LONDON, ONT. -- He's been on the ice his whole life, but for figure skater Scott Moir, taking to a curling sheet was a whole different experience.
"That ice scares the crap out of me to be honest with you," says Moir, a three-time Olympic medallist. Moir was playing in a celebrity curling event Saturday in London, Ont. during the OK Tire & BKT Tires Continental Cup of Curling.
"I always feel like I have my grip until I don't. I love the game of curling to be honest and to be able to get out there on a real sheet in a real arena in front of 2000 people was something I never thought I’d be able to do."
Moir was playing alongside former NHLer Brandon Prust and CTV London anchor Sacha Long. They were coached by provincial mixed doubles curler Kim Tuck.
The other rink coached by Scott McDonald had CTV London meteorologist Julie Atchison, Western Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall, and Elgin-Middlesex-London MP Karen Vecchio.
“My team with Scott McDonald won so that was great," says Atchison. "Karen Vecchio and Greg Marshall were a fun group to be with on the ice. Regardless who won we were there to have a good time.”
Long only had one practice session before taking to the ice in front of the big crowd. She admitted she was a little amped up to start and was throwing rocks a little heavy, but settled in.
"Curling is a lot harder than it looks," says Long. "I have a new respect for that sport and everything involved with it."
Moir was impressed with his teammates play. "Sacha was good. Did you see her shot? First of all we didn't want to make a fool of ourselves and then we ended up making some real curling shots. It was so much fun."
Moir was also thrilled to meet and play with Prust.
"Always been a fan of Brandon with him being on the 2005 Knights team," says Moir. "Tessa [Virtue] and I are big Knights fans. He's also another great leader in the community with his foundation and happy to get to know him personally."
Moir added that the celebrity event is about celebrating the sport and the international event in London.
"It takes a huge volunteer base to run an event like this and hats off to the organization committee to bring this to town. It's huge and I'm happy to be here and support it. Kim (Tuck) had to keep me focused as I kept looking over to the other sheets, and I forgot I was supposed to be to playing once in a while."