By Vivian Collings

Jacob Dobson, HHSS alumnus, and skip for U20 men’s curling team, Team Dobson, recently represented Canada and slid into first out of 15 teams in the Swiss Junior Cup in Bern, Switzerland from Feb. 24 to 26.
The team of four received the opportunity to play after securing the title of Canadian Junior Cup champions back in December.
With three pools of five leading to a playoff bracket, they won three of four games to move on to win their quarter final and semi final games before coming first in the final against Swiss Team Riggenberg.
“We had a strong start to the game picking up three points in the second end as well as two points in the fourth. Riggenberg fought back, but we were able to maintain control finishing the game with a score 6-5,” Dobson said.
He said he was pleased with his team’s performance during their first cup in a different country.
“I think the team had a great performance playing in the cup. All the teams there were really good, and it was clear that wearing the maple leaf on our backs is an honour,” he said. “We learned a lot about traveling and competing, dealing with the time change, and jet lag being the main skills. We hope to have more opportunities to travel and put on the team Canada jacket and now we’ll have this experience to draw on for next time.”
In addition to spending time at the rink, members of the Canadian teams were able to explore Switzerland.
“The curling was definitely one of the highlights, but we also had some time to be tourists. Some of our adventures that stood out most to me were climbing mountains in Glarus and enjoying some of the traditional Swiss food,” Dobson said.
Next, Team Dobson will be competing in Ottawa at the Ontario U20 Provincial Championships from Mar. 8 to 12, and Dobson will be competing in the Canadian College Championships in Sudbury with Humber College from Mar. 15 to 19.