The Leader-Post from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada • 90

-G 14 The Leader-Post Regina Saturday, February 7, 1998 I 1 tie roras The Atina Ford File The Anita Ford File Mother, daughter play key supporting roles 0 WWW ar FAMILY CELEBRATION: (l-r) The Fords Anita, Atina, Cindy, grandparents Roy and June, and Gary BORN: Oct. 3, 1947 HOMETOWN: Regina POSITION PLAYED: Skip, third, lead HUSBAND AND CHILDREN: Husband Gary, daughter Anna, 26, daughter Cindy, 23 STARTED CURLING IN: When I was 12. HOW AND WHEN I JOINED THE RINK: She was asked to be the fifth player for the 1991 Scott Tournament of Hearts WHAT MAKES THIS TEAM SO SPECIAL: Its the way they are able to refocus They can run around like crazy and all of a sudden focus on the game. All four of them are extremely competitive no matter what it is MY ROLE IS: Shes officially listed as coach. You end up being a manager for them Having a coach and a fifth, you have to make sure each of them has a role and they both know what they are doing and can work together SPORTS HEROES Vera Pezer, Joyce McKee, Bob Pickenng OTHER PEOPLE I ADMIRE Her sister, Brenda Collacott HOBBIES Working on her computer, drawing, goll FAVORITE FOODS Lasagna LAST MOVIE ENJOYED Dances With Wolves (video) FAVORITE TV SHOWS Seinfeld MUSICAL TASTES: Country and western THE BEST WAY I COULD SPEND A DAY: Golfing on a new course -f'v TERRY CHEVAUERThe Leader-Post back and am in awe.

Atina said her mother has gotten to know the Schmirler rink. She knows them so well that she knows what to say and when to say it, Atina says. The most important thing is that she knows when not to say anything to them and to just be there for them so they have somebody to fall back on. Anita and Atina work in tandem as they try to do their jobs as coach and fifth. The pair has worked out a system that has worked through the Canadian championship, the world championship and Olympic trials.

The most important thing they do together is throw rocks for an hour after every days competition, which helps scout the next days sheet of ice and match rocks. Heres how Atina describes the pairs role in general terms: My mom does the managerial stuff. I do the little things. Atina says she appreciated having a fifth player with her rink at the junior world championship because it took pressure off everybody. When the little things are done, you can concentrate on the game and not worry about anything else, Atina said.

I dont want to be a hindrance to them, so I want to find something to do. This is how Atina sees her role in doing the little things for the Schmirler rink. I take care of the brooms, Atina says. I carry their brooms wherever they go. A lot of people dont think thats a big job but when youre a curler and youre tired from curling so many games you dont want to do that.

I make sure the heads of their brooms are clean for every game. I always set their brooms out in the same spot. I fill up their water bottles. I make posters for their rooms. Im kind of the team cheerleader.

Its my choice to do all those things. They never asked me to do them. I just decided thats how I could fit in. Anita has taken on the role of team manager, as well. Youre managing their time, she says.

You make sure they know where they are supposed to be. BORN: Oct 12, 1971 HOMETOWN: Gray 'j POSITION PLAYED: 7, Skip, thud HUSBAND AND CHILDREN: Single STARTED CURLING IN: When I was 12. HOW AND WHEN I JOINED THE RINK: She was asked to be the filth player for the 1 997 Scott Tournament of Hearts. WHAT MAKES THIS TEAM SO SPECIAL: They are like little kids. They find pleasure in eveiything.

They are excited Va about all the new expenences. MY ROLE IS: I do the little things. They never asked me to do them. I just decided thats how I could fit in. SPORTS HEROES: Elvis Stojko, Kurt Browning, Elizabeth Manley.

OTHER PEOPLE I ADMIRE: The guls on the nnk; my Mom and Donovan Bailey; Michael Smith, Mamie McBean. HOBBIES: Golf, baseball, reading FAVORITE FOODS: Pizza. ift LAST MOVIE ENJOYED: Titanic. FAVORITE TV SHOWS: Friends. MUSICAL TASTES: Country music, Garth Brooks.

THE BEST WAY I COULD SPEND A DAY: Doing all different kinds of sports. ui Photo' BRYAN SCHLOSSER The Leader-Post had been a delegate to three Scott Tournament of Hearts. Anita, who was also a competitive curler who had been to four provincial championships, knew some other fifths and talked to them about the job. Their job descriptions had ranged from cheerleader to statistician. I wasnt sure what (the rink) wanted, Anita says.

