Some of the top curling teams in Atlantic Canada are in Saint John this week to compete and raise awareness of mental illness.
The Jim Sullivan Classic honours its namesake who, at a young age, was a giant in the curling world.
He skipped — or captained — a team that won a World Junior Championship in 1988, and was a Brier finalist in 1990.
READ MORE: Curl Moncton takes the lead on training young curlers
However, underneath it all Sullivan struggled with mental illness. It was a battle he would lose in 2011 when he committed suicide.
Although the Classic is a competitive event that carries a purse of $15,300, organizers say the most important purpose of the event is raising awareness about mental illness.
“Anything we can do to help support mental health and as curlers it’s a big part of our lives now,” said Peter Case, a former teammate of Sullivan and one of the event’s organizers.
The Sullivan name is part of curling royalty in New Brunswick and Jim’s father, Dave Sullivan, says the support means a lot.
“Curlers keep on remembering Jim,” said Dave. “He was a devoted curler all his life. He loved the game.”
WATCH: Moncton para athlete aims to compete at curling nationals in 2019
Dave understands the importance of raising the profile of the seriousness of mental illness.
“Suicide is a terrible, terrible thing that’s going on,” he said.
“They haven’t got a cure for it. Our hope is sometime they’ll break through and find a way to prevent these terrible things going on.”
In the meantime, the fight against mental illness will continue both on and off the ice.
“If we can get more and more awareness of mental health out there in the curling world then our job is completed,” said Case. “Other than that, have fun. Every curler that comes here has fun just as Jimmy would want it. He wanted everybody to have fun, smile and have a good time.”
Ten men’s teams and eight women’s teams are taking part in this year’s event.
Comments