23 April 2024
Good Siblings — on and off the ice
Good curling depends on good teamwork, players having a close relationship with each other, and also good, clear communication. So, you’d expect that having a brother and sister on the same team would tick all those boxes.
This year’s World Mixed Doubles Championship includes two teams that are made up of brothers and sisters – Isabella and Rasmus Wranaa from Sweden, and Becca and Matt Hamilton from the United States. All four are experienced international medallists, while both Matt and Rasmus are Olympic champions.
Both teams are doing well as the round robin progresses, so on that evidence, it seems like a good idea to have siblings play together… But what do they think?
Rasmus doesn’t find it unusual to be playing with his sister, as he explains, “For us it feels kind of normal to be playing together because we’ve done it for so long now. But what you have to think about is that we’re siblings and you have to stay calm in all situations, and sometimes you can get a little bit annoyed, so you’ve just got to calm down.”
Sweden are sitting at the top of their group, so things are going well so far. But how about if the results aren’t quite going your way?
Isabella has thought about that too. She says, “We have been in situations where it’s not going well before, and we know how to work together through that.”
She also points put another advantage, “I guess we’re pretty similar in how we think about curling and tactics as well, so that helps. Also, I enjoy playing with Rasmus.”
As for the Americans, they share similar experiences. Becca says, “We’ve got a good chemistry for the most part. We have our ups and downs, but I think we’ve learned over the years how to respond to one another. It’s great playing with Matt because he knows my release better than most and he can give me feedback when I need it.”
Matt also says he appreciates playing with his sister, “I’m definitely her brother but being siblings and having watched her as much as I have, I know how good she is, and I definitely hold her to a high standard. She’s a great player and I like to make sure she’s getting all the bits of information that I’ve got.”
And, talking about their communication on the ice, Matt admits, “I think I can be a little bit blunt sometimes with my feedback, but that’s something I’m working on.”
In response to that, Becca simply says, with a smile, “Blunt? … and then some!”
Besides the two brother and sister combinations taking part, there are several married couples and life partners playing together, and exploring those playing relationships would be daunting! Perhaps another time.
Engage with World Curling during the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship 2024 on TikTok, Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, and Weibo and by searching the hashtags #WMDCC and #curling
