Calgary, March 17th - In the moments just before the 2021 Scotties women’s curling final began, Val Sweeting glanced up and saw her family waving. The sight of them made her heart smile.

It’s a common habit – an athlete scans the crowd to find their most beloved supporters – and catching a glimpse of them offers a brief but poignant reminder that they are loved.

Except this time, they weren’t in the stands. The stands were empty and silent, and Sweeting’s family was on a big screen.

Despite the unreality of the moment, where her family was 2-D instead of 3-D, seeing them live still meant the world to Sweeting and offered a hint of normalcy in an environment that has been anything but normal over the last few weeks.

Sweeting, who plays third for Team Einarson from Manitoba, likens the experience of being in the curling bubble as ‘eat, sleep, curl’. “The first few days in quarantine were tough but once competition started everything was fine,” she says.

In fact, for Sweeting, it was the time leading up to entering the bubble that was the hard part.

Coming off a season where she finally won the Scotties with Team Einarson, after a string of heartbreaking losses as skip for Team Alberta, Sweeting had to grapple with losing the opportunity to play as Team Canada at the world championships due the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was carrying around a lot of baggage,” remembers Sweeting. “I had to take steps to deal with that.” To that end, Sweeting leaned on specialists and books to help her dive into the work she had to do to get into a better place mentally.

Having that self-awareness is key to helping athletes adapt to challenging situations says Clare Fewster, CSI Calgary Mental Performance Consultant and Canadian Certified Counselor. “In general, the pandemic has challenged our well-being, and more for some than others,” explains Fewster. “For that reason, the bubble could be more difficult for some than others.”

Fewster, who is available for mental health support to curlers throughout the duration of bubble, says that the biggest piece is being able to anticipate the situation and then build a toolbox and resources to manage the situation successfully.

“Like any practice in building self-awareness, what can you do?” asks Fewster. “Work at understanding your thoughts, emotions, behaviours and triggers. Talk to others who are in it and have done it.”

Sweeting says she brought her own food and prepared yoga and TRX workouts in her room during the quarantine period, and also connected frequently with her family online and relaxed by watching TV or reading. “Small hotel spaces can be difficult. Simple things like moving furniture around or opening the window for fresh air can be helpful strategies,” says Fewster.

“Athletes are resilient humans in general,” says Fewster, but adds, “Everyone has lived a different COVID life and experienced different impacts.” The heightened stress of bubble protocols and new situations could trigger some with mental health issues she says. This highlights the need to prepare more in advance and utilize available mental health supports.

The hard work Sweeting put into preparing for the season in the bubble was fruitful. “By the time I got into the bubble I had come to terms with everything,” she says. Having a clear mind helped propel Sweeting and Team Einarson to a second straight Scotties victory and earned them another chance to play as Team Canada at the upcoming World Championships.

“It’s all about adapting and rolling with it,” says Sweeting. “Just take a deep breath and keep moving on.”

The Canadian Mixed Doubles Championships begins this Thursday, March 18th. https://www.curling.ca/2021mixeddoubles/

To learn more about the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary, visit www.csialberta.ca

Written by: Kristina Groves Photo by: Dave Holland

Media Contact

Annie Gagnon - Canadian Sport Institute Calgary 613-262-9644 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Calgary, February 20, 2021 - Even before the global pandemic hit, curler Chelsea Carey had already planned a year off. As a new free agent without a team there was no schedule or competition to plan for, and a nagging knee injury was ever present. The decision to step back was clear and final.

Still, as she stared down the abyss of an empty season, the two-time Scotties champion skip knew it could be a tough year.

When COVID-19 began circling the globe and mass lockdowns followed, CSI Calgary charted a new course, planning protocols and adapting training groups so that athletes could safely resume training. Along the way, they ended up with a random assortment of athletes from different sports who didn’t have anyone to train with, so they created a new cohort that could train together. This is where Carey found her team.

It was an eclectic mix of athletes from alpine skiing, fencing, water polo, basketball and curling. CSI Calgary Strength and Conditioning Lead, Jeremiah Barnert, who trained the group, says the idea was borne out of the need to continue providing services that the athletes rely on to achieve peak performance.

“We were trying to find creative ways to support athletes during the pandemic,” he explains. “This cohort came together because they were all on their own and needed our help.”

