“It never gets old.”

For a quartet of local curlers who have enjoyed the most sustained success of their careers once they reached the age requirements to compete in the Seniors (50+) and Masters (60+) divisions, this proclamation from lead Doug Hong carries with it more than just a touch of irony.

Fourteen years after combining forces with Dion Dumontelle, Ron Henderson and Robbie Gordon, Hong and friends are now preparing for their sixth visit to a national championship: their second in the Masters bracket following four journeys as NOCA Senior champs.

A 7-2 Team Gordon win over the defending champions Bruce Munro / Al Harnden and rink in Long Lac two weeks ago finds the NCUCC (Northern Credit Union Community Centre) representatives travelling to Sault Ste Marie in April, site of the 2025 Canadian Masters Curling playdowns.

All in their mid-sixties, the foursome are bonded by lengthy ties – some far lengthier than others. Henderson and Dumontelle have curled together since their high-school days, with virtually no parting of the ways over the course of the ensuing half century or so.

Born in Chapleau but moving to Sudbury on a permanent basis in his early twenties, Hong did not truly immerse himself into the competitive curling scene until some 15 years later, initially with a men’s team that featured no less than three members of the Dumontelle clan (brothers Dion and Darren and father Don).

After attending the 2002 Brier with the Sudbury rink of Tim Phillips, Ron Collins Jr and Drew Eloranta, Hong would make his way over to join forces with Dumontelle and Henderson, with Phillips rounding out the team as skip.

Moving to the Nickel City in 2007, Gordon was the final piece of the puzzle, arriving more or less just in time to guide the now well-decorated collection of talent into that next phase of their curling careers.

“I think Robbie is the glue, I really do,” said Hong, a long-time foe of the Haileybury native who dominated sectional play in his neck of the woods and now throws fourth rocks while balancing his work schedule as a judge. “He just doesn’t let things bother him. Our skip is really the calming effect on our team.”

Just to be clear, Team Gordon is far more well-recognized for their joviality and highly social approach to a sport they all adore than they are for any kind of ultra-intense demeanour on the ice. It’s a big part of what has made this entire ride both successful and fun.

“We’re a pretty friendly group of guys, very personable,” said Hong, finding few if any who would quibble within the Sudbury curling community that know these gents well.

“We really enjoy each other’s company,” added Dumontelle, who joined Hong on a seniors team with Al Harnden and Mark Borgogelli which captured the NOCA banner in 2011, with the former duo both set to turn 65 this year, one year ahead of Gordon and Henderson. “As different as we are, we just enjoy the bonding that we do on the road.”

Seniors and Masters curling is a different animal altogether than the environment once might find at the Brier. That’s almost inevitable given the “stage of life” difference of the participants.

“It’s not so much work schedule conflicts anymore, it’s the retirees schedules that need to work,” noted Dumontelle with a laugh. “Before, the preparation was to curl as often as you could. Now, it’s far more part-time, curling once a week.”

Even the end game differs notably from the bulk of the years spent in men’s open curling, with many a national these days embracing equal measures of fun and competition with curling brethren on the ice and all that it entails to be a Canadian tourist in Canada off the ice.

“Ten years ago, I had not thoughts about going to Yellowknife as a place to visit,” suggested Dumontelle. “But the curling has allowed us to get to some of those spots – east coast, west coast. We try and enjoy some of that different culture within our own country.”

Having been exposed to all levels of curling over the course of their lifetimes, the members of Team Gordon cannot help but to be equipped with a wonderful sense of perspective – and the wholesome self-deprecation that so often accompanies it.

“I’ve been a lead my whole life – that’s where I belong,” explained Hong. “I like to sweep – and I’ve never ever thought I was a very good curler.” “This is just a really, really great mix of guys.”

For as much as Robbie Gordon, Ron Henderson, Dion Dumontelle and Doug Hong cling to those championship moments that “never get old”, the simple truth is that apparently, neither do the members of Team Gordon.