The 2020 Canadian Mixed Curling Championships were Nov. 3 to 9 in Saguenay, Que., and Team Yukon finished third in the seeding pool with an overall record of three wins and six losses.
It’s a cliché to say a team is a family, but it was quite literally the case for Team Yukon.
Skipped by Thomas Scoffin, the team included his fiancée Kim Brown as the lead, his father Wade Scoffin as the second and his mother Helen Strong as the third.
“It was a great event. It was a bit of a different approach for us, being a mixed (event),” said Thomas. “That was a first for me. And it was pretty cool to get the chance to play with my parents and my fiancée.”
The championship was definitely different from other events he’s competed in, Thomas said.
“We obviously wanted to go there and enjoy ourselves and have a good time on the ice,” said Thomas. “I think that approach actually worked really well for us and we were just having fun, playing loose, and that ended up translating into some good results.”
The team finished play in pool “B” with a 1-5 record. The win was a 7-4 victory against Prince Edward Island.
In the seeding pool, the team beat Alberta 6-5 and Nova Scotia 5-2 before losing to Nunavut 8-7.
Beating a Nova Scotia rink that included two-time world champion Colleen Jones in a draw live-streamed on CBC was a definite highlight, said Thomas.
“Obviously it was nice to get a win against Nova Scotia,” he said. “We were playing on CBC … so that was a little bit of added pressure for Kim, being her first time doing that. … And then obviously playing against Colleen Jones on that team who’s a very accomplished curler, it was nice to get that win. That win probably stands out the most for us.”
Thomas was also given the sportsmanship award as voted on by the players at the event.
“It was a bit of a surprise to be honest,” said Thomas. “That’s not something I would typically expect to win, but it was kind of a really nice finish to the week. We had a great time, we got to know some of the teams really well and some really nice players on all the teams.”
Contact John Hopkins-Hill at john.hopkinshill@yukon-news.com