CORNWALL, P.E.I. — It has been a successful foray into a new division of curling for a brother and sister from Summerside.
Alex and Lauren MacFadyen of the Silver Fox teamed up to win the P.E.I. mixed doubles curling championship on Sunday. The MacFadyens were teammates in the four-person mixed provincials last year, but this was the first time they competed together in mixed doubles.
Lauren, 24, said it is “really cool” to share this experience with Alex, 22.
“It’s interesting because we don’t get into disagreements, and we are always on the same page,” said Lauren. “It’s really cool to win with Alex.
“We have never curled together except for last year when we curled in the mixed. When we are out on the ice, we communicate, but we don’t really need to communicate at the same time because we know what the other person is thinking.”
The daughter and son of Susan and David MacFadyen will represent P.E.I. at the 2021 Home Hardware Canadian mixed doubles curling championship in Calgary, Alta., March 18-25.
It will be the first time Lauren will wear the P.E.I. colours at a national championship. Alex has represented P.E.I. in the Canadian junior championships twice. Lauren (St. Francis Xavier) and Alex (UPEI) have also participated in the U Sports national curling championships.
“This will be my first nationals against adults, you could say,” said Alex. “It should be some stiff competition.”
“It’s interesting because we don’t get into disagreements, and we are always on the same page. It’s really cool to win with Alex. We have never curled together except for last year when we curled in the mixed. When we are out on the ice, we communicate, but we don’t really need to communicate at the same time because we know what the other person is thinking.”
- Lauren MacFadyen
Overall record
Overall, the MacFadyens posted an overall record of 7-1 (won-lost) in the modified triple-knockout format over three days at the Cornwall Curling Club.
After Team MacFadyen won the A qualifier on Friday and the husband-and-wife team of Ed and Jenny White captured the B qualifier on Saturday, the MacFadyens pulled out a close 9-7 win over the Whites in the C qualifier Sunday morning.
This victory meant the MacFadyen squad only needed one win to clinch the title while Team White needed to win back-to-back games.
The MacFadyens outscored the Whites 6-4 in the first game of the championship round to secure the provincial crown.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Lauren. “Coming into the weekend, we wanted to go to Cornwall and curl the best we could.
“I don’t think either of us was expecting we were going to win. We both curled very well.”
Team White, which won the 2020 provincial mixed doubles crown and curls out of the Silver Fox, finished with an overall record of 4-3.
Different game
The mixed doubles game is different than regular curling, which features eight rocks per end, with each team member making two shots.
In mixed doubles, the team holding the hammer starts each end with a positioned stone at the back in the middle of the four-foot while the opposition has a rock placed as a guard on the centre line.
“Lauren would throw the first rock, and I would throw the next three, and Lauren would throw the last one, so there are only five rocks thrown per team,” said Alex.
No one calls the game in the house as one person is shooting, and the other is sweeping. Alex explained the person throwing decides on the shot. He added if there is an issue or disagreement on strategy, the teammates chat about it.
“There are a lot of draws and soft-weight shots,” said Alex. “There are not very many hits because you can’t hit on the first three rocks anyway.
“Then, at that point, there are so many rocks in place it’s hard to. Basically, if you get your first rock set up well and go around the guard every time, you are basically set up for the rest of the end.
“You just have to get the angles right, and you should have a shot for a few points if you have the hammer.”
The MacFadyens said the opportunity to play in a mixed doubles league every Wednesday night at the Silver Fox played a big role in preparing them for the provincials. Lauren said this was especially important with the team’s inexperience at this level.
“If we didn’t have this league, we wouldn’t be used to the strategy, used to the playing and finesse shots and, of course, playing together,” said Lauren. “It’s just him and I. We were lucky we could have a weekly game and gain experience from that.”
At a glance
Here are the scores at the P.E.I. mixed doubles curling championship:
Friday
Draw 1
Nancy Milton/Calvin Smith 12
Clara Jack/Brayden Snow 4
Amy Spence/Jack MacFadyen 7
Terri Wood/Alan Inman 6
Lauren MacFadyen/Alex MacFadyen 10
Alison Griffin/Colin MacKenzie 1
Draw 2
Lauren MacFadyen/Alex MacFadyen 8
Jenny White/Ed White 3
Terri Wood/Alan Inman 5
Clara Jack/Brayden Snow 3
Amy Spence/Jack MacFadyen 8
Nancy Milton/Calvin Smith 4
Draw 3
A Qualifier
Lauren MacFadyen/Alex MacFadyen 11
Amy Spence/Jack MacFadyen 2
Nancy Milton/Calvin Smith 7
Alison Griffin/Colin MacKenzie 6
Jenny White/Ed White 7
Terri Wood/Alan Inman 4
Saturday
Draw 4
Jenny White/Ed White 15
Amy Spence/Jack MacFadyen 1
Alison Griffin/Colin MacKenzie 6
Clara Jack/Brayden Snow 3
Lauren MacFadyen/Alex MacFadyen 8
Nancy Milton/Calvin Smith 4
Draw 5
Alison Griffin/Colin MacKenzie 9
Nancy Milton/Calvin Smith 5
B Qualifier
Jenny White/Ed White 8
Lauren MacFadyen/Alex MacFadyen 4
Terri Wood/Alan Inman 7
Amy Spence/Jack MacFadyen 6
Draw 6
Lauren MacFadyen/Alex MacFadyen 7
Terri Wood/Alan Inman 4
Jenny White/Ed White 8
Alison Griffin/Colin MacKenzie 6
Draw 7
C Qualifier
Lauren MacFadyen/Alex MacFadyen 9
Jenny White/Ed White 7
Draw 8
Championship Round
Lauren MacFadyen/Alex MacFadyen 6
Jenny White/Ed White 4
Jason Simmonds is The Guardian's sports reporter.
