Latest news with #Korab
CBC
18-02-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Oklahoma students tried out curling with Olympic gold medallist Jamie Korab while stuck in St. John's
A group of eighth graders from Tulsa, Okla. headed for Dublin, Ireland ended up stuck in St. John's for two days — and made the most of their surprise stopover with a curling lesson from an Olympic gold medallist. The students had two days of sightseeing and exploring, and even got to try out an iconic Canadian sport with Waterford Valley MHA and Olympic champion curler Jamie Korab. "It's kind of interesting that we landed in a place that has a lot of Irish culture," said Jenks Middle School principal Nick Brown. "So we're really looking at it as a bonus." The group also received chocolates and a personal letter from Premier Andrew Furey welcoming them to the province. The troupe visited Cape Spear, The Rooms and the Basilica in St. John's, making the most out of their pit stop. They were headed to Dublin to study science and agriculture but ended up experiencing a few bumps in the road, leaving Tulsa on the morning of Feb. 12. A delay in Chicago led them to miss their next flight. When they finally got on a plane headed to Dublin on Thursday, it had to land in St. John's for a medical emergency. Luckily, EF Educational Tours Canada, a student travel company, stepped in and was able to get local tour guide Michael Holden to bring the students around on Friday. Their stay was extended by another day after their Saturday morning flight was cancelled due to high winds — another novel experience for the preteens. "We're from the southern part of the United States, so we don't really have weather like this," said Brown. "[The] kids are making snowballs and throwing them at each other." Brown said he was impressed and grateful for Newfoundland's hospitality during their 48-hour stay. "This will be something that these kids will remember the rest of their lives," he said. Trying out curling When Korab heard about the stranded eighth graders, he pulled some strings and got the kids on the ice. "People are stranded here, let's show them a good time," said Korab. "Rather than having them hang around a hotel room, give them an experience they've never had, and maybe [they'll] go back to Oklahoma City and Tulsa and say, 'Hey, we tried curling and it was about a lot of fun.'" Learning how to play curling was an exciting new experience for the students, said Brown. "There may be an Olympic curler from Jenks, Oklahoma in our future that we don't even know about," he said. For students Gretta Richardson, Isabel Englebrecht and Zeke Catterson, getting to try out curling was their favourite activity in Newfoundland. "It was really cool and exciting, [but] it was really hard to put that rock out," said Englebrecht. While Englebrecht said she knew about Newfoundland from the musical Come From Away, the others said they hadn't heard of the province before. "I didn't know it existed," said Catterson. While they missed out on a few days in Dublin and had to spend hours in an airport, the students were pleased with the opportunity to experience another country on their trip. "It's actually like, really beautiful.... If I hadn't gone here, I would have never like known how pretty it was," said Catterson. The group was able to fly out of St. John's successfully Sunday morning.
CBC
26-01-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Toby McDonald, N.L. curling legend and Olympic gold medal coach, dies at 75
Curling legend Toby McDonald, who won the province's first-ever Brier Championship in 1976, has died at the age of 75. McDonald's contributions to curling in Canada didn't end there. He coached Team Gushue, leading them to winning an Olympic gold medal in 2006. A post on the Team Gushue social media page says McDonald played an instrumental role in earning the medal. "A respected lawyer and true leader, Toby's influence extended far beyond the ice, inspiring us all," said the post. A mentor to many in the community, McDonald created a lasting impact on those who knew him. Team Gushue member during the 2006 Olympics and Waterford Valley MHA Jamie Korab says McDonald had an allure around him from the first day he met him. When Korab was a young curler, his dream was to win Brier and at the time, McDonald's team was the only one in the province to have won it. "It was like seeing a celebrity on TV for me," said Korab, "And then as years went on, obviously playing against him as a junior and a men's player, I got to know him a lot better." A leader and icon In 2005, Team Gushue needed to find a new coach, and the name at the top of their list was Toby McDonald. "Given not only that he's done it, and went to the Brier in '76 and won," said Korab. "But just his calm demeanour and his experience. And yeah, it obviously worked out." Korab said McDonald's wisdom has always stuck with him, including a comment he made prior to the Olympics, "That as good as Brad is, if you had a team of four Brad Gushues it probably wouldn't work out." Korab said McDonald assured him the team needed their four distinct personalities to succeed. "He kind of put that in perspective that you know, you need every player, you need what they bring to the table," said Korab. After the Olympics, Korab says McDonald continued in the sport, including playing himself and coaching junior curlers. "He was such an iconic person at the club. Everyone knew him," said Korab. "He wanted to keep that part of curling going." For Korab, McDonald was not only a coach, but a lawyer, mentor and friend. "I'll remember that gentle giant, a real nice guy and a true friend that'll be really missed," said Korab.
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Toby McDonald, N.L. curling legend and Olympic gold medal coach, dies at 75
Toby McDonald coached Team Gushue in 2006, leading them to win an Olympic gold medal. (Jamie Korab/Facebook) Curling legend Toby McDonald, who won the province's first-ever Brier Championship in 1976, has died at the age of 75. McDonald's contributions to curling in Canada didn't end there. He coached Team Gushue, leading them to winning an Olympic gold medal in 2006. A post on the Team Gushue social media page says McDonald played an instrumental role in earning the medal. "A respected lawyer and true leader, Toby's influence extended far beyond the ice, inspiring us all," said the post. A mentor to many in the community, McDonald created a lasting impact on those who knew him. Team Gushue member during the 2006 Olympics and Waterford Valley MHA Jamie Korab says McDonald had an allure around him from the first day he met him. When Korab was a young curler, his dream was to win Brier and at the time, McDonald's team was the only one in the province to have won it. "It was like seeing a celebrity on TV for me," said Korab, "And then as years went on, obviously playing against him as a junior and a men's player, I got to know him a lot better." Toby McDonald (front right), along with his team members Jack MacDuff (front left), Doug Hudson (back left) and Ken Templeton (back right) took home the title at the 1976 Brier in Regina. (CBC) A leader and icon In 2005, Team Gushue needed to find a new coach, and the name at the top of their list was Toby McDonald. "Given not only that he's done it, and went to the Brier in '76 and won," said Korab. "But just his calm demeanour and his experience. And yeah, it obviously worked out." Korab said McDonald's wisdom has always stuck with him, including a comment he made prior to the Olympics, "That as good as Brad is, if you had a team of four Brad Gushues it probably wouldn't work out." Korab said McDonald assured him the team needed their four distinct personalities to succeed. "He kind of put that in perspective that you know, you need every player, you need what they bring to the table," said Korab. After the Olympics, Korab says McDonald continued in the sport, including playing himself and coaching junior curlers. "He was such an iconic person at the club. Everyone knew him," said Korab. "He wanted to keep that part of curling going." For Korab, McDonald was not only a coach, but a lawyer, mentor and friend. "I'll remember that gentle giant, a real nice guy and a true friend that'll be really missed," said Korab. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.
