By Emily Stonehouse
It’s up up and away for Jacob Dobson as he continues his streak of significant curling wins. On March 19, the young athlete won gold at the Canadian College national competition in Sudbury. This accolade is added to his recent wins of the Canadian Junior Cup, the Swiss Junior Cup, and the Ottawa Valley Curling Association Superspiel. And that’s just from this season.
Dobson won his first provincial title as a Red Hawk. “Ever since I started curling, I’ve dreamt about winning a Canadian title,” he said. “It still feels surreal to think now I have.”
The Haliburton County local is currently studying at Humber College, and specializing in justice studies. Through the many competitions, he noted that his roots are always tied back to the Haliburton Highlands. “It takes years of building up to these events,” he said, “all of which started back in Haliburton with the Youth Curling Program.”
Dobson intends to keep pushing forward with the sport in any way he can. “With the college side, I have a few more seasons of eligibility and hope to go back and defend our CCAA [Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association] title,” he said.
He noted that by winning the CCAA this past year, the team earned a spot at the Pointsbet Invitational. The event – held in Oakville next September – is one of the largest curling events in the country.
While the awards seem to come naturally to Dobson and his team, the sport takes a tremendous amount of dedication, perseverance, and energy. “This season my teams have focused on spending a lot of time in the gym with our personal trainers and working with our sports psychologists,” shared Dobson. He also noted that there is an abundance of time on the road for the game, sharing that the final game of the past tournament was his 78th game of the season.
Dobson encouraged others to get into the sport, noting that while it may not always be easy, he believes it’s always worth it. “My biggest suggestion for people just getting into the sport of curling is to make sure you have fun playing, and practice makes perfect,” he said.
When asked about next steps, Dobson alluded to the journey ahead. “I will continue to compete on the competitive men’s circuit, more details will be released publicly later,” he shared.
While he continues to forge ahead, Dobson still makes the time to celebrate the successes along the way. “This team has put in so much work, and the success we’ve found this season, especially winning the CCAA gold, helps to make all that work feel even more worth it,” he said.