The battle of the sexes is nothing new in sports.
Bobby Riggs’ not so graceful tennis match against Billie Jean King was a memorable one. Golfers Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie attempting to take on some of the PGA’s finest are other examples of top female athletes bringing their talents to the men’s game.
Victoria will experience its own special encounter this week as Rachel Homan’s Ottawa-based rink takes to the ice at the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling’s Elite 10 event, beginning Thursday morning at The Q Centre in Colwood.
Two-time Scotties champion skip Homan, third Emma Miskew, second Joanne Courtney and lead Lisa Weagle join the 10-team field rounded out by some of the best men’s teams in the world.
It’s a group that includes 2016 Brier winner Kevin Koe and runner-up Brad Gushue, as well as fourth-place finisher Mike McEwen and Saskatchewan’s Steve Laycock, who also competed at last week’s national men’s championship in Ottawa, and world champion Niklas Edin of Sweden.
The male-vs.-female challenge is nothing new to curling as Marilyn Bodogh fell to Ed Werenich back in a 1986 challenge. Skins Games events have also included Jennifer Jones’ rink and Cheryl Bernard’s foursome competing against Glenn Howard and Kevin Martin, respectively.
“It is something that hasn’t been done in this way before, in an actual full event,” Miskew said of participating in the men’s Grand Slam stop. “We’re excited and we just want to get back on the ice as a team. We know we’ll be in tough, these teams are all really talented.
“For us, there really isn’t a whole lot of pressure on us so we’re just going to go out there and have fun,” added Miskew, whose team lost out in the final of the Ontario women’s playdowns to Jenn Hanna. “I’m sure once we get out there on the ice, there might be some nerves.
“We know these teams pretty well. We’re not feeling pressure because people don’t expect us to win, which is normally the opposite. Usually the pressure is on us on the women’s side. In this situation we’re the underdog, which is kind of fun,” said the 27-year-old freelance graphic designer.
The Elite 10 plays to a match-play format, much like a skins game in which you win an end by scoring two or more points with the hammer or stealing without last rock. If the team with hammer blanks or only scores a single, no points are awarded and the hammer switches. Unlike the skins format, there are no carryovers in match play and all ends are worth one point each, like a Ryder Cup golf event.
McEwen defeated Edin 2 & 1 to claim the first annual Elite 10 last year in Fort McMurray, Alta.
“So it’s a little bit different than regular curling and I think it’ll be a little bit more even that way,” Homan said of the event. “You’re always just playing your game, working on your strengths and weaknesses and pushing forward.
“It’s not any different than preparing for any other tournament. But the games will be a little bit different, that’s for sure,” Homan, a 26-year-old student, now attending the University of Alberta, said of facing the men.
The Homan rink has the power to compete with big-weight run-backs and cross-house doubles. Sweeping is where the advantage will come into play, despite the Homan rink being one of the strongest women’s teams in the world.
“We work hard at that, being able to throw a lot of weight and move rocks,” added Miskew. “We train for that in practice and that kind of sets us above some other women’s teams. We play an aggressive game and we can bail if we want to.”
At the Brier, as a spectator and guest, Miskew did not seek out advice about playing against men from Bernard, the TSN curling analyst, or Jones, whose husband, Brent Laing, was the Brier winner as second with Koe. She did get some from some of the male competitors, though.
“They said just go out and have fun. If you think too much about the outcome you might not play your game,” said Miskew, whose team has won three straight Grand Slam women’s titles this season and is No. 1 on the money list with $157,254.
