Sanctioned mixed curling is coming to Manitoba high schools, and Hapnot Collegiate could be getting involved.
At its recent annual general meeting, the Manitoba High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) approved adding mixed doubles curling to the official program list for the 2019-20 season.
The game allows more flexibility for schools like Hapnot Collegiate, which has drawn from a small talent pool in the past.
“I am absolutely thrilled that they’re going to allow mixed curling in. It’s new and it’s exciting. I do think that it might attract more people to the sport itself, especially when it’s harder to get more people out as a team,” said Kim Bryson, curling coach for Hapnot Collegiate.
“As a high school team, it opens opportunities for us. We can definitely field a mixed team, when we might not be able to field either a girls’ or a boys’ team.”
Earlier this year, Manitoban Kaitlyn Lawes won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in the sport’s first-ever Olympiad.
The decision comes after a curling season for the high school capped by a gender controversy. After winning the Zone 11 girls’ curling championship on home ice, the winning Hapnot team was disqualified after icing male players on both of the school’s teams. When the curling season began, the school had six interested female players and two males. In order to form two teams, the school created two teams consisting of three females and a male player.
Ryan Nawrocki was the male player on the team that initially won the zone tournament.
“I was upset at first, but later I understood where they were coming from there. We knew before we played the last game. I kind of feel like it was inevitable and that it was going to come either way, but we did our best to forget about it and play either way,” said Nawrocki.
With the mixed game now coming to Manitoba schools, Nawrocki may have another chance to participate in high school curling.
“I think we can see it as a new opportunity and a chance to enjoy it more,” he said.
“I feel like it could have potential upsides to it. You can find more people there since it’s mixed and you can have guys and girls make a team.”
The news of the sport being introduced comes at a time when Hapnot’s team may need to be rebuilt. Out of the eight players who curled for the school last winter, five of them have graduated.
“We know that we have one, maybe two coming up from McIsaac who are interested already. We’re definitely trying to increase interest and get the kids out,” said Bryson.
The shrinking numbers are nothing new for Flin Flon curling. Once home to hundreds of registered players, the town is now down to one curling rink and curling club, and fewer young players are getting involved with the game.
“Unfortunately, curling is suffering in our community. The numbers are going down every year,” said Bryson.
The hope is that introducing mixed curling will be the rising tide that lifts all boats – instead of just helping out the Hapnot program, it could help out Flin Flon curling at large.
“Maybe we could incorporate this in our community, but we need to get the youth involved. If we want to continue the sport in our community, we need to get the youth involved,” said Bryson.
