It’s long been said that curling is one of the most social sports on earth.

Based on my rather unscientific research conducted Wednesday night at the newly-christened Northern Credit Union Community Centre (NCUCC), I can certainly support that hypothesis.

No lack of friendly folks here, despite the fact that there were only three sheets of ice in play.

And though this is an evening of more competitive curling, the truth is that there was a nice cross-section of rock throwers to catch up with.

The Sandy MacEwan men’s rink was present, with Dustin Montpellier, Luc Ouimet and Lee Toner having shown well in their one bonspiel to date, making a semi-final appearance at the Capital Curling Fall Open in Ottawa in September.

“We got better and better every game,” suggested Ouimet. “The consistency was showing itself; every game was close. It was just a really good showing.”

Now in their third year together, the local quartet have a really good sense of exactly the type of team that they are, one that finds that happy middle ground between the very busy lives that they lead and a fire for their sport that still burns inside.

“We still want to be competitive and play against some of the top teams in Ontario, knowing that we can’t go to the Slams and what-not,” stated Ouimet. “That level of commitment is just too heavy. We decided on one event a month, going into playdowns, just to stay sharp.”

“We also made a decision not to start to early,” he added. “Starting too early without practices doesn’t help much. I think if we give ourselves a goal, it’s to play closer to 80%, which gives us a chance to beat most any team in Ontario on any given day.”

Team MacEwan did just that, cruising through their A Pool in the nation’s capital with wins over Jennifer Harvey (6-5), Team Dupuis (7-4 – Bryan Cochrane - skip) and Laura Johnston (7-4).

The locals then obliterated the Jean-Michel Menard rink 12-4, dropping an extra end 7-6 decision to eventual bonspiel champion Jason Camm and company (with former L.U. curler Ian Dickie at vice).

Returning to the Stroud Sleeman Cash Spiel as defending champions this coming weekend, the NCUCC foursome brings together a very interesting mix with the soon-to-be senior tandem of Ouimet (49) and Toner (50) handling the heavy lifting duties of the front-end. “Curling with two young 30 year-olds, I find that our experience and their youth gels really well,” said Ouimet.

“They are able to throw that up-weight that is needed at this level and I think our experience lends a hand in terms of calling shots.”

At an adjacent table, it’s nothing but youth as local curling sisters Bella and Piper Croisier become increasingly acquainted with the newly-added pairing of Dominique Vivier and Celeste Gauthier. Born in Slave Lake (AB) but growing up largely in Cochrane (AB), the latter moved to Ottawa in her early teens and is currently attending Toronto Metropolitan University (Graphic Communications Management), with all four young ladies residing in the Croisier household in Sudbury.

A skip out west until her mid-teens, Gauthier noted that the decision to make this sport her winter pastime of choice was pretty much a no-brainer. “I do come from a long line of curlers,” said the well-spoken twenty year-old. “Both of my grandparents on my mom’s side actually curled together on the same \team.”

“It was pretty cute. And my best friend in Alberta also helped introduce me to curling.”

We three events already in the books, Team Croisier might still shuffle things around a little within the lineup, not a bad thing given the versatility that many of the girls enjoy. “When I moved to Ottawa, I played kind of a combo of lead and vice,” offered Gauthier. “I really like the draw game – that’s kind of my strength.”

“That’s where the lead comes in. I also think I’m very capable of making those pressure shots, which is critical to the vice position. Historically, seconds have been more hitting players: lots of runbacks, lots of peels, all of that stuff. But with the five rock rule, seconds now throw more draws.”

Along with both of the Croisier siblings, Gauthier graduates to the Open Women’s ranks next fall, part of the reason behind her decision to relocate to northern Ontario for the 2022-2023 campaign. “This is my last year of juniors and I really want to go all out, really want to make it to nationals, give myself a shot at making it to worlds,” she said.

“I wanted something new – a fresh start.”

By contrast, Monique Schryer is more than happy with more of the same this winter. Curling weekly on Wednesday evenings with a team that also includes Kendra Lilly, Amanda Corkal and Gillian Christy, the 54 year-old has enjoyed some three decades of involvement in the sport, stringing together a whole different variety of experiences along the way.

“I started in a mixed league in my mid-twenties, just as a night out for my husband (Joel) and I,” said Schryer. “I really enjoyed it – but he’s more of a hockey guy, so I continued to play with the ladies, usually twice a week.”

That background would lead to multiple forays into the mixed curling ranks, participating at provincials with the likes of Louise Logan, Jordan Chandler, Chris Johnson, Luc Ouimet, Tim Phillips, Lee Toner and countless others. Much like the members of Team MacEwan, Schryer has determined exactly where curling can slide into her life, with retirement looming near.

“With my family and a full-time job, curling was always more social for me,’ she said. “It was never my intent to curl five or six days a week – but I wanted to compete, especially in our league. That’s what I enjoyed the most.”

Curling enjoyment in a social setting: yep, that’s exactly what I expected to find as I made my way up the hill off Howey Drive.