#PCCC 2023 Sports Media Trainee Blog
Rebecca Villagracia (20) from United States and Padraig Faherty (20) from Ireland are the latest winners of the Sports Media Trainee Programme. In March, both were selected to join the World Curling Federation Media Team at the Pan Continental Curling Championships 2023 in Kelowna, Canada.
Rebecca will be working as a photographer while Padraig will be providing written and social media content.
Follow their time in Kelowna via their personal blogs.
Rebecca Villagracia
Last few days – Job is done!
The couple days were a little chaotic, but lots of fun. On Friday, semi finals and the bronze games were happening, while on Saturday there were both the gold women’s and men’s games, plus the ‘B’ teams championship. I was photographing the ‘B’ teams during the first session on Saturday, and it got a bit challenging trying to pay attention to two different matches at once! Luckily they didn’t end at the same time and I was able to capture celebration moments from both of the winning teams. It can be hard not knowing how all of the rules of scoring in curling works while photographing. I’m used to photographing games where a timer decided the end of the game, and not the score in a certain amount of ends in curling. I really had to pay attention to when each of those games would end so I wouldn’t miss an important moment to photograph! I think I did alright, and I liked the celebration I photographed of the Hong Kong men’s team after winning the Bronze.
On Saturday Stephen had me put together a group of what I thought my top 10 photos of the week were, and it was hard! When you have a couple hundred selects to choose from, sometimes it can be really hard to narrow that down to ten. But I liked what I ended up with and feel like I had a nice variety.
We all went out to dinner on Saturday after everyone was done with their work and all of the photos were uploaded. It was nice to find more vegetarian options, I had a veggie burger and shared some guacamole with Padraig. We all quizzed on our geography skills. I think I should’ve paid attention a bit more in AP world history in high school since I could only name 5 European countries on the map…. (It’s okay I was the only one that could name all 50 states on a map).
I got unlucky with an early flight on Sunday morning, but at least I wasn’t alone! It felt like a third of the Kelowna airport at 5 am were all from PCCC.
A huge thank you to the WCF and the entire media team for taking a chance on me, as someone who has never photographed or really knew a lot about the sport of curling.
Stephen, thank you for really encouraging me to really look at my selects and narrow down what photographs I was picking.I enjoyed working and learning with you this entire week!
It was a pleasure to work with you Steve! It was fun to see how all of your knowledge of curling can impact what you’re photographing. I really enjoyed seeing how you and Stephen photographed the event with both of your styles!
Amy, Mike, and Emily, thank you for all the laughs this week. It’s a lot more fun to edit my photos with a lot of people at the media table! Emily, thank you for teaching me some rules about curling, and for introducing me to Canada’s All Dressed Chips, it’s very sad that I can’t find them here in New York, they’re excellent. Amy, still waiting on that Modern Scottish music playlist.
Padraig, it was a blast being a trainee with you! It was cool to share our different cultures, and I’m happy you got to experience a Walmart for the very first time. Glad you didn’t have any bear encounters while on your runs this week. And I do have the mention that I definitely won this week with only 1 hotel key card while you ended with like 5.
Also, a shout out to the kitchen staff at the Kelowna Curling Club, especially Jason! Everyone was very nice and accommodating with me being vegetarian, and I appreciate that a lot.
To anyone thinking about applying next year, definitely do it. And make sure to bring some gloves to use while photographing!!
Day six – Getting the hang of things
I’m surprised that it’s already Thursday, and there are only two more days left! Thankfully, I’ve begun to understand the sport of curling a little bit more these past few days.
Photographing the PCCC is a lot different from what I’m used to. Usually I’m photographing an event or sport where you don’t get a “redo.” Yes, that’s still true for the PCCC, but it’s a lot different when you’re photographing the same sport in the same arena for days in a row. It really forces you to really think creatively and find more unique angles. I’ve photographed many games of the same sport, but never for more than 2 days straight, so now on day 6 has given me the opportunity to anticipate when something will happen and where to be in the arena for it.
