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I just finished volunteering for the World Men's Curling Championship , and what a wild ride it was! How did this come about? Last spring I saw the announcement that my hometown was getting the event, and then sure enough, a couple days later I'd agreed to be the Director of Ceremonies! Unlike last time I was a Director for the 2013 Brier, this one involved way more meetings, way more work, and way more stress, but also way more fun! For the six months or so prior to the event, we had monthly meetings with my Director Team that also included Banquets and Patch Game Day. Besides all the Ceremonies (and the dreaded MC scripting) work, I had to sort out and schedule a small crew of 20 volunteers, although in the end it turned out to be a lot more volunteers from all different areas! The big show kicked of with an Opening Ceremonies and Banquet rehearsal, aka chaos. I have to say, I was ready to quit at that point. i even had an offer of a ride to Mexico. But the very next day, I w...

I've volunteered for a dozen Curling Canada events, numerous local curling events, and a ton of other major sport type events. I've done everything from taking out garbages, selling merchandise, pretending to be media, and leading teams of other volunteers. But one volunteer gig remained elusive...I hadn't gotten the opportunity to volunteer for a Grand Slam of Curling* event. Until last month... When I heard Heather Nedohin and her team from the Sherwood Park Curling Club had gotten the first ever Champions Cup, I knew I had to volunteer. I tweeted at various people and eventually was sent a link to fill out the volunteer form online. I couldn't attend any pre event volunteer rallys to size a jacket or anything. I got the impression most of the volunteers were coming from the curling club, as everything was done there pre-event, though the actual event took place at a local arena. I was sent a volunteer schedule a few weeks before the event. This was more first clue it...

Catch up on Update 1 and 2 ! Friday, February 26, 2016 The game this morning was quite exciting because tiebreaker and relegation scenarios depended on the outcome of one particular game. So leading up to it all the discussion on the media bench was tiebreaker scenarios, which is always fun because people get really into it. In the end there were no tiebreakers! So we had the afternoon off! A couple of us were actually in a VIP transportation car, on our way to the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum , which is about 15 minutes drive out of Grande Prairie - but we didn't even make it out of the arena parking lot when it came over the radio that we had to abort because they weren't allowed to drive past the airport for insurance reasons! Sad. Then a security guard offered to drive us out after her shift, but the timing seemed a bit iffy because of some special guests we were expecting at the arena. Sad. No dinosaurs. I just went to the hotel and watched like four hours of bad tv. ...

Monday, February 22 - Thursday, February 25, 2016 The days all seem to blend together, but damn I love this routine. Days were punctuated by fresh tacos from the Farmer's Market, homemade soup from Laurel's, carrot cake from the Grande Prairie Coffee Company, chats on the media bench and laughs in the media work room. I've done this enough I know feel comfortable with the people backstage and even though part of me wants to go home to cuddle my cats, the other part of me wants this to never end! Curling. Chelsea Carey told Donna Spencer the most delightful story about when her dad won the Brier when she was a small girl. A lot of times I just watch the camera guys set up their shots. Very interesting. Guess how much these cost? 75K, 80K and 100K! Boss man pulled a bunch of coaches into the scrum. Very interesting perspective! TSN "green" room. New this year - you can buy provincial/Canada shirts and jackets and have them crested with your name/your favourite curle...

Well I'm back! I thought I was going to be at the Winter Youth Olympics , but alas I value my sleep. So, it's back to Grande Prairie for the 2016 version of the Canadian Women's National Curling Championship - or as it's known the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. This is my third Scotties and I'm quite happy to be here. Ok, I'll admit, I didn't want to come: this event is looooong and the older I get the less I like spending all that time away from my cats to be honest. But, as soon as I arrived and caught up with all my curling friends, the excitement came rushing back and now I'm quite pleased this will be my home for awhile! Thursday, February 18, 2016 I caught an early flight and then putzed away the day. I think I was asked to arrive a day earlier than I needed to be but no worries. I was happy to volunteer for Curling Geek though! The prequalifier games weren't televised so I signed on Thursday night and captured the shots rock by rock while pos...