Putting the friendly in Friendly Manitoba

STEINBACH — Morris is a long ways away from South Korea.

So, when Team Eun-ji Gim checked into the Stampede Inn ahead of the 2018 DeKalb Superspiel at the Morris Curling Club, they weren’t expecting to see a fellow Korean behind the front desk in Min Lee.

“Usually, you see Koreans in bigger cities, but it was a really small town, and out of nowhere, there was a Korean guy at the hotel we happened to be staying in,” said Gim, through Lee’s translating, at the Players’ Championship in Steinbach at the Southeast Event Centre.

“So, it was really surprising. But we were glad someone who speaks the same language was there.”

Lee, who grew up in Seoul and moved to Vancouver as a teen before his family purchased the Stampede Inn, helped Gim and her team feel at home in the southern Manitoba community. The word about Lee got back to the Korean Curling Federation, and, since then, he’s been hired as a technical trainer to help support all Korean teams when competing in Canada.

“First of all, he helps with some of the scheduling because he’s comfortable with the Canadian side of culture and how things kind of run. I really depend on him on that part,” said Gim.

“And at events, when an interviewer wants to ask me questions, I feel much more comfortable with Min being around. I know I can comfortably say what I want to say.”

Lee also helps Team Gim’s coach Guy Hemmings — a two-time Brier finalist — communicate with the players. The 39-year-old also does a bit of advising and coaching as well since he started playing the sport a year prior to meeting Gim and has developed a strong understanding for the ins and outs of the game.

“We always joke around that when you travel and go to a hotel and meet a Korean owner, you say ‘hi’ and that’s about it. And now, the relationship has gotten to another level. It’s special to me, it’s special to them, and we’re having fun,” said Lee.

“Most guys, I think, you want to get good at a sport. I always wanted to get good at a sport, but I didn’t have the athleticism, but with curling, it involves lots of strategy work and I thought I could excel at it and I happened to have that skill enough to be at the level to help out and be a part of some of the world’s top teams. It’s surreal.”

The role has become Lee’s full-time gig. He might even join Gim and company at next month’s Olympics in Italy but is still awaiting confirmation.

Gim, ranked No. 3 in the world, was 2-0 heading into Thursday’s late-night draw in Steinbach against Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni (2-0).

“When Korea’s playing against Canada, it’s kind of like, ‘Who do I cheer for?’ But of course, I have to cheer for Korea,” said Lee.

AROUND THE GLOBE

The Grand Slam of Curling tour is a massive grind for teams outside of North America.

All the events — except for the Kioti GSOC which was held in Stateline, Nev., last November — are held on Canadian soil.

The Asian and European rinks don’t have to just travel far and wide to participate, but they also have to overcome extreme jet lag on short notice.

“That’s actually the tough part, and we’re flying on economy, not business. And travelling is not that comfortable,” said Tirinzoni.

“We’re only arriving here a day early because otherwise it costs us too much money to spend too many days in advance here. So, we have to get over jet lag as soon as possible. These are facts that people maybe don’t know that much. So, yeah, this is the tough part that I’m probably never going to miss when I do quit.”

Out of the 24-team field in Steinbach, only five hail from Canada, while the three remaining teams made the quick trip up from the United States.

Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller is hopeful the GSOC will have an event on his side of the world soon.

“Right now, we are on a plane to Canada and back every two weeks which is tough with the time zones and seeing family. I’m still jet lagged, so, I was tired for this game, but I needed to be extra focused, and you get better with time,” said Schwaller, who was 2-0 heading into Thursday night’s late draw against USA’s John Shuster (1-1).

“We’ve grown so familiar with Canada. We’ve done 40-plus trips in total in my life. So, you know where to buy stuff and how everything looks. It’s basically like a second home. It’s easy to adjust, and we feel welcome here, so that makes everything easier, too.”

The GSOC takes players to different parts of this country that the average Canadian doesn’t even get around to exploring. Even with all the countless hours spent on planes, trains and automobiles, players like Gim still enjoy the lifestyle.

“The biggest part is having a crowd while we’re playing. When we have domestic events in Korea, we don’t really have a crowd,” said Gim.

“But here, we get to play in front of a big audience. And even if you’re playing against a Canadian team, we know the crowd will cheer for the home team, but at the same time, when we make good shots, they also cheer for us because they appreciate the level of curling we play.”

The Players’ Championship playoffs start Saturday and the finals take place on Sunday.

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