ESTEVAN - There are few families, if any, that have enjoyed more success in Canadian curling rinks than the Howard family.
Glenn Howard has won provincial, national and world titles. His brother Russ has done it all, too, and even won a gold medal in Turin, Italy, at the 2006 Winter Olympics, playing second and calling shots on Brad Gushue’s team.
Russ’ daughter, Ashley, is part of the next generation of curlers in the family, and she’s trying to find success in Saskatchewan.
Ashley Howard has been curling in Saskatchewan for a number of years, and her father has joined her team as a coach. They were at the Viterra Scotties Tournament of Hearts provincials in Estevan this week, and while it didn’t end as they wanted – Ashley’s rink was eliminated in the C event Friday night – it was still a good experience.
“The local host committee does an amazing job every year, and it’s really exciting to be out there on the ice, which has been fantastic,” said Ashley, who made numerous visits to Estevan while working with CurlSask as the executive director. .
Russ Howard was in Estevan a couple of times in 2018, first as a coach with his son’s team, and then serving as a commentator with TSN for the Home Hardware Canada Cup.
“There’s nothing like small-town curling,” said Russ. “The volunteer group here is second to none. They’re doing a great job and they’re very knowledgeable fans. The ice is great and sometimes the opposition doesn’t co-operate.”
Ashley added that Estevan has the best facility in the province for arena curling.
She said she never felt pressure to be a curler. She still remembers getting her first pair of curling shoes at age four, and begging her parents to take her to the rink on Christmas day. She always loved the sport.
“It’s certainly been a privilege to be a part of the family and to see some great moments in curling behind the scenes and get to know people, and to get a few tricks up my sleeve that other kids don’t get the opportunity [to have] because of all the curling I’ve watched in my life.”
Her cousin Scott is curling with Glenn and they are competing at Ontario provincials, and her cousin Carly is skipping a team in Ontario, too. And Ashley had lots of praise for her mother Wendy who went to two mixed nationals competitions, including the 2001 national tournament in Weyburn, where Wendy was named the most sportsmanlike player.
“It’s a tremendous privilege to wear the last name Howard and then walk in somebody’s footsteps. I’m lucky, though, just being female and going down the Scotties path as opposed to the Brier. I get to forge my own trail just a little bit. It’s sure been an inspiration to watch the guys win some good games and have some great moments in the sport.”
Russ said the pressure of the family has never phased Ashley, even when sparing for Jennifer Jones.
“Jennifer came to me and said ‘Ashley’s the smartest curler I’ve ever curled with.’That gives me a lot of pride.”
Russ said the Olympic gold medal stands out as a highlight of his career. They were the first Canadian men’s team to win a gold medal. He had a lot of great years curling with his brother, too.
“I played probably 90 per cent of my career before we were eligible to play in the Olympics. At the end of my career, at age 50, we actually won the darn thing. So that was pretty special.”
He’s surprised at how many still recognize him, but he says it’s due to his time on TSN.
“Funny enough, they seem to recognize my voice more than anything,” said Howard, who gained fame in his curling career with how he yelled “Hurry hard!” with a gravelly voice. “It depends where you are. If you’re in a curling area, it’s quite amazing how people recognize [announcers] Vic Rauter, Cheryl Burnard and myself.”
Ashley is glad Estevan was finally able to host the event. CurlSask announced Estevan as the host for the 2021 Scotties and the SaskTel Tankard men’s provincials in January 2020, but both had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions. Both events are happening this year.
