The Scotties Tournament of Hearts is not allowing fans in the stands this week in Thunder Bay but two local curlers are volunteering as timers, making them some of the few people allowed inside the Fort William Gardens.
Charlotte Bazylewski and Donna Bohler are long-time curlers from Fort Frances and are both spending this week in Thunder Bay working the clocks at the National Women’s Curling Championships. The timing staff are not in the bubble isolated with players and on-ice officials.
Bazylewski says it was a bit difficult at first as Curling Canada has brought in a new timing system which was a bit of a challenge for the volunteers but it’s been working well since.
“It started out hectic, it’s a brand new timing system they brought in for the Scotties,” Bazylewski said. “So when the Brier comes, they’re going to have the same timing system they had here but they’ll have some experience with it. The first couple days they were working out glitches but today (Monday) they had it run smooth. I did this morning’s draw and it was relatively simple and painless.”
Bohler says it’s a bit strange to be in the arena with no spectators.
“It’s sad because there’s no cheering,” Bohler said. “We can celebrate them when they’re announced, but it’s such a sad time when you hear like 30 people clapping instead of an arena full of people cheering.”
The volunteer timers are game officials and can’t show any signs of favouritism to any team by cheering.
A consequence of no crowds is being able to hear the players discuss shots. Bazylewski says it’s interesting being able to hear a lot of the conversations between team members.
“We can hear conversations between people. Some curlers’ voices carry more than others,” Bazylewski said. “Where sheet A is closest to us if the front end’s having a conversation we can hear them pretty much word for word.”
There was some speculation that organizers might be able to let some fans in for the final few days of the tournament but out of an abundance of caution they have elected to finish the tournament without any spectators.
Both Bohler and Bazylewski had a few reservations about coming into the Scotties with the current spike in COVID-19 cases but with the precautions taken by the tournament officials.
“I did discuss it with family because I’m not an isolated person. One of the things we said is ‘we’ll find out what their protocol is.’ If we had to go into a bubble I can’t do that, because I can’t come to Thunder Bay and stay for 10 days in a hotel.”
Bohler says she did isolate somewhat in the days leading up to the tournament, not going out socially so she wouldn’t be exposed before the tournament. Bazylewski says she plans to wait a few days after returning home before seeing more vulnerable family members like her parents.
Both did say that the precautions in place are important to keep volunteers safe.
“I’m fully vaccinated including my booster,” Bazylewski said. “I knew that we would still be required. I was just hoping that it wasn’t going to get fully cancelled. I’m not too worried about getting sick per se, I’ll be cautious when I go home. I have older family, some of them have weaker immune systems.”
“Our group is a small bubble,” Bohler said. “Their protocols are really good. You clean your station, you social distance, everybody has to wear a mask all the time and we have a set path that we can come and go.”
Bohler said despite the fact the event isn’t the same as normal she’s still enjoying herself.
“It’s been an amazing experience,” Bohler said. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
