Darren Moulding

Darren Moulding (born December 2, 1982) is a Canadian curler from Lacombe, Alberta[1] and curls out of the Saville Sports Centre and the Lacombe Curling Club.[2] He is a former Canadian Junior Silver Medallist, a Canadian Mixed Champion, and represented Alberta in the 2017, 2018, 2020 and Team Wild Card in the 2019 Brier Canadian men's championship.

Darren Moulding
Moulding at the 2019 Canadian Open
Born (1982-12-02) December 2, 1982
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Team
Curling clubSaville Community SC,
Edmonton, AB
SkipBrendan Bottcher
ThirdDarren Moulding
SecondBrad Thiessen
LeadKarrick Martin
AlternatePat Janssen
Career
Member Association Alberta
Brier appearances4 (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Top CTRS ranking2nd (2018–19)
Grand Slam victories3 (2019 Canadian Open, 2019 Players', 2019 Champions Cup)

Junior career

Moulding skipped the Alberta team at both the 2000 and 2003 Canadian Junior Curling Championships. At the 2000 Juniors, he led his team of Thomas Usselman, Ryan Inaba and Matt Taylor to a 5-7 record, missing the playoffs. At the 2003 Juniors, he led his rink of Brock Virtue, Taylor and Nicolas Virtue to a silver medal finish. The team finished the round robin with an 8-4 record, the proceeded to win the tiebreaker match and the semifinal before losing to Saskatchewan (skipped by Steve Laycock) in the final.

Men's career

After juniors, Moulding formed his own team to play on the World Curling Tour. He played in his first Grand Slam of Curling event when he was invited to play third for Steve Laycock at the 2006 Masters of Curling, where they failed to qualify for the playoffs. Moulding found little success skipping on the tour, failing to win a single event before he joined the Steve Petryk rink in 2009. He played one full season with Petryk, finding little success with him either. Moulding began skipping his own team again in 2010, but did not play in many events for the next few seasons.

In 2013, Moulding joined the Matthew Blandford rink has his third. That season, Moulding won his first career tour event, when the rink won the McKee Homes Fall Curling Classic. The next season, the team played in Moulding's second career Slam event, the 2014 National, where they won two games. Later in the season, Moulding was invited to play for his former junior teammate Brock Virtue's team at the Black Diamond / High River Cash event, which they won. For the 2015-16 season, Virtue joined the Blandford rink as skip, moving Moulding to play second. The team would not win any events. Virtue left the rink at the end of the season.

In 2017, Moulding was asked to join the Brendan Bottcher rink mid-season, replacing Pat Simmons (at third) who was suffering from an injury.[3] The announcement was just in time for Moulding to play in the 2017 Meridian Canadian Open Grand Slam event. The new lineup found immediate success, making the quarterfinals of the event. The next month, the team would win the 2017 Boston Pizza Cup, the Alberta men's provincial championship. The win would be Moulding's first provincial title, sending him to his first ever Tim Hortons Brier. At the Brier, the team finished with a 3-8 record, missing the playoffs. Moulding and Team Botcher qualified for the 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials (held from December 2 to 10 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario) by winning one of the two pre-trials spots at the Home Hardware Road to the Roar Pre-Trials on November 6 to 12 in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.[4]

Team Bottcher qualified as Team Alberta for the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier, held from March 3 to 11, 2018 at the Brandt Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan. The team had a 6-1 round robin record, and had to fight through the 3 vs. 4 game beating Brad Jacobs (Northern Ontario) and John Epping (Ontario) in the semifinals in the playoffs to make it to the final, where they would lose to Brad Gushue of Team Canada 6 to 4.[5]

2018 Team Bottcher won the Canad Inns Men’s Classic beating Team Koe in the finals with a score of 7-5. The team came in second to Brad Jacobs losing in the finals at the Grand Slam of Curling 2018 Tour Challenge.

In 2019 he would win his 1st Grand Slam of Curling titles at the Meridian Canadian Open with an 6-3 win over Team Epping, in April The Players Championship with a 6-1 win over Team Koe and again in the Champions Cup with another 6-5 win over Team Koe. Earlier in the year. Team Bottcher would win the 2019 Pinty's All-Star Curling Skins Game, the team winning $54,500.

At the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier (held from March 2 to 10 at Westoba Place in Brandon, Manitoba), Team Bottcher played their way into the main draw by winning the wildcard game over Team Epping (Ontario) and then went 8-3 in the round-robin, making the playoffs for the second straight year. The team was 8-3 in the Championship Pool. Beating Brad Gushue (Team Canada) and then Team Jacobs (Northern Ontario) in the semifinals in the playoffs to make it to the final for the second straight year. In the finals, Team Wildcard 4–3 was defeated by Kevin Koe of Team Alberta.

Moulding, of Team Wild Card was the 2019 winner of The Ross Harstone Sportsmanship Award. The trophy is presented each year to the player chosen by his peers as the curler in the Brier who best represents Ross Harstone’s high ideals of good sportsmanship, observance of the rules, exemplary conduct and curling ability.[6]

Team Bottcher began their 2019–20 season at the 2019 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic where they lost the tiebreaker to Yannick Schwaller. In Grand Slam play, they had quarterfinal finishes at the Masters and the National, a semifinal finish at the Tour Challenge and missed the playoffs at the Canadian Open. They had a semifinal finish at the 2019 Canada Cup after losing to eventual winners John Epping. After losing the semifinal to Kevin Koe at provincials the previous season, Team Bottcher would win the 2020 Boston Pizza Cup with a draw to the button to defeat Karsten Sturmay 7–6. For the third year in a row, they would finish runner-up at the Brier, this year to Brad Gushue.

Mixed career

Moulding won the 2014 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship skipping Team Alberta, which also consisted of his sister[7] Heather Jensen, Brent Hamilton and his then wife Anna-Marie Moulding. The team finished the round robin tied for first with a 9-2 record. They then went on to defeat Ontario (skipped by Cory Heggestad) in the final.

Personal life

Moulding has one child. He is employed as an icemaker at the Lacombe Curling Club and Bentley Curling Club[8] and owns Pinpoint Roofing.[9]

References

  1. 2018 Brier Media Guide
  2. "Curling Scores on Curling.ca". curling.ca. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  3. "Pat Simmons parts ways with Team Bottcher - Sportsnet.ca". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  4. "CurlingZone". www.curlingzone.com. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  5. "Team Alberta to face Team Canada in Tim Hortons Brier final – 2018 Tim Hortons Brier". www.curling.ca. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  6. https://www.sscurling.ca/wordpress/36-2-2/curling-canada-championships/awards/ross-harstone-sportsmanship-award/
  7. Hagen, ,Jefferson. "Moulding aims to continue magical curling season at SACA mens playdowns this weekend in Calgary". calgaryherald.com. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  8. 2017 Home Hardware RTTR Media Guide
  9. 2017 Brier Media Guide: Team Alberta
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