Curling is set to enter the great unknown.
Debuting Monday, Rock League is just a little different from your typical tournament, from mixed 10-player teams to new rules to a bar that will be positioned in between the sheets on the ice.
After an Olympic season full of marquee events, it’s hard not to wonder whether ending with a potentially gimmicky — though forward-thinking — one will affect the competitiveness on the ice.
“I’m not setting my expectations too high,” reigning Scotties champion and Shield Curling Club’s Kerri Einarson said.
“Going into playing with a whole new team, there’s even language barriers there and some things that we’ll have to work through as a team. But I think key to this week’s success would definitely just be going out there playing relaxed, enjoying it, having fun and whoever has the most fun and who’s chill and not so uptight will have success this week.”
Then again, Shield will meet Northern United in its second match on Tuesday, and the European-heavy team doesn’t appear to have any let-up.
“We’re all taking it very seriously. It’s maybe got the view of being a bit fun and a good atmosphere, but I think the curling itself is gonna be quite intense and quite a competitive atmosphere,” Northern captain Bruce Mouat said.
“And I think we’re all here for the same reason. We don’t want to be here [just] to participate. We all want the trophy at the end of the day.”
Indeed, by Sunday, one of six squads will twist their custom handle on a curling rock that makes up the league trophy and become champions of the inaugural Rock League season.
Action begins Monday at Toronto’s Mattamy Athletic Centre, with three draws per day and live coverage throughout on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem.
Sweden’s Isabella Wranå, the reigning Olympic mixed doubles champion with brother Rasmus and a teammate of Mouat’s on Northern United, took a more neutral approach to the week ahead.
“When I play curling, I have a hard time not trying to win and I think lots of players have that same mentality,” Wranå said. “But then I think [another] important factor to play good this week is to have some fun and get to learn your teammates and their strengths and how to communicate.”
Communication hurdles
Communication will be key — especially on a Northern team featuring players from Sweden, Norway, Scotland, Switzerland and Italy.
Factor in new formats liked mixed fours and new rules (stones that cover the pinhole in the seventh and final end of men’s and women’s fours are worth two, for example), and that’s ramped up even more.
“You have your lingo on your team and you have how you communicate and all sorts of stuff like that. So I think everyone’s gonna have to be a bit on their toes and ready to communicate well. For us, we have a lot of Scandinavians on our team, so we’ve gotta make sure we speak English and not Norwegian and Swedish all the time,” Wranå said.
As of Sunday afternoon, some of the Northern United team had yet to arrive in Toronto as they made their way from the men’s world championship in Utah.
The team is planning to get its first practice in just before gametime on Monday. Otherwise, its only communication has been through group chats.
Jacobs vs. Eriksson
Einarson and Shield, meanwhile, were on the ice Sunday afternoon, readying to work through different combinations and getting to know each other. Six of 10 Shield players are Canadian, including Olympic champion Brad Jacobs.
A rivalry will play itself out on Monday, when Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson and his Alpine Curling Club take on Jacobs in their first match since their Olympic dust-up.
Emma Miskew, the longtime Rachel Homan vice-skip, will be in the middle of it alongside Eriksson with Alpine. She said she doesn’t expect any tension personally with Eriksson, but could see some with Jacobs if they line up against each other in the men’s game.
Scotland’s Hammie McMillan, also of Alpine, joked that he’d have Eriksson’s back right away should anything occur.
Meanwhile, captain Chinami Yoshida and Typhoon Curling Club were on the ice together for the first time Sunday morning, bringing the Japanese curling icon together with Swedish great Anna Hasselborg.
“She is my good friend and also good rival for 10 years,” said Yoshida, who retired from women’s curling to focus on Rock League. “I still feel weird, I’m holding the broom for Anna. That’s weird and also amazing. It’s a dream come true that I play with the good rivals in my curling life.”
Team Homan stopped by the CBC Sports digital studio to share their excitement for the new curling league, Rock League, and why fans should tune in.
It’ll be up to JD Lind, the Typhoon general manager, to put each of his players in optimal positions throughout the week. He said the early portion of the tournament would be about experimenting with different combinations — especially since there’s no natural mixed-doubles pair like other teams have.
“A lot of it is finding players who can communicate well with each other, especially mixed doubles,” Lind said. “The way the format works, you don’t need to win all three, but you also don’t want to feel like you don’t have a chance to win sessions. So for me it really is about trying to find chemistry and balance out the lineup.”
Then there’s the atmosphere, which could get rowdy given the bar placement.
Mouat said the vibe at the Grand Slam — which, like Rock League, is owned and operated by The Curling Group — has already perked up.
“People dress up have a good time, have a good social atmosphere to the games. If we can recreate that at the Rock League and almost take it one step further, that would be brilliant. The bar in the middle is going to be pretty intense. That’s something I’m looking forward to experiencing,” he said.
You can expect some fan-player interactions given the setup, too.
“I’m excited for that. I hope it’s packed. I like to socialize with the fans and give back to the sport in any way possible, so I think that will be pretty neat seeing them,” Einarson said.
Added Wranå: “Curling needs some shakeup to attract some new audiences, so I think it’s a great thing.”
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