Curler’s Corner: Celebrating local curling giant Brian Windsor

Curler’s Corner is a column written by the Kamloops Curling Club’s Randy Nelson. This column will highlight moments of Tournament Capital curling history and noteworthy athletes from over the decades.

Brian Windsor was one of Kamloops greatest curlers over a span of about 20 years. Like many great curlers, his curling roots come from the prairies.

Brian was raised in the small Saskatchewan towns (is there any other kind?) of Edam and Perdue. He remembers tagging along with mom and dad and being let loose behind the glass while the parents were curling on the ice. The same can be witnessed today with toddlers racing around playing games. Brian remembers getting a few stitches in one such incident.

One might think stitches would prevent someone from wanting to slide around on a sheet of ice, but Brian took up the sport seriously when he was about 11. He also played a lot of hockey and got a few stitches there as well, however it was curling that became his passion.

His high school curling team travelled rural Saskatchewan playing in local bonspiels and winning many of them. They had the distinct advantage of being too young to be in the lounge.

Brian is quick to point out that much of his success came from having the right teammates. That is true, however there are curlers who have more success than others at bringing the right skill sets together on a winning team.

Brian credits his biggest advances at the competitive level while coaching his daughter Kristen’s team in juniors and later in ladies curling. He attended some high-performance training camps with Kristen, and learned ways to improve their game while realizing he needed to make his own adjustments to become better.

Any top team requires a special relationship that includes communications and great sweeping. Again, Brian reflects on having teams around him with those attributes. Great sweepers build confidence in a skip, especially when having to throw the last rock for a big win.

Knowing your sweepers have the skill to judge and carry a rock to the exact location often goes unnoticed. The sweepers must have that same confidence in the thrower to be successful.

Brian’s curling accomplishments include:

• 1991 Provincial mixed title curling with Danny Fink in Alberta,
• 2005 Provincial Mixed title with his daughter Kristen, Scott DeCap and Lanette Nordick of Kamloops,
• 2006 BC Men’s title throwing last for Dennis Graber on their Kamloops team, and,
• 2012 BC Senior Men’s Provincial title on a team he skipped.

Brian was a great strategist, had a keen touch for draw weight and always had his teammates’ support.

When asked about the funniest thing he’s seen on a sheet of curling ice (that could be printed), he gave two examples. One was a curler in Saskatchewan who could pick a curling rock up in one hand and clean it on his chest — the post-game handshake must have been painful!

The other event was a curling rock that was thrown so hard it skipped over the hack and out the back door of the curling club.

Brian left the game in 2012 after about 40 years of curling. He was the all-star skip at the Canadian Senior Championships that year, but decided to hang up the shoes. Brian’s answer to the obvious question was “I no longer want to commit to the practice hours, and I really, really don’t like being lousy.”

It’s a great point he makes. Many people feel they’ll get better by simply playing more games and not practising or receiving coaching. Brian was at his highest level when he practiced more than he played.

Brian also strongly credits Myles Chapin (former ice maker at Kamloops Curling Club) for special practice ice preparation. Myles spent extra time to recreate ice conditions seen at most high-level events. It took a lot of his time, but Myles’ dedication to his craft was truly a part of honing Brian’s game (and that of many other club members).

When asked about advice to new curlers, Brian did not surprise as his focus was on training:

• Stick to disciplined practice routines,
• Maintain a high level of fitness, and
• Work with an experienced coach.

As for the best curling shot he’s seen? Brian described a spectacular shot at the 2005 national mixed by Mark Nichols. Mark was down two points to an underdog team playing the last end.

With his last shot, Mark took out 5 opposition rocks to score 3. He not only won that game and squeaked into the playoffs, Mark and team also went on to win the National title.

Brian takes pride in having a winning record in each of the national championships where he played. He was especially proud to play with his daughter in the national mixed and with his son in B.C. provincials.

Brian can be seen around the rink lately, coaching his grandson Julian, and helping the younger grandson Declan. Julian recently played his first men’s league game, and I would say will be a force in curling, likely to keep the Kamloops titles coming.

Brian’s most memorable moment of his curling career was in 2006, drawing to the side of the button to win the B.C. Championships with a few seconds left on the clock. It was perfectly thrown, perfectly swept and fulfilled a dream for Brian and his teammates.