Robert (Bob) "Bobby" Ursel (born February 12, 1965) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

curler and curling

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. Born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Ursel curls out of

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Curling career

In 1984, Ursel skipped his native Manitoba to a Canadian Junior Curling Championship. The following year, he skipped the Canadian Junior Team to a

World Junior Curling Championship The World Junior Curling Championships are an annual curling bonspiel featuring the world's best curlers who are 21 years old or younger. The competitions for both men and women occur at the same venue. The men's tournament has occurred since 19 ...

title. That team was inducted into the

Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is a Canadian museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, dedicated to honoring the history and achievements of sports in Manitoba. The organization began in 1980, and then opened a museum in The Forks in 1993. Afte ...

in 2016. It would be 15 years out of junior that Ursel would finally make it to

the Brier The Tim Hortons Brier, or simply (and more commonly) the Brier (''french: Le Brier''), is the annual Canadian men's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada. The current event name refers to its main sponsor, the Tim Hortons coffee and ...

. He played third for

Bert Gretzinger Bert M. Gretzinger (born April 7, 1951) is a Canadian curler. He was a member of the gold medal winning Canadian team at the 1994 World Men's Curling Championship. He also won a bronze medal at the 2001 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, where he ...

's 1999 British Columbia team. They finished 5-6. In 2002 Ursel moved to play third for Pat Ryan where he made the

2003 Nokia Brier The 2003 Nokia Brier was held at the Halifax Metro Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia from March 1–9. The defending champion, Randy Ferbey and his team from Alberta were the winners, winning their third Brier in a row. At the Worlds they went on ...

. At the 2003 Brier, the team lost in the semi-final to Nova Scotia (skipped by

Mark Dacey Mark Dacey (born June 22, 1966) is a Canadian curler originally from Saskatchewan. He was based at the Mayflower Curling Club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Dacey is a former Canadian men's curling champion skip, having won the 2004 Nokia Brier. He ...

). After the 2003 Brier, Ursel left the Ryan team to form his own team. Ursel won his third and final BC provincial championship, and only one as skip in 2008, when he defeated former World Champion

Greg McAulay Gregory McAulay (born January 2, 1960) is a Canadian World champion curler from Richmond, British Columbia. Career McAulay has been to only two Briers in his career. At the 1998 Labatt Brier, he skipped his British Columbia team to a 7-4 fini ...

8–7 in the final an extra end. He played in his third Brier in 2008 where he lost in the 3-4 game to Ontario's

Glenn Howard Glenn William Howard (born July 17, 1962) is a Canadian curler who is one of the most decorated curlers of all time. He has won four world championships, four Briers and 17 Ontario provincial championships, including a record eight straight ...

. Ursel sat out most of the 2010-11 season with a knee injury. His team continued to be referred to as "Team Ursel" on the

World Curling Tour The World Curling Tour (WCT) is a group of curling bonspiels featuring the best male, female, and mixed doubles curlers in the world. History The World Curling Tour was founded by former World Champion Ed Lukowich, with later assistance from Jo ...

, but he was replaced by

Ken Maskiewich Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...

at the third position while regular fourth Jim Cotter took over the reins as skip. He is the coach of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese men's team, who won gold at the 2018 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships.

Personal life

Ursel's father,

Jim Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

, won the 1977 Brier as skip of the Quebec team. Ursel is currently married, and has four children. He is employed as a police officer.

Grand Slam record

References

External links

* 1965 births Curlers from British Columbia Canadian curling coaches Living people Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers Sportspeople from Kelowna Curlers from Winnipeg Canada Cup (curling) participants {{Canada-curling-bio-stub