The first step for Carey was addressing a long-standing overuse injury in her knee that she couldn’t resolve as competitive seasons grew ever longer. “We started by working on musculoskeletal issues,” says Barnert. “But we had to be creative with home-based workouts and even with the in-person workouts. I was prescribing workouts using soup cans and milk jugs,” he laughs.

Teaming up with Barnert gave Carey the one-on-one attention she needed to finally put the work in to recover. “It’s not quite where I want it to be, but we’ve made progress,” she says. “It’s still tough though, I had to be patient, which is something I’m not very good at.”

What Barnert observed goes deeper. “For Chelsea what has been really good is the consistency in working to rehab her knee injuries,” he says. “It’s been a blessing for her, and she’s taken more ownership to address these issues. The team environment really helped her, too.”

That team environment emerged after the group met for training and began to bond. It became a safe harbour where they could work towards their own goals together, in an ever-changing pandemic world that kept closing in.

“It kept us sane just being able to train and have a group of friends,” says Carey. “Getting together for workouts was also the only social interaction we had.” In some ways, it’s been a silver lining, finding this team, this year.

So, when Carey got the unexpected call to join Manitoba’s Team Fleury at the upcoming Scotties Tournament of Hearts to fill in for skip Tracy Fleury, who is home caring for her daughter, she felt as prepared as she possibly could be.

In a year that was supposed to be lost, Carey has another shot, an opportunity she’s excited about but nervous, too. “Everyone is coming in a bit rusty,” she says. “The pandemic levels the playing field somewhat, but it’s still nerve-wracking knowing the preparation on ice hasn’t been there.”

Just before the second major lockdown in Alberta came in mid-December, and the mismatched team knew they wouldn’t be able to train together for a while, they took a group photo: a true team of misfits who came together and found what they needed to get through a tough year. No doubt a time that will be looked back on with fondness as they eventually make their way back to normal.

Carey sums it up, “It’s been a bizarre year, but it’s been fun.”

The Scotties Tournament of Hearts kicked off last night at the Markin MacPhail Centre at Winsport and runs until Sunday, February 28th. For complete information on the event, visit https://www.curling.ca/2021scotties/

To learn more about the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary, visit www.csialberta.ca

Written by: Kristina Groves

Photo by: Alanna Goldie

In the photo from left to right: Kelleigh Ryan (Fencing), Jeremiah Barnert (CSI Calgary), Chelsea Carey (Curling), Jordan Jensen-Whyte (Basketball), Alanna Goldie (Fencing), Kyle Landry (Basketball), and Gaelan Patterson (Waterpolo).

Media Contact

Annie Gagnon

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary

613-262-9644 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Calgary, February 26, 2021- It stings just a little that Cheryl Bernard can see her own house from her hotel room window, knowing that she is forbidden from returning home for the next six weeks. The 2010 Olympic silver medalist and TSN curling analyst recently spent three days quarantined in that hotel room, barred from leaving its confines to ensure that she is free from COVID-19.

Despite crawling the walls after three days, Bernard says it’s all worth it to bring the sport of curling alive again after a dark year of COVID-19. “The quarantine period was weird for all of us,” she says. “But you know you’re doing it to keep everyone else safe. You feel responsible and you want this to succeed.”

Strict rules and protocols have been devised to follow – by Bernard and everyone else in the Canadian curling universe – to uphold the inviolability and success of the much heralded and anticipated curling bubble.

By mid-summer 2020, Curling Canada could see the writing on the wall – the pandemic would surely not recede in time to resurrect a normal 2020-21 season. Time to pivot.

For the first time ever, it sought proposals from prospective cities that could safely host a lengthy succession of tournaments while ensuring a microscopic virus would not invade the boundaries of a meticulously crafted bubble.

“Calgary was the clear winner,” says Danny Lamoureux, Director of Club Development and Event Operations at Curling Canada. With a location set, the herculean task of planning the bubble began.

A copy of the NHL’s playoff bubble protocols served as a blueprint, while a consortium of stakeholders, including Curling Canada, WinSport, and CSI Calgary, worked together with provincial and federal governments to earn permission to forge ahead. As the pieces fell into place it became clear that many actors would play a role.

“We’re curlers, not medical people,” says Lamoureux. “We had to figure out how to test and where.” That’s when Curling Canada contacted DynaLIFE Medical Labs and partnered with CSI Calgary to operate and manage the testing and screening protocols.

