Gaylord Herald Times

April 2, 2006

Chess on Ice: Teachers drawn to curling's appeal

By Robert McLean, Sports Assistant

LEWISTON - When the lights dim and the doors close at Gaylord Community Schools every Thursday, there is a quartet of male faculty who push aside grading homework for the night. Instead they travel to Lewiston to form a four-member competitive curling team.

Every January, February and March, staff members Curt Chrencik, Mike Rinke, Ben Hicks and Jeromey Cosby are brought together by the uniqueness of the growing sport of curling at the Lewiston Curling Club. “Once you start there is an attraction that is incredible,” Chrencik said. “You become a part of a family and something that can last a lifetime.”

The foursome is currently in its second complete season together, while Rinke, Chrencik and Cosby have competed collectively for three years. Hicks joined last season to form the now-inseperable group.

The team recently endured its season's major competition as a part of the LCC's eighth-annual Men's International Bonspiel. The tournament pitted 16 total teams from as far north as Sault Ste. Marie, Canada to as far south as Bowling Green, Ohio. “We realized we were right there competitively with the other teams,” Chrencik said. “It was our chance to see competition at that level. We had fun and went out and competed.” The team split a pair of wins in its first two games, following up a loss to a team from Sault Ste. Marie with a win against a team from Bowling Green. The Gaylord team was eventually ousted from the tournament when it lost to another team from Canada.

While the rest of the team is fairly new at the sport, Rinke is the veteran of the group. Rinke, a science teacher at GHS, was raised in Lewiston and started curling in high school. He was thrilled with the opportunity of curling again when his co-workers expressed an interest. “It's nice because we all work at the Gaylord School so that was part of what brought us all together,” Rinke said. “Curt and Jeromey were the instigators and I just went along with it.” Cosby's inclusion in the team just adds to the amount of activities he is a part of. Cosby is also the head baseball coach of the Blue Devils, and has already started practice full swing.

Chrencik, assistant principal at GHS, decided to pursue the opportunity after talking with Johannesburg-Lewiston physical education teacher John Bush about the club in Lewiston. “John (Bush) had done it and said we should try it,” Chrencik said. “So we decided to go over to the club and ask some questions. We ended up joining and did it as a group.” Since that time, the yelling of the word “Sweep!” has entered each of the members’ everyday vocabulary.The team now has the goal of drawing in more competition from the Gaylord community.

Rinke said he hopes to help grow the club, which would just make the competition more fun. In the past, the club typically split competitors up into different groups, but because of traveling issues, allows the Gaylord team to stay unified. “They've done a good job of keeping us all together,” Rinke said. “We're hoping to get more Gaylord people involved.” An increase in Gaylord members would allow the team the opportunity to play with others as well.Rinke said the competition and the thrill of improvement is what inspires him to curl.

Chrencik's interest in the sport has grown simultaneously with the sports growth on an international level. “It was amazing just watching it on television as a part of the Olympic Games,” he said. “It's a very unique sport and it's different from anything you've ever done.” Curling's uniqueness is what has sometimes prevented its growth as people are reluctant to attempt to learn the game. The sport, sometimes referred to as “chess on ice” awards points for teams that land the most granite stones closest to the target area known as the “house.”

This quartet, along with others from the area, are hoping that local curling continues to grow.