News from our House - April 5, 2026

 In this Edition:

1) Congratulations Champions!

It's always wonderful to celebrate our members' on-ice achievements.

 

This weekend, Leaside hosted the Mexican mixed doubles playdowns to determine which team will represent Mexico at the world mixed doubles qualifying event this October. The Leaside team of Danielle Serra and Diego Tompkins had to play a best 3 out of 5 series against Angelica Perez and Ismael Abreu (coached by Leaside member Anneka Burghout) , from Vancouver Curling Club. I'm delighted to report that Danielle and Diego won in four games! Congratulations!

Many thanks are extended by Monica Tompkins and me to the Leaside members that graciously volunteered their time this weekend: Christie Stevenson (umpire), Judy MacLellan (timer) and Stan Murray (timer).

 

 

 

Congratulations are extended to this year's winners of the Aki Cup - team Leaside!  The Aki Cup, named in honour of former Leaside and Cricket Club member Aki Latvala, is a friendly competition between teams from Leaside, Cricket Club, Granite Club and Donalda. Proceeds of the event go to various children's charities. I was checking out the plaques on the trophy and it has been a while since Leaside has claimed victory - well done everyone! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Day Men's league completed its playoffs this past Thursday. The overall title went to team Keith (pictured left to right): David Storrier, Terry Cooligan, Tom Keith and Michael Doucet. I'll post pictures of all the other winning teams on the website by the end of the season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last week, the day women said farewell to the season with its season-ending "Spring Fling". The overall winner of the day was team Bugg (pictured left to right): Pat McMonagle, Grace Bugg, Kathryn Jennings and Marian Lawson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To see some more pictures from the Spring Fling, click here.

 A little further away from home, the team of Dave Yates, Suzanne Tucker, Keely Abbott and Christie Stevenson emerged as winners at the Fergus Curling Club's "Curl for a Cause" fundraiser for the Aboyne Rural Hospice. Congratulations!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) It's Time for the Talk

In each of the last three years, I included an article in the newsletter that I called, "It's Time for the Talk". 

Some material stands the test of time, so here it is again! 

This article is directed to those of you who play in one of our team-entry leagues. Some of you have undoubtedly curled with the same people for oodles of years and you know that's not going to change going forward. But what if things didn't go as well as you wished this past season?

In thinking about this, what immediately comes to mind is something former member Bernice Collins said to me years ago:  "At the start of every season, I always tell my team - you have been signed to a one-year contract.  Renewal is not guaranteed."

I've always remembered these words but it wasn't until several years after I heard this message that I truly took it to heart.

I used to skip a team in our weekend mixed section. My front end was a lovely couple. We had a new vice and he was, admittedly, a bit more intense than us. And unfortunately there had been a few incidents where his level of sportsmanship on the ice caused some concern. I received a call from the front end just as registration was opening the following season. Short story short: they wanted a more relaxed and social time out on the ice. If I wanted to continue to curl with our vice, they would be looking for another team; however, if I wanted to remain with them, they had found someone who was willing to vice for the team. So I made the call. I was very nice. I simply told our vice that we'd decided to go in a different direction.

Here's another true tale from the opening of registration a few years ago: the skip, vice, and second on an established team all indicated on their applications that they are looking for a lead. The lead from this team in their application listed the entire team returning as a unit. When I called the skip to confirm the roster, he said to me, "But we didn't get along at all!  How could the lead possibly think we were going to curl again next season?"

Before the season ends, it's a good idea to have "The Talk". This is a pleasant conversation that you have with your team. This is not a time to critique and criticize. You simply want to make sure everyone is clear on what is happening in the next season so everyone can plan accordingly.

  

 

3) Celebrations of Life

We've lost too many of our curling friends this year. Information on upcoming Celebrations of Life for Sandra Gabriel and Dave Padgett are provided below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also recently learned of the passing of Dave Padgett, a longtime icemaker at Bayview Golf & Country Club (to read his obituary, click here).

Bayview Golf & Country Club is also hosting a celebration in Dave's honour; see details below.

Date: Friday May 8, 2026
Time: 2 pm - 4 pm
Location: Bayview Golf & Country Club

 

4)  Grand Slam of Curling Updates

Rock League is here!

The first professional curling league takes to the ice tomorrow at Toronto's Mattamy Centre. The action continues all week, with three draws daily at noon, 3:30 pm and 7 pm, and the playoffs on Sunday at 10 am, 1 pm and 4 pm.

For those who've gone to Mattamy to see the Players' Championship over the last 12 years, get ready for something completely and totally different.  There are 6 franchises (ie: teams) comprised of 10 players (5 women, 5 men), with a team captain and a General Manager. From Monday to Friday, there will be 3 games playing simultaneously: a 4 person men's game, a 4 person women's game, and a mixed doubles game. On Saturday, there will be two games each draw featuring two mixed fours teams (2 men and 2 women alternating positions). The championships are Sunday.  The rules also different: 7 ends, with 21 minutes of thinking time and 3 timeouts. Games are gonna be quick! (Click here for a list of all the rules).

There is all kinds of activity planned for the spectatators. There is a floor curling tournament from Thursday to Sunday. Each day features a theme. Every franchise will be doing an autograph signing during the week. On Monday, Rachel Homan will be doing an autograph session for her new children's book. There will be face painters. To see a complete list of all that is planned, click here

The Curling Group has also released its schedule for the 2026-2027; click here to see where the slams are heading.

That's it for this edition! For everyone still in playoff contention, good curling!

Last but not least, Happy Easter everyone!

 Paivi (25 days and counting!)

 

 

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Leaside Curling Club
1075 Millwood Road
Toronto, Ontario,
M4G 1X6

email: [email protected]
phone: 647-748-CURL (2875)