Curler Glenys Bakker holds her four-month-old daughter. (ERIC WYNNE / Staff)
~~~~~~~~~
By KRISTEN LIPSCOMBE
Staff Reporter
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA
Friday December 16, 2005
Tucked snuggly inside her baby carriage, four-month-old Sara Marie Bakker slept peacefully Saturday at the Halifax Metro Centre, unaware that on the ice down below the Olympic dreams of her mother’s curling team were about to come true.
It seems mother-of-two Glenys Bakker can do it all — from helping her Calgary-based squad secure themselves a spot in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games to nursing her new baby mid-match.
Mrs. Bakker, 43, likely took a lesson from her own mother, Faye Kindt, who watched anxiously as her daughter helped Team Kleibrink edge Kelowna’s Team Scott 8-7 in the final of the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings Canadian Curling Trials, while keeping a close eye on her happily snoozing granddaughter.
“The hubbies and the team members have been helping and have been a wonderful support,” Ms. Kindt said of how Mrs. Bakker, now on maternity leave from her job as a legal assistant, has successfully been juggling motherhood and a blossoming curling career.
“I’ve been travelling with her all fall and it’s been an exciting experience for me.
“The baby’s been just a real treasure.”
“She’s just been a bit of soul — she eats and sleeps and changes her pants and she’s set,” Ms. Kindt said with a chuckle.
Although Mrs. Bakker’s busy life “takes a lot of working at it,” Ms. Kindt said the baby and 2-and-a-half-year-old Ryan Glen “have been good kids” and are extremely proud of their mom.
And now all the family members of skip Shannon Kleibrink’s squad have reason to be ecstatic for their hardworking loved ones — they’re headed to Torino, Italy, in February to represent Canada.
More than 8,000 curling fans filled the seats to see which team would win that much sought after trip to the Olympics, an attendance number called “remarkable” by the president of the event’s host committee. The support for the event is especially incredible considering the heavy snowfall dumped on Nova Scotia overnight Friday, Graham Harris said.
“There were quite a number of volunteers that couldn’t get in because power has been out all night,” Mr. Harris said Saturday. “The weather played havoc with us for sure.”
Mr. Harris said although Team Kleibrink may have come out on top Saturday, all the ladies who participated in The Roar of The Rings this year “have raised the bar” for curlers across the country.
“When you look at the field that’s here for this week, there’s not one weak one amongst them,” he said. “They’re playing very well.”
Mr. Harris said this week’s Canadian Curling Trials will be “the largest attended curling function in Atlantic Canada,” with upwards of 160,000 people taking in curling over the course of this week. That number will break attendance records set by the Halifax Nokia Brier in 2003.
Ada and Sam Waye of Jeddore watched in anticipation as the finals unfolded but they weren’t cheering for anyone in particular.
In true maple leaf spirit, the cheerful couple was decked out in matching red and white jackets, eager to watch Canada’s elite athletes in action.
Mr. Waye said curling is one of the few sports where each and every fan will sing O Canada beforehand and pick up their garbage afterwards, out of respect for each other and their sport.
His wife agreed wholeheartedly.
“It’s really one of the finest games in all of the sports,” Mrs. Waye said with a smile.
“Curling is the one game where every fan cheers for every shot, no matter who makes it.”
( klipscombe@herald.ca)
© 2005 The Halifax Herald Limited
