Jules Owchar

End:The Kioti Tractor Championship culminates the slams and the curling season.For many teams this is their farewell wk/end.It’s amazing the number of new line-ups we will see next year. Congrats to Brett and Jocelyn for their excellent showing in World Mx doubles. Dr1-6-Epp.

Home: Boys departed Vegas at 8:30 for Toronto and the players. Jeff ad I had our 10:30 flight to LA-Cal cancelled. We got a 12:30 flight to TOR-ED. Our departure was delayed and as result I missed my flight to ED. Spent the nite in TO and got home Tues. A nice 24 hr experience.

Silver:Yup, it stings a little-especially when we had the early momentum. To bad the ice wasn’t up to par- it caused problems for both teams. We had our chances on 4 diff ends but it didn’t go our way They are a great team - congrats-Who knows- they might meet in Tor- Pinky’s .

Moving on:: Another hard fought grinding win this time over the U.S. Both teams struggled early with ice conditions. We stayed close-Brad made some key shots to keep us in front. Now i’s Mr.Edin, looking for his 6th title and I expect a barn burner- last shot wins.Boys are ready.

Show-Time; it’s been a long wk- we struggled early as all the teams did - but we ground it out- finished 1st , earned the bye, hammer and rocks.Play the USA tonite-we owe them one.Boys are looking good. Fun evening-vocal crowd.

Backtrack:Wed, the Orleans hotel drove us to the golf course in a Limo. Back 9- Texas scramble challenge. Brad,EJ and Geoff crushed Brett,Mark and Jules by 6 strokes.later a team dinner. Thurs pure relaxation. Fri- 1 hr practice. Sat- 2 tough grinding wins.

Travel:Waiting for our 11:30 departure Tues a fan came over and learning of our 7 hr lay-over in LA suggested we visit the only curling rink. Phone call-Uber-30 min and bingo. Manager gave us a tour and details of the curling scene. The 6 sheeter has 150 members.Enjoyable 4 hrs.

Worlds: I’ve stopped analyzing the Brier play-offs. It was hard to envision us winning 3 games agaist the top teams. We curled well, got some timely misses, a few breaks and most important we had the hammer. The star’s aligned. Just amazing. Now it’s Vegas and the Worlds.

The Brier is back( almost). The fans are excited and the players feel it. The lay-off wasn’t to evident as draw 1 saw the 4 Games go to last rock. The boys are feeling it and had an excellent game against our chief rival NO. Fighting for first and the bye. Interesting thurs-fri.

Hi: Jet lag took care of me for 2 days. We left the village Mon at 2:30 and landed in Ed Mon 4:30. Having 2 Mondays was neat. It was a great Olympic journey-8 guys- 40 days - bronze. Brier time-PCR tests and practice tomorrow and game 1 Sat.-1;30- Quebec. The boys are ready.

M

A 4 hr wait at the airport- here’s a few interesting moments. Geoff and Mark discussing the win.A Canadian rally before closing ceremonies The tons of luggage( 3 pieces plus each) And good bye to the Moose and Beijing. The crib champion ship is on at the airport

Felt I had to send a mess from Beijing. This is why athletes train so hard for yrs- to become an Olympian and have a chance of capturing a treasured medal. We would have loved a brighter colour but winning the bronze will always be remembered. Proud of the ways the boys battled

Fri: This was a perfect 9.5 hr. trip to Tokyo- pods helped a lot. Another 4 wait-4flight and it’s Beijing. This may be my last tweet until after The Games. The team really appreciates your outgoing support and they can’t wait till Feb 9th .

Thurs;Late practice-members in lounge showing support- nice. Purolator was smiling-11 packages. Home -last supper- Wendy’s. Loaded the vans and off to Vancouver airport hotel.Tomorrow the journey 12:45. Great bubble with the guys. Goodbye house- 5 star.

Wed: Practiced in the afternoon and then headed to Vancouver for our PCR N3 test. We did our N2 on Tues-both were awful Laundry and packing occupied the evening. Just taking essentials and the rest is being shipped home Looking forward to seeing our Olympic wardrobe. I like red.

Jokingly we told Marc K. that he was our scout. Departed Van. Sat at 3pm and landed in Beijing Sun at 5pm He gave us some quick tips and thoughts and a few photos- …Sat Boys involved in the Sandra Schmirler foundation ..Sunday -media day - zoom…Did have time to relax.

Sticking to our routine. Everyone is feeling good, practices are great and the meals are still excellent. To address jet lag we have since Feb.20th scheduled our sleep at 2am-3am-4am. Hope this shifting wii better adjust us to the time zone in Beijing.

The long journey: Depart Van. Feb 4, 12:45 PM-12 hr flight to Tokyo- 4 hr wait out-then a 4 hr flight to Beijing. Getting through security with 8 neg tests and then arriving at the village will be a big relieve ……Two more fun PCR tests on Feb.1 and 2…Practice today 11:00PM

Following the blueprint- practice, workout, supper and then relax. Movies are the hot item now. Had a couple great meals- Jeff, steak supper and Jeff S. chicken supper with all the trimmings. Boys are sharp -wish we were starting tomorrow. Coaches are you watching!!!!!