Player Profile – Anna Fowler

How did you first get into curling?

Well there’s only one curling rink in England and it’s in Kent, where I live. I think was about twelve when I first went on an open day and I enjoyed it so I kept going. My family started as well, in fact I just competed in a mixed competition with two of my brothers.

You mentioned competitions, what level have you competed at?

Well I’ve captained and played for England juniors for four years and this year I’ve made the senior side, I’ve also got Olympic trials soon. It’s tough because most of UK curling is in Scotland so they tend to have the best players but in January we came third in Europe which was nice because it was my last competition with the junior side and it also showed us that we could compete with the best. Obviously to compete at a European level there is a lot of travelling involved, I’ve been to Prague and Copenhagen twice but the World Curling Federation are quite good and pay for all our flights.

You also said that the only curling centre in England is in Kent? Is it difficult playing a more specialised sport?

Well in Manchester I’m halfway between Glasgow and Kent so it’s difficult to train but I
make the most of practice competitions. There’s obviously no AU club and the nearest
place to train is in Queensboro, North Wales which is a bit of a headache. In terms of equipment the rinks have their own stones so it makes it easier in terms of travelling as each one weighs 20kg! Sponsorship is hard to come by which can be a pain as the amount of moving around means it’s not the cheapest sport in the world.

With the amount of travelling you do and the level you play at curling is obviously very important to you, does it take precedence over almost everything?

Not quite but I definitely want to take full advantage of all opportunities that I’ve been given, I reckon that I would take a year out of university if I did get a place in the Olympic squad because I’d really want to give it my all.

Curling is a rare feature in the media, for the people who are unaware of its various merits, how would you describe its attraction?

It’s a very technical sport and individual despite the team aspect as your shot is almost entirely dependent on you as the sweepers can only so much. The team is critical though and the good teams are usually the ones who have the best relationships. In other countries like Canada there’s a much larger following of the sport, thousands of people go and watch and it’s second only to ice hockey in terms of popularity. It’s a long way from the handful of people at most of my games.

How do you cope with the fact that there are no curling clubs at the university? Do you get to enjoy the social side and costumes of the AU?

Well I was expecting it when I came here so it’s not a big deal, I’m quite sporty really so I just do other things. I ran the London marathon a couple of years ago which was amazing, although I was a bit annoyed because I thought I could have done it faster. As for the social aspect I’m captain of the third team for hockey and they’re a great bunch, I think my favourite costume was Henry Hoovers although I had to ask the DJ to take mine as I kept knocking everyone ever!