Cathy King keeps on curling. Growing up in Edmonton, she
played many sports. Winter evenings included time spent around the
dinner table discussing curling strategy with the whole family.
Older brothers Robb and Chris won the 1974 Canadian School
Boys and when Cathy skipped her team to a successful National
Junior Womens Championship in 1977, curling appeared to be near the
top of her list. After a repeat win in 1978, the only thing
missing was a World Championship, but that wouldn't be available to
Junior Women for another decade. A few years out of juniors,
Cathy got married, had kids, and life seemed to hold her back from
reaching those previous levels of success. She continued to
practice and focus on the game however, and after knocking on the
door a few times, Cathy finally won Alberta and reached the Scott
Tournament of Hearts in 1995. Expectations were low, but a
hot streak that included 5 games in 27 hours led her squad
from 2 tie-breakers to the brink of a Canadian Championship, losing
in the last end of a 6-5 defeat at the hands of Manitoba's Connie
Laliberte. Cathy would return to the Scotties 6 more times,
including a dramatic extra end victory over Ann Merklinger in the
1998 finals. The World Championship would elude her that
season, but she would return to the International stage as a
Canadian Senior Champion and take the gold medal at the Worlds
in 2013. Cathy shares stories from her early years as a junior,
through the struggles and heartbreaks, including battles with
vertigo, to her eventual success, and becoming the first skip
to capture the Canadian Curling Triple Crown of a Junior, a
Scotties (or Brier) and Senior Championship. There are a few
extra stories included after our talk as well.