When the new Phillips Curling Centre opens in the fall in Cochrane, few things will remain from the Cochrane Curling Club’s “old barn” on Fifth Avenue.
But there’s one precious item the group is making sure not to leave behind: Al Whapham, their talented and veteran icemaker; the man who makes the game.
“It’s kind of a legacy for myself,” said Whapham, who has been working at rinks for more than two decades. “I know in my mind what I would like to see over there. I’m quite excited to be given the opportunity to do it.”
Whapham has been in charge of scraping, pebbling and caring for the ice at Cochrane’s four-sheet rink for the last two years. He was the head ice technician at the Calgary Curling Club for 14 years before, overseeing the slippery surface for everything from amateur bonspiels to Briers and Scotties tournaments and even Olympic championship teams.
He’s also loved playing the sport for as long as he can remember.
“I used to curse the ice guy all the time, until I knew what was involved,” said Whapham with a laugh.
Ice making for curling rinks is an intricate process that can often be overlooked by the average player tossing rocks toward the button on a Friday or Saturday night. But ensuring the one-inch canvas beneath curlers’ feet is smooth and slick requires skill, patience and a keen eye.
“I have probably about 10 different sized pebble heads – some are finer and some have more concentration of pebble. It’s kind of up to me to use a certain pebble head and hope it works,” Whapham said of the beaver tail-shaped copper discs with dozens of tiny holes, which attaches to the end of a hose and sprays out fine droplets of water. “(Then) I watch when the games are on and I see how the sheets are doing and how the players are doing … that’s a big thing.
“When the ice is good and everything’s working well, it’s very satisfying. That’s what it’s all about.”
Canadian curling star Cheryl Bernard said Whapham’s passion for his work is why she will always hold a special place in her heart for the “doll” of a man who played a role in helping her team reach the podium at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
In the two months leading up to the international competition in Vancouver, Whapham would meticulously groom a sheet of ice for the skip and her squad at the Calgary Curling Club that replicated as closely as possible what they would face when they arrived on the world stage.
“He would come in there at 6 a.m. to groom that sheet so we could throw it … then he would stand behind and watch. He became part of our team,” Bernard recalled. “It was just above and beyond even what we expected … he was just incredible and he wanted so badly for us to do well at those games. He’s a person who cares very much about his job and cares about the people around him. Those kinds of people are hard to find.
“To be able to do that and want to do that … he’s somebody we won’t ever forget.”
Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre’s general manager Robin Mitchell said he is thrilled to be able to include such a valuable member of the curling community as an integral part in creating the new Phillips Curling Centre.
“That’s the kind of find we wanted,” Mitchell said. “Al comes with very high praise as somebody that does a good job of making and maintaining curling ice. He’s got a strong following – people trust him to make good ice for them all year round. It speaks volumes.”
In the “old barn” on Fifth Avenue, Whapham said weather was a big factor in his work, where air flow, humidity and temperature all played a role in determining the quality of the surface.
“Mother nature gets in the mix … When the weather changes, so does the ice,” he said.
Mitchell said he hopes his new ice man won’t need to worry as much about those variables anymore, with state-of-the-art machinery efficiently transfering heat and cool air throughout the building.
“He doesn’t have the holes or the drafts,” said Mitchell. “Being able to start with everything new, he can build the ice. Al’s got a clean slate.”
Whapham will start at the Phillips Curling Centre in May, once the ice at the former club has been pulled out. He’ll start measuring the floor, ordering equipment and preparing the space to start actually making the new sheets of ice in July.
The rink will be tested and tweaked through August in preparation for a grand opening on approximately Sept. 9.
Whapham said he hopes his legacy project will give the curlers of Cochrane a proud place to call home for many years to come.
“(I want it to be) a very sharp-looking curling centre,” he said. “A nice, clean, friendly atmosphere … and good ice.”
