‘It’s just the way you dream it’: Regina twin curlers celebrate first provincial title, prepare for Brier | CBC News
Regina brothers Kelly and Trent Knapp are still processing what happened Sunday night.
“It was a whirlwind. You saw the emotion and that doesn’t just settle in an instant,” Kelly said, 24 hours later.
The twins, who first started curling at age 10, faced Swift Current’s Steve Laycock in the Saskatchewan men’s curling championship final at Affinity Place in Estevan on Feb. 5.
Tied heading into the final end, with their first provincial title hanging in the balance, skip Kelly had the last shot.
“It’s just the way you dream it,” he said.
“To win a tankard is amazing, but to have it come down to the last shot with your brother, your best friends, that intensity, that reaction. It was just extra special.”
“To be quite honest, we filled up that tankard trophy and we all took a few drinks from it.”
The crowd roared for the Knapp rink, which includes third Brennen Jones at third, Mike Armstong at second, Dustin Kidby as their alternate and decorated curler Brian McCusker as their coach.
The team went 5-0 through the tournament, defeating Laycock’s team a total of three times.
“Just to be part of that final shot, it goes by fast, to even try to recall it is tough. It’s one you kind of tremble over and you get shivers,” Trent said.
The brothers were quick to thank their home rink, the Highland Curling Club, located on Broad Street near 2nd Avenue North in northeast Regina.
“It’s been home to us for a while now and the manager, AJ Scott, is such a great human,” Kelly said.
“He was (in Estevan) supporting us. He was bawling pretty hard when we hoisted the trophy there.”
Adding names to history
The 33-year-old brothers joked about being the last of their teammates with names on the Saskatchewan men’s curling championship trophy.
Engraved on one of the small metal plates is Brennen Jones, who won the 2011 provincial title as a second with Pat Simmons’ Regina team, which included Laycock as third.
Armstrong’s name is also on the hardware for the following year, 2012, and that championship team skipped by Scott Manners.
“Dustin (Kidby), he’s on here five or six times,” said Trent, adding coach McCusker’s name is also on a trophy — just from decades back.
Kelly added their second-year team is like a “well-oiled machine,” and the goal moving forward is to keep the game simple.
“Just throw good shots and and, what coach says too, is that we just have each other’s back out there. Have that mental toughness out there and that’s exactly what we need at the Brier,” Kelly said.
Next stop: nationals
The Knapp rink now faces the admirable task of preparing for the 2023 Tim Hortons Brier, the men’s national championship, in London, Ont. on March 3-12.
Saskatchewan hasn’t won a national men’s title in 43 years. Back in 1980, Saskatoon’s Rick Folk captured the Brier and world championships.
“All the curling fans in this province are the best. They want it so bad. And we want to be that team that brings a championship for them,” Kelly said.
The Highland Curling Club will hoist a banner for the Knapp rink and host a send off on a to-be-determined date.
The Knapp rinks joins Matthew Manuel (Nova Scotia), Jacques Gauthier (B.C.), Thomas Scoffin (Yukon), Jake Higgs (Nunavut), Jamie Koe (Northwest Territories), Tanner Horgan (Northern Ontario), Mike McEwen (Ontario), Felix Asselin (Quebec), Nathan Young (Newfoundland and Labrador), Tyler Smith (P.E.I.) and defending champion Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., among teams already qualified for the 18-team field Brier.
Provincial men’s championships in Alberta and Manitoba start Tuesday and in New Brunswick on Wednesday.
The Brier champion will wear the Maple Leaf in the world men’s championship April 1-9 in Ottawa.
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