Inductees

Kevin Smale (2001)

Curling Athlete

Kevin Smale is known around the curling rink these days as “Duke.” When his career was just budding almost 50 years ago, he was known as a “rink rat,” hanging around helping out with the ice in the rink that had just moved indoors to the basement of the Civic Centre.

Competitive curling for Smale began when he was a 12-year-old playing in the local high school league. That year was the first of many successes, as he won the high school championship and took home the McArthur Cup. There were more achievements at the high school level. In 1955 Smale went to the provincial high school championships at Nelson. A return trip to the high school provincials in 1958 rewarded the Smale rink with a victory and a berth in the Canadian Championships in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. In the late 1950s there was no such thing as a junior league for young curlers so when Smale left high school it was a huge jump to the men’s division.

The pattern of success started in high school continued in the big leagues. Smale participated in 38 consecutive British Columbia Interior curling championships, missing his first one this past season when he retired from the game.

In 48 years of curling there was more than a lot of enjoyment, there were many memorable career accomplishments. Smale is proud of the 12 provincial championships he played in and the two Canadian National Championships. His proudest curling accomplishment, no doubt, came in 1969 when he and his rink placed second at the MacDonald’s Brier in Oshawa, Ontario. Up against some of the big names in curling that year like Ron Northcott, the Prince George rink of Smale, third Pete Sherba, second Pat Carr and lead Bob MacDonald came home with a record of nine wins and a loss -- one win away from that Canadian title that eluded Smale throughout his curling career.

In 1969 after the Brier, the Smale rink was invited to play in CBC’s Cross Canada Curling competition televised to the nation. Also that year, and right here at home, the Smale rink took the Kelly Cup home, a feat Smale was able to accomplish two more times in his career.

Retirement this season has not kept Smale from frequenting the curling rink. This season he can be found there, helping out the juniors. With almost 50 years of experience Smale will have endless advice and tips for the curlers of the future for many years to come.