VITERRA: Witherspoon thrilled to be back at curling provincials

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This article was published 08/02/2023 (1172 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEEPAWA — Carberry product Joey Witherspoon wasn’t expecting to be at this year’s Viterra Championship.

After all, he hadn’t competed in the biggest competition on the Manitoba men’s curling calendar since 2017, when he was the third for Kelly Marnoch’s side that lost to Steve Irwin of Brandon in a ‘B’ event semifinal.

Those plans changed when the calendar switched to 2023.

“The guys and I were talking at the (Assiniboine Memorial Curling) Club and one of us said ‘Well, what do you think about playing in the Manitoba Open?’” Witherspoon said.

“We thought we had a chance to make a bit of a run there and it ended up working out for us.”

Witherspoon, third Taylor Mcintyre, second Derek Blanchard and lead Trevor Calvert ended up losing to Sean Grassie in the Original 16 event final but were able to nab one of the final three berths in this week’s provincial playdowns in Neepawa.

The team opened up their week with a 9-5 win over Daniel Birchard’s side from the Pembina on Wednesday morning and drew a tough matchup against Reid Carruthers in an ‘A’ event semifinal at 12:15 p.m. today.

“We’re just looking to have fun while we’re here,” Witherspoon said. “We feel like we can play well against anybody, but we don’t want to set expectations too high.

“We’re excited to play someone like Reid in our next game and we’re going to give them everything we can.”

Due to a combination of life and work commitments – he works as an account manager for a landscaping and irrigation supplies company in Winnipeg – Witherspoon hasn’t been able to curl a lot in recent years.

The competitive side of the game was something that Witherspoon had grown to miss during his time away from the sport.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had that fire from being in big events,” Witherspoon said. “That’s what I live for.

“I love playing in front of people and the intensity that comes from being here. Whether you are winning or losing, your heart is racing … that’s why I curl.”

A runner-up at the Canadian Juniors in 2010 as the third for Alex Forrest’s rink, Witherspoon is also getting reaccustomed to the role of a skip.

“I think a lot of it is just getting to used to the pressure again,” Witherspoon said.

“Having been through that many times at the junior provincials, it all comes back to you pretty quick. You just have to make sure that you are calming yourself down and controlling your emotions before you have to throw those important shots.”

Witherspoon admitted that there were a few nerves early on in his contest with Birchard, but he was able to race out to a 4-1 advantage at the midway point and sealed the 9-5 victory with a three-ender in the ninth.

“That first game on arena ice is always a little bit tougher as you just have to get used to the different footing and having to change your release points a little bit,” Witherspoon said. “That’s something that our rink isn’t quite used to but I thought we played really well. Trevor played great at lead today and he put us in a great spot right off the hop by getting his rocks in the right areas.

“We’re feeling good and it helps that everyone on the team is playing well already.”

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