I’ve really had to focus and really think about what images I was selecting to upload. In the past, sometimes I would upload two photos that are slightly similar, but Stephen has really been making me look at my selects and see which similar photo isn’t as good and to not include it.
Stephen had me and Steve get different arena shots on Halloween. Outside the Kelowna Curling Club there’s a huge curling stone statue that I photographed. I’ve never seen anything like it. And it’s quite tall!
It was weird to be outside of the US on Halloween, but someone had carved a curling stone onto a pumpkin which was really cool to see. There were even some spectators fully decked out in costume! What dedication, I hope they stayed warm.
I had the mid afternoon shift off on Wednesday, so I took the opportunity to explore Kelowna a bit. Just a block away from the curling club was three deer, one with huge antlers. They were completely unfazed by me or the cars driving by. The walk to the lake was short, and I was able to explore some parks and a small beach area on the water. It was a nice change of scenery from being in the curling club.
It’s been a lot of fun hearing about everyone’s life and how it can differ a lot from mine. For instance, I got to teach Padraig how whipped cream from a can works, since they apparently don’t have that in Ireland.
I’m very excited for the next few days and to photograph the rest of the championship.
Rebecca: Day One – Travel, practice day and first games
I originally heard about the Sports Media Trainee Programme from two prior trainee photographers, Eakin Howard and Cheyenne Boone, from an Instagram post they had both shared. I applied with no knowledge of curling, and was surprised that I was chosen to photograph the Pan Continental Curling Championships. But I always love learning and photographing a new, unique sport. I also learned recently that Rochester, New York has a curling club! Being from southern California, I haven’t had a lot of experience with any ice sports until going to college in Rochester.
It’s been a busy start to the week! I had a 16 hour journey from Rochester, New York, which was a surprisingly long journey for me even though I am one of the closer people to Kelowna. After two layers in Chicago and Vancouver, I finally landed in Kelowna around midnight and was ready to sleep.
The next morning, the team practices started and I was in charge of getting most of the practice shots as Stephen and Steve handled the headshots and team photos. It was very interesting to see the sport of curling in person for the first time. I didn’t realize how fast each team would go during a practice. We all got to hear Amy’s favorite music on the way back to the hotel, a genre she calls Modern Scottish. Imagine EDM and bagpipes. I think she was the most excited to hear the bagpipe player during the opening ceremony.
All of the media team went to dinner after a day of practices, and I was very happy to find a tofu meal here in Kelowna! Turns out me, Padraig, and Stephen are all vegetarian and we all got the same meal.
Photographing a sport without knowing the rules of the game is interesting, figuring it out as I go along the past two days. I wouldn’t recommend it, since I sometimes miss some reactions from players since I’m not able to anticipate it as well. But photographing matches for hours, I was able to pick up some of the rules, with some explanations from Padraig as well.
The first day of games went well, (I hope). It was a bit stressful remembering to pay attention when I could and could not move to a different spot. But all went well and I was able to still get creative photos. I took what I know from photographing hockey, went to the top of the stands, and took photos from there. I’m definitely excited for the upcoming week!
Padraig Faherty
Days 5-7: Doughnuts, “Drip” and Job Done
“Two boxes of fifty please,” was my confident order at Tim Horton’s on finals morning. Little did I know, this being North America, portions are supersized compared with Europe. I didn’t realise that fifty ‘Timbits,’ was literally a box of fifty doughnuts. That’s North America for you. Still, multiple curlers and verified Canadian citizens had urged me to try these artery-clogging national institutions and they did not disappoint. As well as this, having an aggressively sized box of doughnuts was an effective way to win favour with anyone who passed by the media desk on finals day.
After victory for the Korean women in the morning, Canada took men’s gold in a game during which my mentor Mike seemingly dissolved into thin air (he had to catch a flight, but left with an aura of mystery). This left me to fend for myself in the mix zone as I scrambled to get quotes for the men’s final match report. The media team wrapped up our work for the week as the arena was quickly dismantled around us. With the promise of pizza from the TV crew we made our way to the trailer only to find that too had been swiftly gutted leaving just a solitary box of slimy, cold Hawaiian pizza on the floor. It’s the thought that counts, I suppose.
