Despite a good turnout, Team Saskatchewan lost against Team Canada (8-7) and won against Newfoundland-Labrador (7-5) to take bronze in the Tim Horton鈥檚 Brier in Calgary on March 8. The team includes Kirk (third) and Dallan (lead) Muyres of Saskatoon and area (formerly of St. Gregor) and Lyle Muyres of Humboldt, who is both the brothers鈥� coach and father.
鈥淭he bronze is actually pretty exciting for us,鈥� said Kirk. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time Saskatchewan has been on the podium since 2008 and we played great all week, so it鈥檚 nice to leave with something, even though it wasn鈥檛 the championship. It goes a long way for our world rankings and Olympic qualifying as well. So it was a satisfying week and win in the bronze game.鈥�
Defending champions Team Canada won 6-5 against Northern Ontario to take the gold.
鈥淚t鈥檚 probably one of the toughest Briers in history,鈥� Kirk said. 鈥淓very team is good; there鈥檚 no easy game.鈥�
Team Saskatchewan had 7 wins and 4 losses to go into the playoffs. They had lost against Newfoundland-Labrador, Northern Ontario, Quebec, and Ontario.
鈥淲e鈥檙e grinders. We find ways to win games. I don鈥檛 know how many times we looked like we were down and out and we grind out wins,鈥� he said. He added that they tend to perform better towards the end of games.
Kirk has been with the team 鈥� which also includes skip Steve Laycock, second Colton Flasch, and alternate Gerry Adam 鈥� for three years, but he鈥檚 been curling ever since he was about six or seven years old with his dad.
鈥淗e dragged me to the curling club and never stopped playing,鈥� he said.
One might think it could get tiring playing professionally with your family, but Kirk doesn鈥檛 have a problem with it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 awesome. We play 50, 60, 70 days on the road, so it鈥檚 nice to be able to share that with your brother and your dad, and it鈥檚 nice to share the victories,鈥� he said.
He added that growing up in the area gave him a good foundation of the sport.
鈥淲e really learned a bunch of things from different guys throughout the Humboldt area, and in Saskatchewan people love their curling ... it鈥檚 pretty fun to be able to play for Saskatchewan.鈥�
For Kirk, one of the standout moments from the tournament was playing against Manitoba on Feb. 28.
聽鈥淪aturday night we played the (Scotiabank) Saddledome. Eleven, 12,000 people, it was just electric. Everyone was having a good time,鈥� he said.
Though the teams are competitive on the ice, Kirk said everyone is a lot less intense off the ice and it鈥檚 easy to socialize.
鈥淵ou can hate a guy on the ice and be best friends off the ice,鈥� he said. He added that everyone knows what is just part of the competition, and off the ice there鈥檚 laughing and chatting. The camaraderie is a general aspect of professional curling.
鈥淪omething about the atmosphere with curling, there鈥檚 as bar in every rink and the tradition has been you socialize with the other team, you shake hands before and after, you go and have a good time,鈥� he said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, no one鈥檚 making a living. You do it because you love it 鈥� that鈥檚 the reason you don鈥檛 live or die by the game.鈥�
