It was a chilly Sunday in January of 2019 with snow and ice blanketing much of Highway 5 east of Saskatoon, with treacherous road conditions on the final day of the Saskatchewan Scotties, beyond Humboldt Was.
But inside the Elgar Petersen Arena, the shivering cold was kept at bay by the palpable heat of tears, celebration and jubilation shared by Robin Silvernagle and her teammates when the then 31-year-old skip won his first provincial Scotties title.
The initial reaction shared by reporters covering the moment was, “Where is he?” Skip disappeared after the last stone was thrown.
Silvernagel said on January 27, 2019, “I can’t stand watching it, there’s no way I could see (the final stone).” ‘Robin, where are you?’ (That’s when I realized) We won, then I thought, ‘This is real.’
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Four years later and 420 kms away from her maiden win, the veteran skipper clinched her third provincial title at Affinity Place in Estevan with a 8-4 victory over Nancy Martin’s rink on Sunday evening.
“For this event we were more relaxed; You better play with ease,” said Skip. “I think with that monkey off your back, after you win, you can just play free.
“A lot of the pressure was off, which makes a world of difference, (we just wanted) to have fun, you never know when the opportunity is going to be snatched away from you, so you get to have fun and enjoy and appreciate Got the moment.”
Thirdly Kelly Schaefer echoed that sentiment.
“I like playing with all the girls,” she said. “It’s a positive team, there’s never any stress, everyone’s temperament is great, everyone’s optimistic and Robin and I work really well together.”
The emotions after the win were still as present as they were in 2019, but the victory felt very different than the first for Silvernagle, having gone through an emotional roller-coaster the past year and a half to miss Pebble Ice.
In September of 2021, Robyn gave birth to son Colt, who was born about six weeks early.
Over the past year, both she and husband Chad Geidinger have spent countless hours in and out of hospitals.
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It makes this victory, which she shared with the 16-month-old colt, all the more memorable.
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“He spent almost a whole year in the hospital since he was born, had eight surgeries. He will need more, but hopefully not for a while,” Silvernagel said through glassy eyes. “There were definitely times when he shouldn’t have done that, so we’re very happy he’s here with us,” he said.
“It’s always been a dream, I’ve always been envious of people who can have their kids here, so it’s wonderful to have them here.
Her team, made up of longtime lead Cara Thévenot, second Sherri Just and Schaefer, got together before the last chance qualifying event held at North Battleford.
“Kara and I have curled together for a long time and neither one of us was curling on a team this year, so we said, ‘Why don’t we just throw a team together for playdowns? That’s what happens,” Silvernagel elaborated. “We wanted some good players so we had a chance, we played well (Sunday) and gave ourselves a chance.”
Schaefer said she did not think she would compete this year.
“This year I was thinking I was semi-retired, not playing women; I have a family and thought I didn’t have time to commit or work like before,” she said. “[But]when Robin called me and said, ‘Do you want to participate in provincials?’ (I thought,) Why not, let’s just kill it.
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And over the past month, the quartet has played well, all the while tying up fast due to the sheer volume of games played in the two events.
Silvernagle said, “I think we played seven (in the last chance event) and nine (in the provincial Scots), so 16 (in total).”
“We’re all in it for the same reason, we weren’t putting too much pressure on ourselves, we just wanted to go out there and play, hit some shots and have some fun. We’re all experienced curlers, so you can put it all together.
Schafer said the team was staying active.
“We’re tough, we run marathons and go to the gym and everything in between,” Schafer said. “While everyone[else]is curling up we’re doing fitness stuff and dealing with home and family and work.”
“We’re in good shape – I don’t think we’d be here if we weren’t – so it’s fun, 16 games and a few more to go.”
It’s not Schaefer’s first green jacket, having picked up a few in the mixed event, but this is his first trip to the Scotties.
However, the experienced third has plenty of experience having won a medal at the World Championships four times, albeit for his native Scotland.
“I felt so proud when I won my first provincial mixed, it was the first time I was able to play anything here and I really enjoyed coming to another country and winning something, or representing the province in something. Felt privileged to do.” he said.
“Now that it’s in women’s, I’m so proud,” she said holding back tears.
Unlike every other team competing in the Scotties, Team Saskatchewan has the distinct advantage of an international cheering section dedicated to watching the provincial Scotties watch all the action despite the eight-hour time difference from British Columbia to Scotland. Will continue ,
“Everyone was watching,” Schaefer said with a laugh. “I like 7:30 (evening) games when they are already in bed and they can find out the score the next morning.
“We’ve had so much support. When I turned on my phone (there were a lot of messages). The world of curling is such a small world everyone cheers for you, I’ve heard from so many people this week, old fashioned in Scotland I have so many curling friends that I haven’t heard from in a long time, and it warms my heart to know that they were all cheering for us.
Scotties runs from February 17 to 26 in Kamloops.