After a swift stop at the hotel to change we headed out for a final team dinner, but not before photographer Stephen revealed himself to be the only person in their twenties unaware of the meaning of the term “drip.” To celebrate our last night we indulged in some boujie beverages in the “Cactus Club.” Here, I disappointed Emily and Rebecca with my inability to back up big claims about my knowledge of US geography (we won’t talk about Rebecca’s European knowledge). I am ashamed to say I brought shades with me to this dinner. I was hoping to find an underground techno club of some sort in Kelowna’s active nightlife scene. This never materialised.
I will take much away from my time in Kelowna. Lots of WCF merchandise. A box of fifty doughnuts. An irrational fear of ever meeting a bear. More importantly though, I’ve met some great people, learned some great skills and made some great memories. And I also know which curler I want to help me survive a zombie apocalypse. EJ Harnden I’m looking at you.
Day 2-5: Run-backs and running from bears
There really is no escape from the cold here. Braving the chilly temperatures of the rink without so much as a thermal base layer to keep me warm, I spent days two through five mostly sheet-side, keenly observing the round robin fixtures. The mentorship of Mike Haggerty (WCF Senior Journalist) is proving valuable in teaching me some key journalistic skills, though the language barrier with the Scottish accent is taking some deciphering. As for the curling itself, I have now taken to using terms such as “run-back double takeout” as if I am a native of the game. It must be something in the maple syrup.
Another aspect of the Canadian environment that I had not expected to contend with is the wildlife. The deer sightings on the drives home from the curling club have been a welcome surprise. The “bear sighting in this area” signs not so much. The average pace and heart rate of my day five run was significantly increased after seeing a couple of these in the otherwise lovely Mission Creek Park.
The only thing that has been raising my blood pressure more than these signs is the Canadian sports broadcasters. There’s something in equal measures quaint and violently irritating about the boundless energy of these people. TSN Sports Centre on the hotel TV is sports coverage on amphetamines. The presenters shout at you aggressively while they jump abruptly between NHL and MLB highlights with zero warning for fear that they might exceed the modern sports fan’s six second attention span on a particular game. As well as this the pumped pre-game announcer in the curling club is making sure I get the full North American sports experience.
As the competition approaches the semi-final stage, things are heating up. Not the rink though. That’s still cold, obviously.
Padraig: Day 1 – Jetlag, Frostbite and Karaoke
Canada is absolutely freezing, but at least it is not the type of damp, depressing cold we get in the west of Ireland. Galway, where I go to university, is not renowned for its lovely weather and even less so for its curling. If you ask someone there about “curling” you will invariably be mistaken for asking about the national sport, “hurling,” or in rare cases you will be met with the reply “is that where they like sweep the ice or something?”
Suffice to say, the sport is not very prominent in the Irish psyche. Personally, I have been fascinated by “chess on ice” since I first saw it in the 2014 Winter Olympics, so when I found out about the opportunity to become a trainee curling journalist I jumped at the opportunity.
Battling the jetlag of 24 hours of travel and the frostbite from my morning run, I spent media day interviewing athletes as they came off the ice after the practice sessions with my colleague Amy. Fueled by copious amounts of caffeine, we put the curlers through the most random series of questions, all in the name of content for the World Curling social feeds.
A personal highlight was asking the athletes to sing part of their favourite song. Some teams did not need a second invitation, with karaoke classics flowing freely. For others, it would have been easier walking out onto the ice and trying to extract blood from one of the stones.
I will remember the following day, day one of the competition, for doorstepping athletes with post-match interviews, but more so for spilling an entire tub of moisturiser on myself (possibly the only substance in existence that could stain an all-black uniform). Admittedly, this was a questionable item to have in the workplace, but I will put this mishap down to an occupational hazard. I believe it may have been Shackleton who famously said, “one must always remain moisturised in desperately cold conditions.” As I said, this place is freezing!
