Editor's Note: This is the premiere of the Masters in Motion series showcasing seniors in sport in The Prince George Citizen and Shaw Spotlight, community television.
“There are no waddlers in this league,” curler Floyd Crowley, 84, who has played the game for 74 years, said about the Seniors League of curlers on the Prince George Golf and Curling Club ice.
“We all run for the entire game.”
In fact, Floyd runs up and down the sheet so much he logs between three and four kilometres during every game.
The Crowley Rink plays every Tuesday and along with Floyd includes team members David George, 69, lead, Linda Meise, 73, second and Hilary Crowley, 79, third.
They are a competitive team that prepares for their 55+ BC Games tournament all year long.
They competed in the 2022 55+ BC Games in Victoria in September.
Unfortunately their lead, David, tested positive for COVID-19 upon his arrival at the Games and could not compete, leaving the Crowley Rink short.
“So things didn’t go as we planned,” Floyd said.
With a local athlete coming in as a substitute the team just didn’t gel in time to come up with their anticipated podium-positive result but there’s always next year. And they’re training for that right now.
Floyd is the president of the Prince George Seniors League that has 92 participants.
Being part of the league comes with some honours that started several years ago.
“We had several older people curling together and they said ‘we don’t win any games but we’d still like to be recognized,’ so we started the 300 Club,” Floyd explained.
If a team of four players has a combined age of 300 years or more they are each awarded with a pin in recognition of that.
The Crowley Rink comes in at 305 years so they have earned their membership into the exclusive 300 Club.
Linda, who has been the Zone 9 coordinator for the 55+ BC Games for years and has recently stepped down from the role to take on the treasurer and registrar positions, is fairly new to curling and loves it.
“I started curling off and on for about 10 years ago, then stepped away from it for years and then just came back to it recently,” Linda explained.
Curling is an adaptive sport where people who can’t use the traditional curling positions to play their rocks can use tools to assist them. Some people use their broom to help keep them stable while others can use a crutch for more support during the release of their stone while others who remain upright can use a stick that attaches to the handle of the stone and that’s what’s used to propel the stone forward.
“I started using a stick to throw the rock rather than getting down close to the ice because my knees just won’t do that anymore,” Linda smiled.
While the lead sets the first two rocks in prime scoring position, Linda, as the second, uses her accuracy to take out the rocks the other team has put in a scoring position.
“That way I can throw as hard as I want,” Linda explained. “And it generally goes straighter if you throw harder.”
During the interview Linda was wearing a jaunty chapeau that didn’t just make a fashion statement but is functional, too. The cute little cap has an insert that protects the back of her head if she ever falls on the ice. Floyd wears another form of head gear that looks like a regular baseball cap while Hilary uses a traditional universal helmet.
“Ice curling is a really popular sport in the 55+ Games and our zone usually sends four teams to the provincials and last year one of the men’s teams took a silver medal and that’s what a lot of people practice for here in the Seniors League,” Linda said.
Hilary’s position is third on the Crowley team.
“I have played all the different positions on the team but third is my favourite because there’s more takeout than draws,” Hilary said. “I’m usually more accurate taking out the other team’s rocks than I am drawing to the button and I don’t have the responsibility of being the skip.”
A little more fun, a lot less pressure, Hilary added, who started curling in 1980.
Hilary emigrated from England and curling wasn’t a thing there.
“So the first time I went curling with Floyd I was looking for my skates,” Hilary laughed. “He said ‘what do you want your skates for?’ – well it’s on ice…”
David, who plays the lead, said he didn’t think he had a lot to add to the conversation because everyone is more experienced.
“I’m the newbie,” David said. “I dabbled with it during my working years and then it was just last year when I got on Floyd’s team and I’ve had a great time. I’m the 69-year-old rookie, I call myself. I feel really lucky to be on Floyd’s team because I consider him more of a coach than a skip – and he’s a friend, too. He’s really patient and it’s been really fun.”
David is still able to use the traditional technique when he curls.
“I get down in the hack and I’ll keep doing that until I can’t get back up,” David laughed. “It’s great exercise and a lot of fun and curling is something that anyone can do at any age.”
For more information visit about the local curling leagues visit https://www.pggolfandcurling.com.
Anyone interested in what the 55+ BC Games has to offer visit 55plusbcgames.org/ or email Linda at zone9info@55plusbcgames.org.
See the Masters in Motion show on television on Shaw Spotlight channel 105 at 7 a.m., 5 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. every day or visit Masters in Motion BC on YouTube at https://youtu.be/FQjzwhaCQp4.
