and Jim Waite.  In consultation with the team they will design what they believe to be the ultimate preparation plan.   Staying in competitive form while balancing rest and recovery are key over the next nine weeks. Rest assured there will be tough choices to make for both teams in how to balance life right now.  I like the fact that Christmas comes when it does to give them a distinct break. I will keep you updated on both teams over the next nine weeks and hope to do some one on one interviews so you, the curling public, can get to know your Olympic curling teams a little better. Yours in curling, Paul Webster