Curling clashes with career

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/01/2011 (5596 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He tried, for a time, to do both.

But in reflection today, David Hamblin says he did neither particularly well — neither curling at a high level or getting his own professional career off the ground.

“I probably should just have put curling aside for a few years and concentrated on other things. It would have saved a lot of frustration,” Hamblin, the 2002 world junior curling champion, said Saturday between games at the 123rd MCA Bonspiel.

“Curling is not supporting too many people right now and you have to, sooner or later, get your working life in order. I never wanted to quit curling and I never felt I could. But I just never had the time to really put into it either. It would have saved a lot of frustration if I’d just stopped.

“When you know you should be at a certain level and you’re not, it’s hard.”

With that world junior title under his belt, there was a time Hamblin was widely regarded as the Next One in Manitoba men’s curling.

The problem was that period came at the same time as Hamblin was finishing university and launching a career in agri-business.

He tried to do both, and there were some aggressive winters spent cashspieling and some decent outings at the Manitoba men’s provincial curling championship.

But the provincial men’s title has remained elusive and nine years after he skipped a team from Morris all the way to a world junior championship, it remains as good as it has gotten for Hamblin on the ice.

And so the focus the last couple of years has shifted for Hamblin, 29, to raising a family — he has a one-year-old daughter — and taking over his own farm.

When he’s curled the last couple of winters, it has been mostly on the local circuits. And he’s had some success. Last winter, he earned his berth into the provincials in the most spectacular way possible, winning his second Grand Aggregate championship at the MCA Bonspiel.

He’s looking to reprise that feat this winter — with old juniors teammate Ross Derksen once again at third — after they lost their zone final in Carman last month to Dean North in heartbreaking fashion, yielding a game-tying deuce in the 10th on a last-rock pick and then surrendering the berth on an extra-end steal.

It’s been so far so good at the MCA, though. Heading into Day 4, Hamblin is one of just six undefeated teams remaining in the bonspiel, improving to 6-0 Saturday with an 8-1 win over Deer Lodge’s Sean Grassie and a 5-1 win over Hamiota’s Brent Strachan.

Also undefeated heading into today is Pembina’s Dean Dunstone and West Kildonan’s Dave Elias.

Meanwhile, Hamblin’s father, Lorne, is licking his wounds this morning. West Kildonan’s Brian Leskiw hung an eight-ender on the senior Hamblin’s Morris foursome in an 11-3 win on Sheet 6 at the Granite Saturday night.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca