My first AGM

After breezing through the 148 page Annual Report before the Manitoba Curling Association Annual General Meeting yesterday morning, I quickly gained a sense of what would be the hot-button topics, at least to me.

1. Comments and suggestions from the MCA Bonspiel, including a plea from the Winnipeg Curling Clubs Association to reinstate the Minor Event Berth into the Selects
2. The elimination of the "Buy a Badge" entry fiasco into a provincial playdown
3. The official announcement of the shift of the Manitoba Curling Tour Championships to Dec. 15 to 17
4. Enhancements to the MCA website

Let's start with item No. 1... suggestions for the MCA Bonspiel. It's clear something needs to be done to bring the magic back to the big event. I'm not sure if the minor event berth is the key to that, but it deserves to be explored. I think we are on the right track with the changes that were incorporated into last year's spiel.

One of the big improvements would be to have real-time, online updates for results on the website... this will be one of the projects I will delve into as a new director on the board.

Item No. 2: The Buy-a-Badge fiasco in certain provincial zone playdowns. While I think this is a great first step, more in-depth retooling needs to be carried out. Of course, that will take some time to hash out and get everyone on board with the final decisions.

Item No. 3: I think most MCT teams will be happy with the decision to move the championships to mid-December.

Item No. 4: Enhancements to the MCA website... I think they have already come a long way in this regard, and I will be working hard behind the scenes to keep those enhancements coming. Watch for updates on the MCA website... on the MCA website.

Cheers for now!

Team Fenson loses lead

According to the Associated Press, "lead John Shuster wants to skip his own team, so he's leaving the squad that Pete Fenson, of Bemidji, Minn., captained to third place in the 2006 Games. Shuster had been with Fenson since the start of the 2003-04 season."

The Duluth-Supererior article (linked through the above headline) states the team is "splitting up" but it doesn't say what the rest of the team members are doing next season.

Not that I'm downplaying the importance of a lead, as I'm fully versed in the total team dynamic, but losing their lead and splitting up are very different.

It will be interesting to see the remaining team shake-ups as the first year of the Olympic four-year plan begins in the quest to "represent" in Vancouver in 2010.

Dauphin to host Select in 2007

Just a quick hit to comment on the Safeway Select making its way up to Dauphin next season...

I'm not sure what other guys think, but I think it's cool that they move it around to different locations around the province.

It would be nice to see it back in Winnipeg occasionally and take advantage of everything the MTS Centre has to offer.

Hope to see you in Dauphin next year!

Guess the Blog needs a new name

Well, Scott is heading east to find fame and fortune on Parliament Hill.

The rest of us wish him the best as he moves up in the political world to where it is all happening at the federal level.

While we didn't play many games together this season, we did do well in most and had a great time in all of them. It's too bad we weren't able to stick it out, but careers always come first.

If all goes well, Scott will collect several sharp-shooting Hullians, err, Hullites, uhm, Hullipudlians, Gatineauzers across the river and take Quebec back to the Brier in 2007.

As for Team ?, we are now looking for a new skip or maybe third, depending on who comes forward. I think we still have a strong nucleus, ready to make a serious run next season.

If interested, send your curling resume in and we'll chat.