In September of 2019, Curl Sudbury representative Kira Brunton joined forces with two-time Olympic gold medal winner John Morris, finishing second at the Colorado Curling Cup, a mixed doubles event.
It was quite the experience for the now 23 year old Ottawa resident (Morris is currently, by contrast, 44 years of age) who has enjoyed a great deal of success through the youth and mixed ranks in Northern Ontario.
In mid-December (2022), Brunton was once again in the mixed doubles limelight, partnered with Brad Jacobs and competing at the Eppic Ale Players’ Championship Mixed Doubles Super Series bonspiel in Brantford.
Subbing in for Jacob’s regular mixed partner (Kerri Einarson), the local product who has just begun to pursue a masters in counseling psychology (after graduating from the L.U. Sports Psychology program) would contribute heavily to the NOCA duo reaching the semi-finals, beaten by the Swiss tandem of Jenny Perrett and Martin Rios 7-4, who would then settle for silver following a loss in the event final to the Estonian pair of Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill.
“Interesting opportunities have come my way, which is amazing,” said Brunton, whose primary focus this winter lies with the Danielle Inglis women’s team, a rink already safely qualified for the Ontario Scotties at the end of the month. “I really enjoy the doubles game; the discipline itself is a lot of fun.”
“There’s a lot of strategy involved – it’s so unforgiving,” she added. “It’s easier to be super engaged in the mixed doubles game because you absolutely cannot make a mistake. I just find it more engaging, so any time someone asks me to spare or play, I am probably going to say yes if I have the weekend off.”
Of course, when that particular “someone” is a fellow northerner who also owns an Olympic gold medal (Sochi – 2014), a silver from World Championships (2013) and no less than five podium finishes at the Tim Horton’s Brier (winning it all in 2013), all the better when it comes to expanding one’s network of contacts among the elite curling bracket.
“This was the first time that we (Brunton and Jacobs) were really meeting each other,” said the super friendly young woman who can also lay claim to having partnered with the “legendary” Tom Leonard in mixed doubles play at nationals. “It was nice to get to know him on a more personal level.”
“I had a lot of fun,” Brunton continued. “We did well and it was a good experience overall. He was super supportive and just a really nice guy to spend the weekend with.”
Of course, being from the north, it’s not like their paths had not crossed – though this is a whole lot different than just being casual acquaintances. “I actually went to the Team Jacobs Curling Camp in 2014 when I was maybe 15 years old,” Brunton noted.
So – did Jacobs recall that initial encounter?
“Absolutely not,” she countered quickly with a laugh.
Even as this intrepid reporter made his way out to catch up with the SDSSAA curling scene, there was no avoiding the spectrum of mixed doubles play.
The feature game on Wednesday would see Ian Deschene, Sam Dumais and the remainder of Lockerby Vikings (now 5-1) hand the Mia Toner Sacré-Coeur Griffons' foursome their first loss of the year, building up an 8-3 lead and holding on for an 8-7 win.
“I think we were able to set up in a position where our opponents just couldn’t get to our rocks,” said Dumais, who was first introduced to curling at the urging of his father some five years ago. “We would hide it behind three or four guards and they couldn’t get them out.”
Only recently taking the next step in developing his game, the 16 year-old grade 11 multi-sport athlete is sensing some encouraging improvement in his technique. “I have a lot more confidence in my slide,” said Dumais. “The stability has allowed me to hit the broom more often and control the rock a lot more.”
“I’m popping it a lot less, so it’s not missing the target – and that’s helped me a lot.”
Still, there is no denying that when it comes to high end curling experience, the very well-spoken teen is still trying to close the gap on some counterparts who have been on the ice since the age of perhaps five or six. That was apparent last month as Dumais teamed up with Lasalle Lancers’ vice Samantha Digiglio, the pair competing at the Ontario Winter Games qualifier but falling short of making it through to Renfrew.
“This is my first year of more competitive curling,” said Dumais. “I think it’s fun. We’re doing a lot of losing, but that means that we’re playing teams that are better than you, so things can only go up, right?”
With her grandmother providing the initial push towards perhaps joining forces with Dumais, Digiglio has added to a curling repertoire that has included plenty of girls curling (where she is most often the skip), as well as throwing third for a Lasalle rink that is skipped by Brendan Rajala.
“He is a really good skip and calls really good shots,” said Digiglio. “I am still doing a lot of shots that I might do in (girls) competitive curling. His game strategy is very similar.”
That said, Digiglio has noticed a stark contrast when it comes to the look of the rings in moving between boys’ and girls’ games. “With the girls, they play a little more strategic where with the guys, you see a lot more of those hard hits (takeouts). It’s a cleaner house with the guys.”
And finally, there might be some “house cleaning” that is awaiting local product Jamie Smith, along with skip Isabelle Ladouceur and the front end duo of Grace Lloyd and Rachel Steele, making their way back to Canada after participating in an event in Asia.
The defending Canadian U21 champions were the only entry donning the maple leaf in the eight team field that was the World Curling Tour – Japan New Year Medalist Curling showdown hosted in Miyota (Japan) last week.
Team Ladouceur dropped a tough 6-5 quarter-final decision to the eventual bonspiel winners, Daniela Jentsch of Germany – though it would be awfully difficult to ever regret any chance to travel the world for curling – even if it’s not for a mixed doubles competition.
