When the clock strikes 2pm on Friday at the Chartwell Colonel Belcher retirement residence in Calgary, Alberta, something unusual happens. As the octogenarians gather to enjoy beer and wine during happy hour, they are joined by the youthful faces of New Zealand’s men’s curling team. About 12,000km from home and unable to find a place to stay when they arrived in Canada, the men were offered an apartment at Belcher and have been happily settling in to the rhythms of their unlikely new home ever since.
The national team – Brett Sargon, 31, Ben Smith, 24, Hunter Walker, 21, and skipper Anton Hood, 23 – moved to Canada in early September, to strengthen their training and better their chances in the 2024 World Men’s Curling Championship in Switzerland – for which they have just qualified – and making the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. It is an ambitious goal: the last time New Zealand’s team made it to the Olympics was in 2006.
But when they arrived in Canada on their largely self-funded trip, they encountered a frustrating problem: rental options were scarce and expensive.
“It’s been quite a journey,” Sargon says. “We were really struggling to find accommodation. Everywhere we looked everyone wanted one-year rent and the rent was extortionately priced.”
The team decided to try their luck requesting affordable short-term accommodation via their curling networks on social media. A post made on their behalf amassed hundreds of shares and the team promptly received an unexpected invitation: the Chartwell Colonel Belcher retirement residence had an apartment available and wanted to know if they were interested.
“Cassandra Murray, here at Chartwell, came to our aid, which was absolutely incredible,” Sargon says.
Sargon, who arrived in Calgary a few days ahead of his teammates, was the first to move into one of the self-contained units at the retirement home in early September. It was a Friday and he was alerted to the weekly happy hour taking place at the village bar.
“I thought, perfect, that sounds like a bit of me,” he says, and headed along, where he introduced himself to a few of the residents.
“The warmth and the reception they showed me was really, really incredible.
“I could absolutely understand if they were apprehensive about younger guys moving in but they were so warm and wanted to know all about New Zealand and our story.”
Sargon formed Team Hood – named after the team’s skip, or captain, as is tradition for curling teams – a couple of years ago, with the hope of becoming New Zealand’s national team. But the group quickly realised there was a gap between their skills and the level of play coming from teams in countries such as Canada, Switzerland, Sweden and Scotland.
Curling involves players sliding stones on a sheet of ice towards a target made up of four concentric circles. Sweepers with brooms or brushes can influence the path of the rock by sweeping the ice ahead of it, as it travels towards the target.
“The plan was to move to Calgary and train as much as we could, and play against some really high-level competition because there are resources here that New Zealand doesn’t have. The depth of competition here is insane compared to what we get back home,” Sargon says.
“Most of the conversations we have with people back home about curling is actually us explaining what curling is – lawn bowls on ice, with rocks and sweeping.”
Canada’s love of curling has been reflected in the myriad curling stories that the retirement village residents have shared with the team. Sometimes, the residents are eager to pass on advice.
“One of them has even offered his services for free,” Sargon laughs. “We’ll see if we can take him up on that, even if it’s just to get him down to the rink and get him involved.”
But some residents need no encouragement; during one of the team’s first weekends curling at a club a 30-minute drive away, a busload of 14 new Team Hood fans turned up to support them without prior warning. “They brought their signs, and they had packed their lunches – it was pretty cool and quite surreal to experience that.”
The intergenerational living arrangement echoes Sweden’s experiment to house students and retirees together in an attempt to combat loneliness and promote social cohesion. The benefits of such models and other scenarios that connect older generations to the young are well-documented.
“We’ve had some really heart-wrenching stories from some residents, where their children have passed away and they don’t have a whole lot of family close by, so I think [being here] is bridging that social gap,” Sargon says.
Cassandra Murray, the retirement’s living consultant, says Team Hood has been a welcome and lively addition to the village.
“Having the team around is something else to talk about and look forward to,” she says. “It’s a different kind of relationship, especially if you don’t have any family nearby.
“I think often people forget how exciting, new and different life can be when you’re a senior.”
The residents were involved in a very important game of bingo when the Guardian called. But Murray later passed on a comment from the group: “They said they really enjoy getting to know the team and hearing about how their playing is going and how their time in Calgary has been.
“It has been a welcome and positive addition that many other places should look at if they can. We have been thrilled to have new faces.”
