How To Make A Curling Mom Cry With Cheryl Rajala
04/03/22 • 30 min
Every February, the curling community celebrates "Curling Day In Canada." One of the events is a story contest put on by Curling Canada where curlers from across the country submit their stories in the hope of winning a prize. In January 2021, Cheryl Rajala of Sudbury, ON, wrote about an incredible moment at the U18 Northern Ontario Provincial Championships in March of 2020.
In this episode, you'll hear Cheryl read her story ("How To Make A Curling Mom Cry") and talk about what led up to that moment. We'll also talk about the challenges of being a mom of two competitive curlers, and how to deal with victories and defeats as a curling parent. NOTE: This interview was recorded in late February 2022.
Some of the topics we discuss:
* How Cheryl's husband got her to curl (5:30)
* How a mining strike led to her children curling (6:27)
* What sparked the kids' love of the sport? (7:50)
* Youth Challenges (10:38)
* Challenges of having two competitive curling kids (12:26)
* Money: Fundraising and sponsorships (14:58)
* Expectations going into the U18 Northern Ontario Championships (17:37)
* The lead-up to the "moment" (19:15)
* Did the "moment" surprise Cheryl? (21:55)
* Current competitive status of Brendan & Lauren (22:45)
* Advice for curling parents (23:56)
* Dealing with defeat - what can parents do? (25:07)
* Do they ever take a break? (28:27)
Links to the resources mentioned in this episode:
Curling Day In Canada: "How To Make A Curling Mom Cry" article (Jan 22/21)
https://www.curlingdayincanada.ca/how-to-make-a-curling-mom-cry/
Cheryl's Twitter: @CherylRajala
Follow our podcast on Twitter: @kidscurling
Glenn Gabriel is an NCCP-certified curling coach who lives in Pickering, Ontario, Canada. He has been the coordinator of the Little Rocks (U12) program at East York Curling Club in Toronto since 2011. If you have a question or feedback on the podcast, send us an e-mail at [email protected]
The intro and outro music is "Golden Sunrise (Instrumental Version)"
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Woodward/The_Wake_1790/JoshWoodward-TheWake-NoVox-10-GoldenSunrise
By Josh Woodward
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Woodward
Licensed under CC BY 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Every February, the curling community celebrates "Curling Day In Canada." One of the events is a story contest put on by Curling Canada where curlers from across the country submit their stories in the hope of winning a prize. In January 2021, Cheryl Rajala of Sudbury, ON, wrote about an incredible moment at the U18 Northern Ontario Provincial Championships in March of 2020.
In this episode, you'll hear Cheryl read her story ("How To Make A Curling Mom Cry") and talk about what led up to that moment. We'll also talk about the challenges of being a mom of two competitive curlers, and how to deal with victories and defeats as a curling parent. NOTE: This interview was recorded in late February 2022.
Some of the topics we discuss:
* How Cheryl's husband got her to curl (5:30)
* How a mining strike led to her children curling (6:27)
* What sparked the kids' love of the sport? (7:50)
* Youth Challenges (10:38)
* Challenges of having two competitive curling kids (12:26)
* Money: Fundraising and sponsorships (14:58)
* Expectations going into the U18 Northern Ontario Championships (17:37)
* The lead-up to the "moment" (19:15)
* Did the "moment" surprise Cheryl? (21:55)
* Current competitive status of Brendan & Lauren (22:45)
* Advice for curling parents (23:56)
* Dealing with defeat - what can parents do? (25:07)
* Do they ever take a break? (28:27)
Links to the resources mentioned in this episode:
Curling Day In Canada: "How To Make A Curling Mom Cry" article (Jan 22/21)
https://www.curlingdayincanada.ca/how-to-make-a-curling-mom-cry/
Cheryl's Twitter: @CherylRajala
Follow our podcast on Twitter: @kidscurling
Glenn Gabriel is an NCCP-certified curling coach who lives in Pickering, Ontario, Canada. He has been the coordinator of the Little Rocks (U12) program at East York Curling Club in Toronto since 2011. If you have a question or feedback on the podcast, send us an e-mail at [email protected]
The intro and outro music is "Golden Sunrise (Instrumental Version)"
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Woodward/The_Wake_1790/JoshWoodward-TheWake-NoVox-10-GoldenSunrise
By Josh Woodward
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Woodward
Licensed under CC BY 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Previous Episode
Wisconsin High School Curling With Jim Wendling
The state of Wisconsin has a long tradition of high school curling. It's also the only state in the U.S. that organizes a high school curling championship. In today's episode, I speak with Jim Wendling, a teacher at Wausau West High School. He gives me an overview of high school curling in Wisconsin, including his own program. We talk about a popular event called the Tietge High School Bonspiel. And, finally, he gives advice about how to get high school kids to love the sport.
NOTE: This interview was recorded in late February 2022, just after the Wisconsin High School Curling Championship.
