Melfort Special Olympics' men's curling team wear bronze medals on the podium at the 2020 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games from Thunder Bay, Ont. (Facebook/Melfort Special Olympics).

By Aaron Schulze

Melfort Special O Wins Bronze

Melfort curling team wins bronze at Special Olympics Canada Winter Games

Mar 4, 2020 | 6:07 PM

Melfort Special Olympics’ men’s curling team returned to Saskatchewan with hardware around their necks.

The curling team – Scot Earl, Garnet Gerski, Rodney Mitchell, Mitchell Anderson (replacing Kyle Hartt), Team Skip Danny Fiedelleck, Head Coach Brian Kjelshus, and Assistant Coach Carl Kruger – travelled to Thunder Bay, Ont. from Feb. 25 to 29 as part of the 2020 Special Olympics Canada National Winter Games. They represented Team Saskatchewan after winning provincials in February 2019.

The team got into Thunder Bay late Sunday, Feb. 23 and had a full day of team building exercises before the competition began. Saskatchewan went 4-1 in round robin play and earned a spot in the semifinals.

Members of Team Saskatchewan building snowmen as part of team building exercises (Facebook/Special Olympics Saskatchewan).

However, the curling team faced some adversity in the semifinals. They fell to Kingston, Ont. and had to settle for the bronze medal game.

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Kruger said the team felt down after the loss, but they got right back up to play B.C. for bronze.

“I give the team great credit because they rebounded tremendously for the bronze medal game,” Kruger told northeastNOW. “They came out the next morning ready to curl and they curled tremendously. They were all on the game plan.”

Saskatchewan got the better of B.C. and brought the bronze medals home. The 2020 winter games was the first time on a national stage for Gerski, but it was the third time for Fiedelleck, Earl, and Mitchell. Kruger said the experienced must have been seen to be truly believed.

“They were tremendously proud of what they accomplished,” Kruger said. “I’m pretty sure they’re ready and willing to go again four years from now to get another crack at [gold]. I found it overwhelming. It’s quite the experience.”

The Melfort Special Olympics curling returned to the city with a hero’s welcome. They were honoured at the Melfort Mustangs hockey game on March 2 and Kruger said they’ve been approached at the Melfort Curling Club with congratulations and well wishes from the public.

Curling season is now done for Melfort Special Olympics. In the meantime, the athletes will rest up as spring and summer sports, such as bowling, will get underway.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow