Schoeler officiates at Tim Hortons Brier

Curling enthusiasts may have spotted a familiar local face as they watched the Tim Hortons Brier held in Calgary, which began on March 4. The familiar face is none other than Dennis Schoeler from Kindersley, who umpired at the brier all week — following that, he will return to Calgary to officiate at the World Men’s Curling Championship, which will be held April 2 to 11.

“I’m coming back for the Worlds. That’s my first World, and I’m excited about that,” said Dennis, who has been an official at the provincial level for 24 years and has 13 years as a national umpire.

“The best thing about umpiring at this level is that you have the best seat in the house to watch,” Dennis said. Dennis is officiating with a team, and one of those team members is Kevin Glessing from Wilkie. Dennis and Kevin have been friends since childhood and have travelled together to many curling events throughout the years.

“There are six of us, and we work as a team,” Dennis said. “Basically, we supervise the game and do all the measurements and time-outs during a game. We also deal with any ice infractions that occur. Umpires basically run the event once we get there. You get to meet people from all across Canada. That’s what keeps us coming back,” Dennis concluded.

There aren’t any spectators present this time around, and there are numerous regulations that need to be followed. The volunteer umpires took a Covid test in Saskatoon five days before they left for Calgary and then took another after they checked in their room. Dennis had to wait 24 hours before receiving the negative test results.

“It’s a different experience with Covid, that’s for sure,” he said. “All you’re missing is the crowd noise and spectators. After the game is over, we disinfect all the benches and chairs.”

Dennis and his team put in long days, leaving for the rink at 7:15 a.m. and returning at 10:00 or 11:00 each evening. Nevertheless, Dennis enjoys every minute of it.

“I’m just a curling fan; I curled all my life, and my wife and I attend briers. For me, it is about the renewing of old acquaintances. I know the majority of curling teams; we recognize each other from past events. We’re acquaintances, and we have something to talk about when we get together,” Dennis concluded.