(by Jason Simmonds)
OTTAWA, Ont. — Erin Carmody says preparing for an elite-level curling event is more than throwing rocks.
A product of the junior curling program at the Silver Fox Entertainment Complex in Summerside, Carmody plays third stone with the Halifax-based Jill Brothers’ rink. Team Brothers is competing at this week’s Canadian Curling Pre-Trials Direct-Entry Event in Ottawa, Ont.
Third stone Erin Carmody, right, and skip Jill Brothers discuss strategy during the 2019 Nova Scotia women’s curling championship in Dartmouth. Team Brothers is competing this week in the Canadian Curling Pre-Trials Direct-Entry Event in Ottawa, Ont. Carmody grew up in Summerside and is a product of the junior curling program at the Silver Fox Entertainment Complex.
“It is early on in the season, which doesn’t give you a lot of opportunities to get out and practise beforehand,” said Carmody, who added Team Brothers is fortunate to have played four games in a Halifax warm-up league before heading to Ottawa. “You do have the opportunity to talk off the ice as a team about some things to focus on.
“A lot of practice happens on the ice, but there’s a lot that happens off the ice, too. We hope to take advantage of that, and most everyone is in the same situation. It’s sort of like riding a bike; once you get back out there, you get into the groove pretty quickly.”
Carmody is part of the Prince Edward Island representation in Ottawa this week. The Suzanne Birt rink and Adam Casey, third stone for the Jason Gunnlaugson rink, are in the Canadian Curling Trials Direct-Entry Event, which will send three women’s and two men’s teams directly to the Olympic Trials.
Team Brothers dropped its opening game in the triple-knockout competition 8-4 to Quebec’s Laura St-Georges on Sept. 22. Brothers lost 8-6 in an extra end to Lauren Mann of Ottawa on Sept. 23 to fall to 0-2 (won-lost). Mann stole the deuce in the 11th end.