A special invitation to curl at the international Bernese Ladies Cup in Switzerland gave local retired national curling coach Lindsay Sparkes an opportunity to reunite with members of the legendary Sandra Schmirler team.
This world stage curling tournament was held Jan. 13-15 and represented a chance for the team to relive their experiences of their 1997 journey when Sparkes coached the Schmirler team to their third consecutive world championship.
The 2012 lineup was skipped by former Schmirler team third Jan Betker, accompanied by teammates Marcia Gudereit, Joan McCusker and Sparkes was asked to join the team to fill the vacant position.
The Bernese Ladies Cup brings in 32 elite teams that earn points for performance, which accumulate and count toward events such as the Olympic trials and the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling. This tournament also features a modest purse of $20,000.
“The only way the tournament could have been better is if Sandra was there with us,” said Sparkes. Schmirler was 36 years old when she lost her battle with cancer in March 2000.
“We played seven games to qualify, then the eight remaining teams were eliminated in a single knockout – we lost a tough first game," Sparkes said.”
Sparkes returned back to the Comox Valley Curling Club with a gratifying feeling knowing all these seemingly “retired” competitive players could still prove they are on their game.
– Comox Valley Curling Club