Pat, we miss you

Jim Waite, Director of the Triliium Junior Camp, worked with Pat for many years, both as an instructor and as a Canadian Curling Association official at major national and international events. Jim spoke about Pat at a Day of Celebration at the Oakville Curiling Club shortly after Pat’s passing. This is an excerpt from his presentation:

So, how do we say Good-bye to someone like Pat Reid, someone so beloved and respected by so many people in Ontario, in Canada and in many other parts of the curling world:

And How do we ever say "thank you":

  • to someone who has touched so many lives in such a positive way
  • to someone who loved her sport so much it was almost an obsession
  • to someone who worked so hard developing programs for others so they could benefit from her efforts
  • to someone who had such an uncanny and unmatched skill in writing government grant requests that Curl Ontario would often receive increases when other sport body funding was being slashed
  • to someone who coached, officiated, administered, organized, volunteered and just
  • gave totally of herself in everything that she did.

We pray that you, Pat, and your family, know just how much the world of curling and the thousands of people you have touched, thank you for what you have done for all of us.

Pat had such a positive influence on so many young people that she coached and taught over the almost 30 years that she has been involved with Curl Canada, the Canadian Curling Association, the O.C.A., and the Curl Ontario organizations. She has been instrumental in the development of the programs within these associations since the first meeting of an organizing group in 1973. She was the only woman in this initial group of high profile athletes and coaches and all of you in this room know that Pat would not hold back for one moment with opinions and comments just because she was in a high powered group. As Dick Henderson wrote to us yesterday, “ Pat was relentless in her approach to getting her points across and she never backed away from a good confrontation when she believed her views would serve the best interests of curling.”

And it was this same, bold forward-moving approach of Pat’s that brought success to virtually every program she touched.

Pat was one of the original coaches involved in putting together the Trillium Curling Camp, which started 10 years ago in Peterborough Ontario. It has grown from one week of camp with only 64 kids, to two full weeks with 192 campers each summer. And Pat was there for every week of every camp. And when the Amethyst Camp, our sister organization in Thunder Bay was opened five years ago, Pat was there to help get it going and has been there to coach every year since its inception. Pat was to be with us again this summer for another week in Thunder Bay and two more weeks at Trillium. Will her passing leave a hole in these camps? It will be huge!

But perhaps even sadder, is the fact that the almost 300 young people coming this summer to the camps will not have the opportunity to experience Pat’s coaching, her teaching, her stories about the game, her ethics, nor her dynamic lessons in life that she passed on to each of them.

Just listen to a sample of what some of her students said about Pat in their annual staff evaluations following their week with her at Trillium.

  • she is very organized (now does that surprise anyone here?)
  • she has so many stories about different things that have happened in curling
  • she taught us to be better curlers and better people
  • I loved being in Pat’s gold group. She made getting better a lot of fun!

And perhaps one of the best:

“I learned more this week from Pat, than I did from two years with my “normal coach”. Now, I don’t know if this girl’s “normal” coach is here today so there are no names attached to these quotes. And she didn’t mean that Pat was abnormal, although with her superb dedication, teaching and coaching skills, maybe she was. It’s just that Pat gave everything she had to make this young lady and other young people, not only better curlers but better human beings. ”

And from the Merklinger family in Ottawa:

“ It is hard to put into words what Pat has been to me and many of the curlers I have worked with over the years. She has been an advisor, a mentor, a friend, a technical resource and a huge contributor to curling in this province. In my world, she is irreplaceable. ”

From Chrissy Cadorin who was Pat’s assistant at the summer camps:

“ Pat dedicated all of her spare time to working with her group and instilled in them the qualities that they needed to become not only good curlers but to have great leadership skills in life. When Pat Reid told me that I would so meday be a good coach, it was the biggest compliment I could ever have been paid. It came from someone I respected so much ”

From the Julie Reddick Team (Stephannie, Leigh and Karen and Julie) the team that Pat coached to two National Championships:

“ Pat did so much for our team all out of the goodness of her heart. She took untold hours out of her busy schedule to help us become the team and the people that we are today. She was totally dedicated to our team’s improvement and she always treated us like we were her own daughters. Pat has been a large part of some of the best experiences in our lives and she will always hold a special place in out hearts” Stephanie Leachman went on to tell me the story of "Pat’s Rules for Parents" when she was coaching their team. She told the parents they could talk to their daughters about sex, politics, and the weather, but absolutely NO curling talk during the playoffs. Also, if the parents did not stop criticizing the shots being played or being "behind the glass" commentators, Pat would use duct tape to keep them quiet. Pat was so respected that every time she raised the tape in her hand, our fans became suddenly silent. ”

From Bill Tshirhart, National Development Coach in Calgary Alberta:

“ Pat and I were partners in coaching the High Performance group at the Trillium Camp for nine years and what a treat it was for me. A week with Pat was “ on-site training” in the techniques of coaching. Much of what I am today as an instructor and coach is due to Pat’s influence. Each time I work with a team or an athlete, Pat will be there with me. To Darcy, Trevor and Kim, I extend my deepest sympathy. Your wife and mother will not be forgotten. She will live on in all of us and you. ”

And finally from Keith Wendorf, the National Coach of Germany and Tom Coulterman, the National Junior Coach of Canada ( both of whom are at the World Juniors in Kelowna B.C. this week ) and are unable to be here today:

“ Pat’s positive influence on the game of curling and more importantly, on the people involved in the sport, has extended well beyond Canadian borders. This is very evident here at this current World Junior Curling Championship in Kelowna, as so many athletes, coaches and officials from numerous countries, were so deeply moved and saddened upon hearing of Pat’s tragic accident. People are continually pausing and reflecting in front of Pat’s picture, which is displayed along with the Ontario Junior Women’s team (Julie’s team) that she coached at the Canadians in this very same club in the year 2000. Everyone appreciated that Pat openly shared her life, her family and her home with curlers from all parts of Canada and the rest of the world. She enhanced the lives of the people that she coached, worked with at curling camps, and taught at clinics throught Canada and countries like Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan, and the USA. Pat will be remembered in the hearts of people throughout the curling world. ”

To the Reid family: I am pleased to announce that with your blessing, both of the Ontario junior curling camps -Trillium and Amethyst - will be creating an annual Pat O. Reid Memorial Award that will be given to deserving young curlers each summer. Dick Henderson, Camp Director for Amethyst, the Curl Ontario Board and I are all confident that the details can be finalized in time for this summer’s camps. We are equally confident that Pat would be pleased that such an award to honour young curlers could be created in her name.