“CSI Calgary has gone above and beyond to make this happen for us,” proclaims Lamoureux. An estimated 2000 tests will be administered to athletes, coaches and volunteers who enter the bubble and CSI Calgary developed a screening app for twice-daily use by all bubble dwellers.

The consequences for breaking the rules are severe – anyone caught not following protocols will be disqualified from competition until after the 2022 season, which means no shot at the Olympics. “So far it’s been magnificent,” exclaims Lamoureux. “There’s a sense of responsibility to everyone else in the bubble, and to think about everyone else coming in after you.”

If all goes according to plan, the bubble will stay afloat for 83 days. Most athletes will enter and stay for 12-13 days at a time. Bernard says some of the athletes are rusty from a lack of on-ice practice and there has been some inconsistent play in the early days. But still, they are all thrilled and incredibly grateful to be here, safely, and relish the opportunity to get back on the ice.

“When they step on the ice, they are home,” says Bernard. “The rest of the time is awkward, but they have to embrace the environment to find whatever positives they can. It’s all about how you frame it.”

After endless months of silent rinks and still rocks, being home, on the ice, even if it’s a strange bubble away from home, is the only place curlers want to be.

The Scotties Tournament of Hearts concludes this weekend and the Tim Hortons Brier begins Friday, March 5th. https://www.curling.ca/2021brier/

To learn more about the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary, visit www.csialberta.ca

Written by: Kristina Groves

Photo by: Dave Holland

CALGARY (January 12th, 2021) – Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame (CSHoF) has partnered with Aspen Properties and Canadian Sport Institute Calgary (CSI) in order to bring the Canadian Sport Heroes Collection into the community. The amazing art collection will be prominently displayed at Sun Life Plaza in Downtown Calgary (112 4th Ave. S.W., Calgary, AB T2P 3N3), from January 12, 2021 until December 31, 2021.

“On behalf of Aspen Properties, I would like to express our gratitude and excitement in this culture-rich partnership with CSHOF and CSI,” said R. Scott Hutcheson, Executive Chair of the Board, Aspen Properties. “More than ever in these challenging times, we believe the community needs to experience and celebrate Canada’s world-class athletes, and our exceptional artistic and creative culture.”

The Canadian Sport Heroes Collection is a series of 16 large-scale acrylic portraits by Alberta artist Gordon Milne celebrating the achievements of remarkable Canadian Olympians, including Mark Tewksbury, Catriona Le May Doan & Diane Jones-Konihowski.

“What an incredible experience for me to meet and paint these outstanding Canadian Olympians,” said Gordon Milne. “Not only was I given the opportunity to pursue my passion for sport and athletics as an artist, but l learned first-hand about the dedication, endurance and commitment that it takes to become a high-performance athlete. I'm very honoured that the Canadian Sport Heroes Collection will be prominently displayed at Sun Life Plaza”

“We are thrilled to be able to showcase the Canadian Sport Heroes Collection at Sun Life Plaza" said Gary Davies, President/CEO of Canadian Sport Institute Calgary. "This will provide an opportunity for many more Calgarians to see these great works of art, especially as we head into an Olympic year.”

“Even though our physical museum remains closed due to Covid-19 the team at CSHoF has found new and innovative ways to bring Canadians together through community exhibits that will continue to educate on the values, history and culture of sport in this country; building Canada through sport,” said Cheryl Bernard, President and CEO, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.

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ABOUT CANADA'S SPORTS HALL OF FAME Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame is a registered charitable organization and has been a vital cultural institution in Canada for the past 65 years. As Canada’s only national museum of sport, the organization’s focus is on recognition, education, curation, and thought leadership with an emphasis on educating youth on the values, history and culture of sport in this country. These four pillars help to support and celebrate Canada’s sport heroes who have reached the pinnacle of their careers and are going “beyond the win” and making monumental contributions to our society. Over 684 Hall of Famers have been inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame since its establishment in 1955, and as of 2019, the Order of Sport, Canada’s highest sporting honour, is awarded as part of Induction to Canada’s top athletes and builders for their ongoing role in building Canada through sport.

Charitable Registration Number 118828631 RR0001

For further information or to schedule an interview with Cheryl Bernard, President and CEO, please contact:

Vanessa Puckzo Media Relations & Event Assistant This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 403.776.1040