Some of the topics we discuss:
* Details of the Wausau West HS curling program (2:34)
* Organization of HS leagues in Wisconsin (5:32)
* How do new kids find out about their program? (9:50)
* Who runs these HS programs? (12:51)
* How did Jim get introduced to curling? (13:22)
* Where does the money come from to pay for these programs? (17:25)
* 2022 Wisconsin HS State Championship (23:56)
* The Tietge High School Bonspiel (the biggest HS bonspiel in the US) and why it's great for new curlers (27:50)
* Jim's children and their involvement in the sport (31:54)
* How HS curling fills a gap that junior competitive curling may not (33:56)
* An abridged history of HS curling in Wisconsin (36:59)
* Advice to potential new HS programs: Start slow with some HS bonspiels (41:48)
* A story about his son curling with an 80-year-old (45:11)
* Will the Beijing Winter Olympics result in a "bump" in interest for curling? (46:48)
Links to the resources mentioned in this episode:
Wisconsin State Curling Association (incl. High School Curling)
https://wi-curling.org/
Wausau Curling Club/Wausau Curling Center
https://wausaucurling.org/index.php
Jim's E-mail Address: [email protected]
Follow our podcast on Twitter: @kidscurling
Glenn Gabriel is an NCCP-certified curling coach who lives in Pickering, Ontario, Canada. He has been the coordinator of the Little Rocks (U12) program at East York Curling Club in Toronto since 2011. If you have a question or feedback on the podcast, send us an e-mail at [email protected]
The intro and outro music is "Golden Sunrise (Instrumental Version)"
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Woodward/The_Wake_1790/JoshWoodward-TheWake-NoVox-10-GoldenSunrise
By Josh Woodward
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Woodward
Licensed under CC BY 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Next Episode
Ray Kingsmith Memorial Bonspiel With Andy Jones & Marlene Kingsmith
Since 1989, the Ray Kingsmith Memorial Bonspiel is held every December in the Greater Calgary Area of Alberta. The bonspiel is one of the oldest, most prestigious junior bonspiels in the country with arguably the biggest prize purse. In this episode, I speak with Andy Jones of the Calgary Youth Curling Association (CYCA) and Marlene Kingsmith, Ray's daughter. We talk about the history of the bonspiel, the life of its namesake, the CYCA, and why the prize money doubled at the most recent "Kingsmith" in December 2021.
NOTE: Both interviews were recorded in late January and early February 2022.
Some of the topics we discuss:
* Bonspiel details and basic history (1:57)
* How did Andy get involved in the first place? (5:16)
* What is the CYCA? (7:45)
* How the CYCA dealt with COVID (12:07)
* What makes the "Kingsmith" special? (15:52)
* Jim's version of Marlene's prize money story (17:28)
* Marlene: What was Ray like as a dad? (23:39)
* Ray loved sports besides curling (26:03)
* .Why did Ray love curling? (30:40)
* Marlene accompanied her dad to Switzerland for the 1974 Silver Broom (31:49)
* Her experience at the Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics (33:42)
* Parents and organizers make the "Kingsmith" special (39:06)
* Marlene's version of the prize money story (42:07)
* What would Ray think of the bonspiel created in his name? (44:50)
* Ray Kingsmith posthumously wins the World Curling Federation's Freytag Award (45:45) & a funny story about the award ceremony in Regina (46:58)
Links to the resources mentioned in this episode:
Calgary Youth Curling Association (& "Kingsmith" bonspiel details)
https://cyca.curling.io
2021 Kingsmith news article "Team Wipf wins CYAC Ray Kingsmith Memorial" on the Cochrane Now Web site (Dec 31/21)
https://cochranenow.com/articles/team-wipf-wins-cyac-ray-kingsmith-memorial
Ray Kingsmith's entry on the Curling Canada Hall of Fame Web site:
https://www.curling.ca/hof/people/kingsmith-raymond-a-ray/
World Curling Federation Freytag Award Recipients
http://worldcurling.org/awards/freytag/
"Sticks and Stones" Documentary (2014) on YouTube
https://youtu.be/FRiMLH3n3mA
"Sticks 'n' Stones" Book (2021) by Warren Hansen
https://www.warrenhansenauthor.com/about-the-book.html
Andy's E-mail Address: [email protected]
Follow our podcast on Twitter: @kidscurling
Glenn Gabriel is an NCCP-certified curling coach who lives in Pickering, Ontario, Canada. He has been the coordinator of the Little Rocks (U12) program at East York Curling Club in Toronto since 2011. If you have a question or feedback on the podcast, send us an e-mail at [email protected]
The intro and outro music is "Golden Sunrise (Instrumental Version)"
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Woodward/The_Wake_1790/JoshWoodward-TheWake-NoVox-10-GoldenSunrise
By Josh Woodward
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Woodward
Licensed under CC BY 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
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