MANITOULIN—The toughest part for Jordan Chandler competing in his first Brier wasn’t playing, it was watching his teammates on the Brad Jacobs team curl during the competition.
“It was very nervewracking to watch the (Brad Jacobs) team play,” stated Mr. Chandler, who had been added as a member of the team for the men’s provincial curling championships (which they won in Sault Ste.
Marie in February) when the team’s second, Marc Kennedy, was playing for Canada at the Winter Olympics.
“I was the calmest when I got to play, when I had a little control over what was taking place on the ice.”
Mr. Chandler was the fifth on the Jacobs team representing Northern Ontario at the national men’s tournament, the Brier, and did get “to play a couple of games, being asked to be skip in one and second in the other (and played very well).”
“It was great to be playing at the Brier,” stated Mr. Chandler. “I needed to pinch my arm a couple of times to realize I was there.”
Unfortunately, after finishing second in their division at the Brier, with a record of six wins and two losses, the Brad Jacobs rink then dropped the first playoff game against a team from Saskatchewan and were knocked out of the championship.
“We picked the worst time to play a bad game,” said Mr. Chandler. “Brad’s team is a great team to play on, and to watch.”
Mr. Chandler had previously indicated that upon playing in the provincials, he has not curled much in the past couple of years. However, after the provincials and the Brier, “I definitely have the competitive edge again.”
While there are a lot of great teams in the provincials and especially the Brier, Mr. Chandler said “the Brier is not an overwhelming event in terms of the level of skill required. There are a lot of great curlers, but my regular team would compete well with anyone (at the Brier).”
“I’m sure there will be a lot of changes on the teams that took part in the Brier. This always occurs, and we will know the landscape for Northern Ontario teams in a couple of months,” said Mr. Chandler. “Once the dust settles after the upcoming world championship and the Grand Slam.”
One of the changes that has already been announced was from the Brad Jacobs rink. Skip Brad Jacobs has indicated that he also will be taking a year off.
