By Jeff D'Andrea

Man curling across Canada makes stop in P.A.

Jan 13, 2017 | 5:34 AM

Many Canadians have walked and ran across this great, vast country of ours. But how many have curled across it?

Rob Swan is close to accomplishing just that.

He stopped in the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club on Thursday, during Day 2 of his 13-day tour across Saskatchewan. He plans on playing at least 34 games in that span.

Swan is curling to raise funds for repairs to his hometown curling rink in Harvey Station, NB, 35 km southwest of Fredericton. But one look at Swan and you know the real reason why he’s doing this. He loves the sport and anybody else that shares his curling passion.   

“It’s the optimism that you see in the curlers at the curling club level that is keeping this sport going and growing this sport,” Swan said. That night, he threw third rocks for Patricia Yeske’s team in the Thursday night draw.

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The only province Swan hasn’t visited yet is Newfoundland. By the time March rolls around, that will change and he’ll be able to say he’s curled in every province across Canada. He also wants to play a match in 150 rinks by that time, as well.

Swan was bouncing around the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club before his Thursday night match like a little kid on Christmas Day. You would have never known it was miserably cold and windy that day, or that he had already played a match in Christopher Lake that afternoon.

He was running across sheets of ice just to shake hands and thank people for coming. Swan was working the crowd like he’d known them his whole life.

He’s done this countless times in the last two years and it hasn’t gotten old yet.

“You can’t go into a curling facility and not meet new friends,” Swan said, “If you do, there’s something wrong with you.”

He keeps track of his progress on his Facebook page and started a crowd funding page for the Harvey Curling Club repairs. The rink was built in 1961 and is in need of refurbishments.

Although significant fundraising is stillneeded, Swan said he won’t stop until the goal is complete.

“We don’t have the businesses, we don’t have the finances to tackle it and we don’t have anybody to go to for the finances. We’re on our own,” Swan said. “But we will raise the money to refurbish the club. That’s alright, I’ll do this as long as it takes.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated at 10:16 a.m. on Jan. 13 to correct an error. Swan was in Christopher Lake yesterday, not Candle Lake.

jdandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW