Mixed curling made its official debut at this year’s Saskatchewan Winter Games.
On Wednesday, Cara Kesslering and Caden Snow of the Prairie Central Zone captured the gold medal in the inaugural event.
“The whole game I was kind of just focused and then right at the end of the seventh, my heart just started beating a little faster and it started becoming real,” said Snow.
“We were like, ‘We’ll get a medal no matter what’ so just have fun. If we win, we win. If we don’t, we don’t,” said Kesslering.
Kesslering, 17, is from Warman and Snow, 19, hails from Saskatoon. The duo only began curling together three weeks ago.
“He’s great; he’s fun to curl with and super positive. It was really fun playing with him” said Kesslering.
“We had a great time. It’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had curling,” boasted Snow.
The two explained they knew of each other in the curling world, as it is small here in the province, especially when it comes to the mixed event.
Their coach, Stacy Lloyd, from Lumsden was also only introduced to the two curlers three weeks ago but was happy to help out where needed for the event.
“It worked out great, they’re fantastic kids. Great curlers long before I met them or worked with them. They’re dedicated, very skillful, and they’re a lot of fun,” he said.
Mixed curling is a newer addition to the sport, but is quickly gaining traction especially in the province of Saskatchewan. Both Kesslering and Warman began in the more popular four person team event before switching over to mixed.
“A few years ago there was a guy at my high school who curled [mixed] and I also did it with my dad a little bit. It kind of started there and blossomed I guess,” explained Kesslering.
She said she thinks it’s great they added mixed curling to the Sask. Winter Games.
“It’s definitely different than four person and gets more people curling. I’m normally a skip so having to sweep three rocks an end is a lot,” she laughed.
“It was difficult at first to adjust to the different strategies, but once you do that, it’s a lot like four person curling. The venue was great, the ice was great [here]. It was a great experience. I think it’s a great sport and it definitely deserves to be in the Sask. Winter Games,” exclaimed Snow.
“There’s a lot of fun and working with this age group especially. I think it’s great for the sport for them. It’s more active. It’s just a faster pace,” explained Lloyd.
The two said they hope to continue in mixed curling, whether they remain as a duo or not but will soak up their win for the time being.
“This is as good as it gets [winning the gold],” said Snow.
“Maybe we’ll continue as partners, I don’t know. We haven’t thought that far. [But] getting the gold felt really good so from here, I guess we’ll see,” said Kesslering.