Three-plus years of training, practice and hard work paid off for John and his teammates — Kevin Martin, Marc Kennedy, Ben Hebert — when they defeated Team Howard in the finals of the Canadian Curling Trials yesterday. After a somewhat sluggish start in Edmonton, Team Martin showed that champions know how to turn things around. By the end of the week, they were firing on all cylinders, playing with confidence and determination.

It reflects well on the CCA’s Olympic team selection process that it was Howard vs. Martin in the final game. Over the last three years, these have clearly been the two best teams. Watching these rinks battle has been a gift for curling fans — rarely has the sport seen an era with two teams this good.

Interestingly, Fit to Curl has a strong link to the women’s champion as well — Cheryl Bernard is featured in many of the exercise photos in the book. Cheryl is always quick to acknowledge how important her fitness routine has been to her performance on the ice. I think she’s playing better than she ever has in her career and some of that can be attributed to the commitment she has made in the gym. Congratulations to Cheryl, Susan O’Connor, Carolyn Darbyshire and and Cori Bartel.