Ten times he乌鸦传媒檚 had the opportunity to try and represent Canada at the World Men乌鸦传媒檚 Curling Championships.
The closest he came was falling in the Tim Hortons Brier final in 2014 in his hometown of Kamloops.
But on Wednesday morning, Nov. 1, Jim Cotter of Vernon finally got to play for his country.
Cotter has been picked up as an alternate by reigning Brier champ Brad Gushue of Newfoundland and Labrador to play at the Pan Continental Curling Championships being held down Highway 97 at the Kelowna Curling Club. Gushue inserted Cotter into the morning draw game against Chinese Taipei 乌鸦传媒� an 8-1 Canada victory.
Leading 6-1 at the fifth-end break, Canada was able to put Cotter into the lineup for the first time, and he showed the sweeping prowess he乌鸦传媒檚 picked up playing a mixed-doubles heavy schedule with his daughter Jaelyn.
乌鸦传媒淚t felt good,乌鸦传媒� said Cotter, the 10-time B.C. men乌鸦传媒檚 champ, with a smile to Curling Canada after the match. 乌鸦传媒淚 want to thank the guys for the opportunity to come to this event and tossing me in there 乌鸦传媒� it really means a lot.
乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e been playing my whole life to wear one of these (Canadian uniform); it乌鸦传媒檚 been pretty fun. Had some good laughs and they乌鸦传媒檝e made me feel like I fit right in. I乌鸦传媒檝e known these guys for a long time, so I knew what I was getting into. They乌鸦传媒檝e made me feel welcome all the way.乌鸦传媒�
Said Gushe of Cotter: 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e played lots of games against him and you can make a very good argument that he乌鸦传媒檚 one of the best players never to represent Canada before this opportunity. So to get him in there was nice. Hopefully we get another chance; I乌鸦传媒檇 certainly be happy to do that.乌鸦传媒�
With the win, Gushue and teammates vice-skip Mark Nichols, second E.J. Harnden, lead Geoff Walker, alternate Cotter, team coach Caleb Flaxey and national coach Jeff Stoughton improved to 4-1, and clinched a semifinal berth Friday morning.
The other mission in Kelowna has also been accomplished 乌鸦传媒� Canada has clinched its spot in the 2024 LGT World Men乌鸦传媒檚 Championship, March 30-April 7 in Shaffhausen, Switzerland.
乌鸦传媒淭hat乌鸦传媒檚 good news for us, but there乌鸦传媒檚 still lots of work to do,乌鸦传媒� said Gushue. 乌鸦传媒淲e want to win our last two games to probably guarantee the hammer (for the semifinal). I don乌鸦传媒檛 think it would guarantee it through the playoffs, but certainly in the semifinal it should give us that, which is a big bonus.乌鸦传媒�
It乌鸦传媒檚 a traditional semifinal format with first place in the round robin playing fourth place while second plays third Friday at 9 a.m. (all times Pacific). The winners advance to the gold-medal game Saturday at 3 p.m., while the losers play for bronze Friday at 7 p.m.
The Canadians complete their Wednesday assignments at 7 p.m. (all times Pacific) against Australia乌鸦传媒檚 Team Jay Merchant (1-4).
In other games Wednesday morning, South Korea乌鸦传媒檚 Team Jongduk Park (5-0) also clinched a playoff spot with an 8-3 triumph over Team Andrew Stopera of the U.S. (3-2); Japan乌鸦传媒檚 Team Riku Yanagisawa (4-1) was a 6-4 winner over New Zealand乌鸦传媒檚 Team Anton Hood (3-2); and Australia hit the win column with a 9-4 win over Guyana乌鸦传媒檚 Team Rayad Husain (0-5).
Canada乌鸦传媒檚 Team Kerri Einarson (3-2) is back on the ice Wednesday in the women乌鸦传媒檚 competition.
