MANITOULIN—Team Jacobs members were introduced to the sport of curling at a very young age and are very much a family operation, with three members of the same family filling the roster.
The rink consists of Ryan Harnden, Ryan Fry, Brad Jacobs and E. J. Harnden.
“We were all considered rink rats, eager to learn from the family members who introduced us to the sport and never wanting to go home until we were forced to leave,” notes the team’s website. “We were all very fortunate to have someone in our lives who participated in national-level competitions and individuals who not only helped us develop our own game, but more importantly acted as inspirations for us to model ourselves around and strive to achieve similar success.”
The team takes its curling very seriously and follows a training regime that places them squarely in the top athletic tier as befits an Olympic sport.
“At the end of the day we are four young men who are chasing their dreams and beyond any success we achieve for ourselves,” continues the website, “our hope is that along the way we inspire others to do the same, whether it is in the sport of curling or anything else.”
Their winning attitude has certainly paid off as evinced by their list of accomplishments, which are impressive in addition to being the 2014 Olympic gold medallists, they are also the 2013 Tim Hortons Roar of The Rings (Men’s Olympic curling trials) champions; 2013 Ford Men’s World Championship Silver Medallists; 2013 Tim Hortons Brier Champions (Canadian Men’s National Champions)’ number one ranked curling team in the world, number one ranked curling team in Canada and the Northern Ontario Provincial Champions in 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010. They are also H.P. Broughton Award winners (Sportsperson of the year for Sault Ste. Marie); have been inducted into the Sault Ste. Marie sports hall of fame and have a star on the Sault Ste. Marie walk of fame.
The team will be at the Mindemoya Northern Credit Union offices from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm on Wednesday, August 16 and at the Little Current Northern Credit Union office on from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm the same day.
