N.S. curling team, brewing company ‘hurry hard’ to raise funds

Team Daigle is curling on a beer budget.

The Halifax-area women’s curling team, consisting of Jessica Daigle, Kristin Clarke, Lindsey Burgess and Emma Logan, is fundraising to compete at the provincial Scotties Open tournament in Berwick, N.S., next month.

After forming their rink at 2 Crows Brewing Co. earlier this year, they’ve teamed up with the brewery to create a special beer, with all the proceeds going to the team.

Emma Logan, who curls lead for the quartet, said all expenses must be paid by the team. That is why fundraisers are so important to them.

“It could cover accommodation costs of those (tournaments) and being on the road together and our gear and our membership fees for the curling club,” Logan said.

This is the first year all four women will curl together on a team. Logan said the brewery has a special meaning to them.

Logan said the team contacted the brewery with the idea of collaborating on a fundraiser. Operations manager Eric Daponte said he met the team to discuss the idea.

“Being a small business, we couldn’t necessarily cut them a cheque,” Daponte said.

Daponte said he and the team decided to sell tickets as a fundraiser, where each buyer got a beer with their purchase. They eventually decided to brew 100 litres of an exclusive beer that was served only on Thursday, the night of their fundraiser.

Logan said the beer is inspired by the team’s favourite brew at 2 Crows called the Jamboree. Logan said this influenced the team to create their beer, the Come Around, as an homage to a move in curling in which the rock of one team comes around the opponent’s guard rock.

Logan joked that curling is a “drinking sport.”

“It’s often found that curlers will be gathering after their games to share a beer with one another. And so yeah, we thought the name was very fitting to both the sport and the event.”

The brewery’s Facebook describes the beer as “a tropical and juicy pale ale.”