Schmirler and the perfect team of curlers
Sandra Schmirler, Jan Betker, Joan McCusker, and Marcia Gudereit were a perfect match on and off the ice.
When people speak about the curling team of Sandra Schmirler, Jan Betker, Joan McCusker, and Marcia Gudereit, the words sisters, best friends, and soul mates are often invoked. This is unusual language in a sport that is so competitive, but the Sandra Schmirler foursome was far from average.
The story of the Sandra Schmirler curling team is the story of four motivated women who put their individual talents together to create a force that became a legend in the world of curling. Each member was perfectly fitted to her position and the team ran like clockwork. Each member had similar beginnings to their curling careers, being exposed to the sport at a young age while growing up in the curling-obsessed province of Saskatchewan. Although they were born in different parts of the province, the groundwork for their future success was laid in startlingly similar ways by parents and coaches who stressed the basics of the sport and the proper attitude that would always keep their "hobby" in perspective.
Sandra and Jan first met as teammates on a Regina rink skipped by another woman. Joan and Marcia met as a result of a recommendation from Joan's future husband, Brian. When Sandra and Jan decided to form their own team, they asked Joan's sister, Cathy, to join them. Cathy declined because she was pregnant, however, she recommended her sister Joan who agreed, but only if she could also bring along her friend Marcia as the lead. The rest is history.
Seldom have four individuals jelled so quickly and been as close off the ice as they were on it. Their individual skills, goals, and personalities combined perfectly to form an unstoppable team. They won three Canadian and three World Championships in 1993, 1994, and 1997, becoming the first women's team composed of the same four members to win more than one world championship title. In 1998, the Schmirler team became the first women's team to ever win an Olympic Gold Medal in curling.
In 2000, Sandra Schmirler passed away after a battle with cancer at age 36. Her legacy lives on as a mother, teammate, friend, and curling legend. The Sandra Schmirler Foundation, created in 2001, raises funds for babies born too soon, too small, or too sick.
Sandra Schmirler (posthumous), Jan Betker, Joan McCusker, and Marcia Gudereit were awarded the Order of Sport and inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.