As soon as Barb Spencer and her sister Darcy Robertson could lift a curling rock, they were throwing them. For the Spencer clan, curling has always been in the house, and Team Manitoba is all about family atmosphere.
Forty-three-year-old Manitoba skip Spencer, and third Robertson, the older by 11 months, grew up in a family where curling has been a long-serving family tradition. Dad and coach Jim Kirkness was a three-time provincial mixed champion (in '86 with his daughters), and brother James Kirkness went to the Brier with Dale Duguid in 1997. Spencer's husband Brian Spencer also made a Brier appearance with Kerry Burtnyk.
"We're a curling family," said Spencer, whose team isn't all related, but they might as well be. Lead Barb Enright has been a curling partner and friend for 30 years, and the youngster of the group, 25-year-old second Brette Richards of Prince George, has melded right into the fold. "She's a perfect fit. She's like a little sister."
And not only does Team Manitoba get along famously, they can curl pretty well, too, as fans will discover at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts starting on Saturday, at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
Robertson, skipping, with Spencer, and Enright, won the Canadian junior title in 1984. They went to the Scotties two years later, then took several years off to have kids -- the sisters have four each, and Enright two -- and returned to make the Scotties tournament again in '03.
Spencer and Robertson were thrilled to be inducted into the Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame last week.
"To win the provincials, then the Scotties, in the same year would be icing on the cake," Spencer said.
After '03, the sisters went separate ways, because Robertson didn't want to travel as often to out-of-town 'spiels. Skipping her own squad, she lost the Manitoba final in '07 to Jennifer Jones, and Spencer and her team lost the '08 final to Jones, who'll be at the Scotties in Victoria as Team Canada.
Their parents, particularly mom Cheryl, convinced the siblings they would have a better chance to beat Jones, and anybody else for that matter, if they stayed together, rather than apart. At this year's provincial Scotties, they had just one loss.
"Mom played a key role," Spencer said. "She's the glue to the whole family."
On the ice, Robertson uses her quiet nature to calm the feisty, competitive Spencer, while the skip tends to add spark to the mix. The team has been in four World Curling Tour events this season, and made money in all of them, winning a total of $12,200. Travelling has been difficult at times, but Spencer said the kids, who are all coming to Victoria to cheer on their moms, are totally supportive.
"If I said to them I was quitting curling, they'd be very disappointed."
With the backing of both experience and family, Spencer thinks the tightly-knit Team Manitoba is well prepared for the Scotties. From this point on, it's a matter of letting the rocks roll where they may.
"We believe in fate, and if it's meant to be -- just the way it worked out for Darcy and me to get back together," Spencer said.
IN THE HOUSE
- MANITOBA
Home Club: Fort Rouge Curling Club, Winnipeg
Skip: Barb Spencer, 43
Scotties appearances: '86, '03
Third: Darcy Robertson, 43
Scotties appearances: '86, '03
Second: Brette Richards, 25
Scotties appearances: None
Lead: Barb Enright, 43
Scotties appearances: '86, '03
Fifth: Kristy Jenion, 29
Coach: Jim Kirkness
