(by Jason Simmonds)

CHARLOTTETOWN — Members of Team P.E.I. say it would be impossible to be curling in this week’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts without the tremendous support they receive from their spouses.

“You have to have good family support,” said Tricia Affleck, fifth player for the Suzanne Birt rink from the Charlottetown Curling Club. “Although the season is short, it’s busy.

“You are at the club every day, and you are travelling the weekends. If you have two kids, you have to have a husband who is willing to be mom and dad for four months or whatever it takes.

“Fortunately, most of us have that and we appreciate it very much.”

Second stone Leslie MacDougall is the mother of an eight-year-old daughter and six-year-old son.

“It’s been a sacrifice for my kids for sure,” said MacDougall, who added the Birt rink did not go a single week without seeing each other since May 19. “My son (Christopher) is very involved in hockey, and my daughter (Molly) is very involved in sports.

“I’ve missed a lot of their things, but they understand. They are used to coming to the rink and watching Mommy practice.”

Third stone Shelly Bradley praised the support provided by her husband, Ryan Bradley.

“My husband is the most supportive person ever with my curling,” emphasized Bradley, who is appearing in her eighth Canadian women’s curling championship. “I really could not have done any of this without him.

Click for full story in the Journal-Pioneer.

Jason Simmonds/Journal Pioneer

P.E.I. third stone Shelly Bradley.