Tyler Tardi is still sick and nowhere near 100 per cent, but the skip of the defending champion B.C. men鈥檚 team at the 2018 New Holland Canadian Junior Curling Championships in Quebec is feeling much better than his low point earlier in the week.
Then, he was having 鈥� ahem 鈥� stomach issues combined with a stubborn cough that left him barely upright at times.
Friday at the Club de Curling Grand-M茅re, he admitted the stomach issue has been largely overcome; the coughing is still a problem but it鈥檚 better, and, oh yes, he鈥檇 pulled a stomach muscle from coughing so much.
鈥淪till walking,鈥� he said with a smile. 鈥淪till breathing.鈥�
Which pretty much sums up the situation of Tardi鈥檚 team of vice-skip Sterling Middleton, second (and brother) Jordan Tardi, lead Zac Curtis and coach Paul Tardi (Tyler and Jordan鈥檚 dad).
The team has not been near its best here this week, but has rallied in the late stages of the Canadian Juniors, and thanks to a 5-4 victory over Karsten Sturmay of Alberta (Edmonton) today in an extra end, they鈥檙e now set up a family reunion of sorts in Saturday鈥檚 semifinals 鈥� Tardi and his brother Jordan, who plays second on Team B.C., are cousins with Manitoba鈥檚 vice-skip Jacques Gauthier.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been struggling a bit, I鈥檓 not going to lie,鈥� said Tyler Tardi, 19.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just hanging in there, and we鈥檝e gotten a bit lucky. That鈥檚 the way the sport goes, I guess. But we have a chance, and that鈥檚 all we wanted from the start 鈥� a chance to be in the playoffs, and mission accomplished.鈥�
Whoever wins Saturday鈥檚 semifinal will run into another great team in Sunday鈥檚 6 p.m. gold-medal game 鈥� Northern Ontario鈥檚 Tanner Horgan (8-2; Sudbury), who won silver at the 2016 Canadian Juniors and bronze last year in Victoria.
鈥淚 think we can all breathe a sigh of relief,鈥� said Manitoba skip JT Ryan. 鈥淟ike, we鈥檙e happy with where we are now, but there鈥檚 still more to do.鈥�
The winning teams Sunday will represent Canada at the 2018 World Junior Championships, March 3 to 10 in Aberdeen, Scotland.
