Hub Town Brewing Co.’s ‘Beer on the Rocks’ outdoor curling league is attracting more attention than expected this year.
Back for its third year, the ‘beer’ league takes place every Sunday until mid-February out front of the Elizabeth Street brewery.
Registration was full but organizers were able to make room for one more team — and boy were they surprised to see who they had been able to accommodate.
Former world champion and Olympic silver medal-winning skip David Murdoch and his wife had joined the league through online registration.
“It was funny because we almost couldn’t add them to the league because all of our team spots were filled,” said Hub Town co-founder Lisa Watts. “And then when our brewery manager sacrificed her own team spot, that conversation was no longer necessary. At that point we didn’t even know who had joined, just that a team was hoping to play in our league, and it was now possible.”
Shortly afterward, the new team’s registration form was reviewed, which left Watts in disbelief when, in response to the question about the team’s curling experience, it read, “One of us has never played before and the other is a world champion and Olympic medal curler.”
Murdoch, who skipped Scotland to world championships in 2006 and 2009 and Great Britain to a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics, became Curling Canada’s high performance director last year.
Watts said she was surprised by the registration, but lo and behold, the pair showed up on the first day of league last Sunday, excited to play together and enjoy a fun “date” on Hub Town’s little curling rink.
“It’s still amazing that after three years of outdoor curling at our brewery, this little rink is still drawing in the type of attention we never thought possible,” said Watts. “With visitors from around the world visiting to see and try this truly Canadian game in an easy-going setting, it is still very exciting for us that such a renowned curler would want to play on our little rink with salad bowl rocks.”
Hub Town will be hosting its third annual BEERspiel Feb. 24 and 25, while the rink will be open for anyone wanting to try it out until mid-March when the weather makes outdoor curling impossible.
To book time on the ice, visit hubtownbrewing.com/curling or to get into this year’s BEERspiel, visit hubtownbrewing.com/events.
