Jill Brothers special guest at curling day festivities at Liverpool Curling Club

Lorna MacPherson, president of the Liverpool Curling Club. (Rick Conrad photo)

For local curling fans, Saturday afternoon could be one of the most wonderful times of the year.

The Liverpool Curling Club has invited hometown curling hero Jill Brothers to help them celebrate Curling Day in Nova Scotia.

Brothers, who is from Liverpool, is the third on Christina Black’s Nova Scotia team that finished second to Rachel Homan at the Canadian Olympic curling trials in Halifax last weekend.

“Our club opted to combine some curling fun. Two fun scrambles and a potluck supper but very importantly, we want to celebrate and honour Jill Brothers, our hometown curler, who we are very proud of,” Lorna MacPherson, president of the Liverpool Curling Club, said in an interview.

“Jill is going to be here and will be curling and is going to be here with her family so we’re really pleased that she’s been able to join us.”

MacPherson says the club is planning a couple of scrambles, which involve a few ends of curling just for fun. Brothers plans to participate in that, before being honoured by the club later in the afternoon. They’ll highlight Brothers’s early playing days in Liverpool and her most recent success.

“She has continued on now for two decades, having that variety of successes, both provincially and nationally,” MacPherson says, “and she was on a team that competed at the worlds. So it really gave us an opportunity to thank her for all that she has done for curling and just to tell her how much we appreciate her successes.”

MacPherson said Brothers is an inspiration to young local curlers. The 2004 Canadian women’s junior champion has been to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts eight times in her career, as a skip and in other positions. Last year, she and Team Black won bronze.

Brothers also works full time as the technical director for the Nova Scotia Curling Association.

“She’s very approachable with all ages young and and the more mature curlers in our curling club,” MacPherson says. “And particularly last week the success that Team Black had and how they demonstrated not only how to win with grace and enthusiasm, but also how to accept the losses and I think she’s just a great role model for our young people here in our community.

“Jill is just a great example of curling etiquette, enthusiasm and attitude.”

MacPherson says the celebration on Saturday is all about fun, and introducing new people to the club and to the sport.

“We really want to welcome people in our community to come into the curling club, particularly those that aren’t familiar with curling or maybe haven’t been in the curling club. If you want to curl, we can set you up with some gear and have people help you out on the ice or if you just want to watch, so it really is about celebrating all aspects of curling.”

Curling Day in Nova Scotia at the Liverpool Curling Club, featuring Jill Brothers, starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The special presentation honouring Jill Brothers is scheduled for 3:30. For more information, check the club’s Facebook page.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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