Curling season finds itself quickly winding down, and two Portagers will be coming home with some extra hardware following the Canadian Masters Curling Championship.
Dean Moxham and Dale Michie have been curling together for around 3 decades, and for the first time ever, they got to curl in this championship together.
Moxham outlines the reasons for that.
"I couldn't go two years ago; I wasn't old enough. Last year, I had a different commitment, so I couldn't go with the guys last year. So, this is the first year all four of our original teammates worked together at this particular national championship, the Masters. It's the third time for the other three guys, but the first time for me to get there."
Michie says getting to this point together has been quite the journey.
"Dean and I started curling together when we were maybe, you know, around 30 and you know, now we're older than that, obviously. So, it's been great though, great progression."
Michie also notes that being down there for the championship has been a really pleasant experience for the whole team.
"it's just really great because a lot of the guys that we played against, the seniors are now moved on to Masters and we're seeing them there. So, you know probably 75 per cent of the field are people that you played before and gotten to know. So, it's always a really positive experience. And Sault St. Marie has done an absolutely amazing job as a host. And the event, the ice has been fantastic. The facility has been fantastic."
Moxham adds that this isn't the first big championship they've won together, and that keeping the same squad together has been a fun experience.
"It feels really good. Nice to finally finish one off. We've been in this position few times. We're getting close and haven't quite won that final game, but it was nice to get it done yesterday," Moxham continues. "We won the Canadian seniors in 2015, 10 years ago. And our team is exactly the same as it was 10 years ago. So, that was pretty special to be able to keep the same four guys together and accomplish that feat one more time."