Elmira’s Ken Irwin is leaving his own mark on this year’s Tim Hortons Brier, the annual Canadian men’s curling championship.
The Elmira Curling Club ice technician rejoins a team of master ice builders to build and maintain the pebbled ice at Budweiser Gardens during this year’s competition.
“This is my third Brier and also the third event that I’ve done at the Budweiser Gardens in London,” Irwin told CTV News.
Irwin returns to London after working several national championships, including the 2006 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, and 2011 Brier.
Irwin said he arrived in London on Feb. 26 to begin preparations, with each pad needing about five days to complete.
The foundation is frozen before the ice can be layered, painted, shaved, and pebbled.
“We scrape the ice before every draw then it’s pebbled,” Irwin said. “We do different scraping patterns to make sure the ice is level before each event.”
Irwin’s talents have already been recognized across Elmira’s curling community. Members at the Elmira Curling Club said the ice has only gotten better, since Irwin joined the club.
“This is the first year Ken has been here and the ice has improved,” said Bill Rettinger, a 20-year member at the club. It’s cleaner, it’s faster.”
Members who know Irwin said they weren’t surprised to see him get the call to another Brier. They hope his work will put more of a spotlight on the Elmira Curling Club and entice more curlers to join.
“[We feel] tremendous pride. He puts our club on the map and hopefully it will mean new members coming up because of it,” club member David Reid told CTV News.
Irwin hopes his experience will lead to new opportunities with Curling Canada. In the meantime, he says it’s rewarding to see the country’s best players competing on his ice.
“My goal every day is to make the best curling surface for the members to play on,” Irwin said. “To be a part of the top tier of ice makers in the country says something.”
This year’s Brier runs through the end of the week, with the final set for Sunday.
