‘They work really well’: Team Saskatchewan sports Roughriders gloves at Brier

Eagle-eyed curling fans may have noticed this year’s Brier in Kelowna, B.C. has a touch of CFL flair as two members of Mike McEwen’s rink out of Saskatchewan are sporting Roughriders gloves on the ice.

It turns out that Kevin Marsh, who plays second, and his twin brother, Dan, who plays lead, have been wearing Roughriders gloves since last year when they received a tour of Mosaic Stadium during the Brier in Regina.

“We saw gloves there (in the equipment area) and we were like, ‘These actually would work really well for sweeping,’” Marsh told 3DownNation via telephone on Monday. “They work really well in terms of getting a good grip on the broom handle. Shout out to (Saskatchewan Roughriders equipment manager) Gordy (Gilroy) for hooking us up with some more pairs of gloves for this season.”

Curling Canada doesn’t have any equipment guidelines regarding gloves, allowing players to wear whatever they choose. Most brushers don’t wear gloves, though it depends on personal preference, according to Marsh.

“Some guys like just bare hands, some guys like a glove that isn’t quite as sticky. Other guys really like that stickiness that comes from those receiver gloves,” he said. “For me, it’s about maximizing the grip strength on the broom. You don’t want the hand moving around on the broom because the whole idea of sweeping is getting the maximum pressure down to be the most effective sweeper.”

Marsh indicated that some other curlers use receiver gloves to sweep, though he and his brother are the only two he’s aware of who sport gloves branded to a specific team or league. Though the 36-year-old doesn’t appear to be a diehard CFL fan, cheering for the Roughriders comes with the territory when you’re born and raised in Saskatchewan.

“It’s hard not to follow the Riders,” said Marsh. “I know they’ve kind of been struggling a little bit recently — they haven’t hoisted the Grey Cup in a lot of years — but we’re definitely following along when they’re playing well.”

The Marsh brothers joined Colton Flasch’s rink during the 2020-21 season with Catlin Schneider playing third. The team underwent a lineup change in 2023-24 when McEwen came aboard as skip, pushing Flasch to third.

The results drew immediate success as the squad finished second at last year’s Brier, falling 9-5 to Team Canada, skipped by Brad Gushue, in the final. The silver medal helped McEwen’s rink place third in the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) standings, prequalifying them for this year’s Brier.

McEwen, a native of Brandon, Man., curled out of his home province for over two decades, appearing in seven Briers. Though he still resides in Winnipeg, the 44-year-old is looking to snap Saskatchewan’s long Brier drought, which dates back to 1980. However, it doesn’t appear as though he’ll be cheering for the province’s CFL team anytime soon.

“This is his second year playing out of Sask, so we’re really trying to convert him to be more of a Sask guy,” said Marsh. “He says he’s getting used to the green colour now, but I don’t think we’ve converted him to a Riders fan. I think he’s still a Bombers fan, unfortunately. We’ll have to keep working on that.”

Marsh never played organized football growing up. The coach at his high school tried recruiting him and his brother to play, though they weighed “maybe 100 pounds soaking wet,” leading to them playing less physical sports.

Even if the Marsh twins never set foot on the gridiron, there are at least three players at this year’s Brier who did.

Ben Hebert and Marc Kennedy, both of whom curl under Brad Jacobs out of Alberta, played quarterback in the CJFL as members of the Regina Thunder and Edmonton Wildcats, respectively. Schneider, Marsh’s former teammate who now plays third for Reid Carruthers out of Manitoba, was a receiver at the U Sports level for the Regina Rams, recording 38 career catches for 373 yards and one touchdown.

McEwen’s rink is off to an undefeated start to this year’s Brier, posting wins over PEI, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. The squad currently sits atop the Pool B standings, giving them a strong chance to earn one of three available playoff berths.

“We knew it was gonna be tough to top last year when we were the home team down in Regina. The fans were really behind us and we had a really great week there, but Kelowna is doing a really great job this year as well,” said Marsh.

“Lots of our Sask fans are out to support us and the arena is awesome. The weather is beautiful here in Kelowna, so you can’t complain about that, and we’re off to a good start at 4-0, so we just want to keep that rolling.”

After falling just shy of winning last year’s Brier, one might say the gloves are off for Team Saskatchewan this week. That wouldn’t be entirely accurate, however, as the gloves — grippy and green-clad — remain very much on.

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