EDMONTON- One of the biggest curling events in Canada is taking over Rexall Place. The 2013 Brier gets underway Saturday and runs until Sunday, March 10.
12 teams have come from across the country to compete for the Brier Tankard. Brier Chairman Mark Johnson says this year's representatives are arguably the best curlers the Brier has ever seen.
"You're going to get some spectacular curling, that's for sure," said Johnson.
This is the sixth time the Brier has been held in Edmonton, and our city currently holds the all-time attendance record which was set in 2005 with 281,985 people taking in the event.
Over 180,000 tickets have already been sold this year and organizers expect to see over 200,000 people come through the doors at Rexall Place over the next nine days.
But, the Brier isn't just about the players or the crowds; the operation couldn't possibly run without the help of the devoted volunteers.
Ron Corman is just one of the volunteers at this year's Brier. He'll be working at ice level, ensuring the teams have the best ice surface as possible to play on.
"We run rocks, we nip, we clean up the snow, make it look good for everybody," Corman explained.
A member of the Spruce Grove Curling Club, Corman is particularly excited to see how the ice makers perfect their craft, so he can take those techniques back to his own club.
"It's great to learn from the best, because they know pretty much everything," he said. "You understand the scraping patterns, you understand what they use for the pebbling heads, how hot they run their water, flooding techniques, everything."
While he's been to other high profile curling competitions, Corman is excited to take in his very first Brier.
"You're kind of hobnobbing with all the pros out there," he said. "It's definitely a lot of fun."
It's a sentiment being shared by a number of massage therapy students from MacEwan University, who have also volunteered their time.
"They're going to be working one-on-one with the athletes. So, the intent is for them to work with the athletes before and after the events," said Jeff Moggach, Chair of the massage therapy program at MacEwan University. "They're going to be providing massage therapy care alongside physiotherapists, chiropractors and other health care professionals."
Moggach says it's a great opportunity for students to gain in-the-field experience they simply can't get in the classroom.
"It also gives them opportunities to engage with the community, see a variety of different conditions that they would normally treat in a clinical setting and just give them that one-on-one experience with high profile athletes," he said. "It does remove them from the confines of the school and the comfort zone there and gets them into a new environment where they can really utilize their skills and interact with high profile athletes."
"It's a little intimidating, but we're all pretty excited," said Elissa Fulkerth, a second year massage therapy student. "We're very lucky."
While the experience may be intimidating, Fulkerth says her instructors have prepared her well and she's excited to work with a different type of athlete.
"Their musculature is going to be different than previous people that we've worked on, so it's going to be interesting to have that different body type and be in that atmosphere."
Over 1,100 people have volunteered at this year's Brier.
"It's amazing the work that's involved to make it happen and really, the volunteers are really the people that make this happen," said Johnson.
Tickets to the 2013 Brier are still available. Prices start at $22.
If you do head down to catch a draw or two, feel free to take pictures and upload them to our Global Ground Force website. Global News will be showcasing them in an online photo gallery, which will be updated throughout the week.
With files from Shannon Greer.
© Global News. A division of Shaw Media Inc., 2013.