So 91 was more of a learning experience. I was just trying to figure out what they needed and what worked. The next time (in 1993), it was better because I had learned from 91. 1 knew they were going to lose games. There would be times when they would be down.

They were going to be tired because it was a long stretch going in. (As the fifth), you have to figure out some things to pick them up. I started looking for inspirational cards or little gifts that would help get their minds back into what they were doing. Atina says that she studied her mother when she inherited the role of the fifth player in 97. During that season, the rink realized that Anita wouldnt be able to curl because she had undergone surgery on both her knees.

Atina had skipped a rink to the 1990 Canadian junior womens title. It made a lot of sense for us to have Anita coach and then pick up Atina, McCusker says. They would make a good pair and the package would be complete. Atina took on the role of fifth and embraced it like no one Ive seen in my life. Shes so enthusiastic and excited.

She was perfect. Her excitement and enthusiasm are good for us. Anita played just one game as fifth, that at the Canadian championship in Kitchener, Ont. Atina saw action at the national championship in Vancouver and at the worlds in Bern, Switzerland. I guess I watched my mom a lot, Atina says about her role as fifth player.

I watched and noted, especially last year, what she does for them. A lot of people ask, Why is she along with the team? What does she do? She does way more than anyone thinks. I just sit By DAVID MOSER L-P Sports Writer The Olympic-bound Sandra Schmirler curling rink has learned the advantage of taking the fifth. In turn, Anita and Atina Ford have given meaning and substance to the position. When asked to become a fifth player for a team heading to the Brier, the Scott Tournament of Hearts or the world championships, many players (and the public) view it as an invitation to party for a week.

Not so with the Fords. Anita was first asked to be the fifth player for the Schmirler foursome at the 1991 Canadian womens championship. I wasnt going to go and party, Anita says. I was part of the team. I felt that if youre going to be there as a fifth, youre going to be a full-fledged part of the team.

I was going to fill the role, whatever it was going to be. I wasnt going to take off in the fifth end and have a few drinks. Anita was also the fifth player in 1993 and 1994 when Schmirler, Jan Betker, Joan McCusker and Marcia Gudereit won back-to-back Canadian and world championships. When we first went, we didnt want to take anyone, McCusker says. I guess we did see the need for a fifth if one of us got seriously ill or hurt.

Other than that, we felt we were uncoachable or could coach ourselves. It evolved over the years and we now see the need for the extra person. We always need room for improvement. Their perspective helps us to improve. In 97, after the rink won the Saskatchewan title, the team asked Anita to be the teams coach (she has a Level III NCCP coaching certificate) and her daughter, Atina, to be the fifth player.

That request surprised Atina. They wanted someone who would fit in with my Mom because we have to spend the most time together, Atina says. They wanted someone who would get along with my Mom and someone my Mom could put in her place. I guess that would be me. Atina was faced with some misgivings when she was first asked to become the fifth player.

After all, the rink had won two previous world titles with the same lineup. Would her addition ruin the mix? Thats the thing I was worried about the most, Atina says. I didnt want to hurt anything that theyd ever done together. It had always been the five of them and I thought gawd, I dont want to go in there and be the (reason) they didnt win. I wanted to fit and find a role for myself.

In turn, the Schmirler rink embraced the Fords as part of the team. They realize that what the four of us have is working and is the key to our success, McCusker says. We spend 90 per cent of the year with just the four of us, but we try to make them feel they are part of the team and to share Team Canada things with them. We are an entity apart from them, but there are times when we make sure they are with us. The Fords appreciate the times they are included in team functions.

They make you feel quite comfortable, Anita says. Whatever was going on I was always included. A fifth player can sometimes feel like a fifth wheel, but they made you part of the team. Atina says: They just treat me like Im one of them. They include me in everything.

It makes me feel very good. Were not (going to the Olympics) to win medals (for herself and her mother). Were there to help the girls because they deserve it. Were there to help the best we can. Everytime I think about (the Olympics) I cry.

It's amazing. In essence, a fifth player is allowed to be picked up for national andor international competitions, but only plays in case of an injury. Anita spent the 91 Canadian championship trying to define her role as the fifth. She had been a past president of the Saskatchewan Ladies Curling Association and CANADA Nagano-.