Curlers Are Coming!
On February 6, Olympic Curling Teams are arriving in Kelowna for their pre-Olympic training. The German Men’s Curling rink and the Swedish Men’s and Women’s rinks will all be training at the Kelowna Curling Club, and on February 11, you can see them in action during the exhibition game at 7 pm when they’ll take on some of Kelowna’s best.
Germany's Andy Kapp in action.
The Kelowna Curling Club is pulling out all the stops for the teams. Jock Tyre tells me that they will be simulating the ice conditions that these teams will face during the Olympics as best as they can. Our curling club is very advanced in terms of the maintenance of the ice sheets, but that’s not the only reason the teams will be training here. Another reason is the fact that the Kelowna Curling Club is the only club in Western Canada to have 12 sheets of ice, meaning that regular curlers at the club don’t have to be displaced in order to accommodate the Olympians.
All three rinks are serious contenders for the podium during the Games. The Swedish ladies are the defending Gold medallists from the last Winter Olympics. The Swedish Men’s team has recently won the title of European Champion; and the German Men’s Curling team have also been champions before. It’s definitely a likelihood that we’ll see one or more of the teams who have trained in Kelowna on the podium – power to them!
While they’re in Kelowna, the curlers will hopefully get out to see the many attractions that make Kelowna such a favourite year-round destination. They’ll visit some wineries and I’m told one team will go snowmobiling with the Kelowna Snowmobiling Club. So they’ll be well taken care of, Kelowna style! If you see them around, be sure to welcome them to our community and wish them well on their journey to the Olympics!