Greg Smith (curler)

Greg Smith
Curler
Born (1996-06-18) June 18, 1996 (age 28)
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Team
Curling clubRE/MAX Centre &
Bally Haly CC,
St. John's, NL[1]
SkipGreg Smith
ThirdChris Ford
SecondZach Young
LeadZack Shurtleff
AlternateCarter Small
Mixed doubles
partner		Jessica Wiseman
Curling career
Member Association Newfoundland and Labrador
Brier appearances2 (2018, 2021)
Top CTRS ranking41st (2023–24)

Gregory Smith[2] (born June 18, 1996) is a Canadian curler from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.[3] He currently skips his own team out of the RE/MAX Centre.

Career

Smith skipped Team Newfoundland and Labrador at two consecutive Canadian Junior Curling Championships in 2015 and 2016 with his team of Ryan McNeil Lamswood, Kyle Barron and Craig Laing. In 2015, they had a 3–6 eleventh-place finish and in 2016, they finished in ninth with a 5–4 record. While still in juniors, Smith and his team played in the 2015 GSOC Tour Challenge Tier 2 which was held in Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador. There, they finished with a winless 0–4 record.[4]

Smith played in his first Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard in 2018 with his new team of Matthew Hunt, Andrew Taylor and Ian Withycombe. The team had a successful tournament, finishing the round robin with a perfect 8–0 and defeating Andrew Symonds 9–6 in the final to claim the provincial title.[5] Representing Newfoundland and Labrador at the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier, they finished with a 1–7 record, only defeating Yukon's Thomas Scoffin. The team could not defend their provincial title the following season, losing out in the C Event quarterfinals.

During the 2019–20 season, Smith competed in his second Grand Slam of Curling event at the 2019 Tour Challenge Tier 2 in Westville Road, Nova Scotia, where he once again finished 0–4.[6] At the 2020 Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard, his team lost in a tiebreaker to Colin Thomas.

Smith won his second provincial championship in 2021 at the 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard, defeating Colin Thomas 9–8 in a double extra end.[7] He improved his record from 2018 at the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier, finishing with a 2–6 record.[8] Also in 2021, Smith competed in the 2021 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship with partner Mackenzie Mitchell. The duo finished 4–2 in the round robin, qualifying Newfoundland and Labrador for the playoffs for the first time in the event's history.[9] They then lost in the round of 12 qualifying round to Kadriana Sahaidak and Colton Lott, officially eliminating them from the tournament.[10]

Politics

Outside of curling, Smith ran for a seat on St. John's City Council in a by-election in 2020 in Ward 2.[11] He ended up placing fourth with 586 votes (11%).[12] Smith ran for an at-large council seat on the St. John's City Council in the 2021 municipal election.[13][14][15] Smith was unsuccessful, placing seventh.[16][17] Smith supported Jean Charest in the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election.[18] Smith initially supported Eugene Manning in the 2023 provincial PC party leadership race before withdrawing his support due to Manning's support of the Conservative Party of Canada.[19] [20] In 2024, Smith announced his candidacy for the Ward 4 municipal by-election.[21] Smith failed to win the election, placing third out of the four candidates, winning 650 votes (23.3%).[22]

Personal life

Smith works as the curling coordinator and an instructor at the Bally Haly Curling Club.[3] He previously attended Booth Memorial High School. He is pansexual.[23]

Teams

Season Skip Third Second Lead Alternate
2013–14[24] Greg Smith Ryan McNeil Lamswood Kyle Barron Craig Laing
2014–15 Greg Smith Ryan McNeil Lamswood Kyle Barron Craig Laing
2015–16 Greg Smith Ryan McNeil Lamswood Kyle Barron Craig Laing
2016–17 Greg Smith Kyle Barron Zac Payne Craig Laing
2017–18 Greg Smith Matthew Hunt Andrew Taylor Ian Withycombe
2018–19 Greg Smith Nicholas Bissonnette John Sheppard Ian Withycombe
2019–20 Greg Smith Randy Turpin John Sheppard Ian Withycombe
2020–21 Greg Smith Greg Blyde Alex McDonah Evan McDonah
2021–22 Greg Smith Greg Blyde Carter Small Alex McDonah
2022–23 Greg Smith Adam Boland Chris Ford Zach Young Greg Blyde
2023–24 Greg Smith Chris Ford Zach Young Zack Shurtleff
2024–25 Greg Smith Chris Ford Zach Young Zack Shurtleff Carter Small

References

  1. ^ "Greg Smith Profile". Curling Canada. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  2. ^ "Getting 'bi' in Newfoundland". Kicker. 6 April 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "2021 Home Hardware Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  4. ^ "2015 GSOC Tour Challenge". CurlingZone. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  5. ^ Carl Lake (February 3, 2018). "Greg Smith wins Tankard; off to Brier". Sports Page NL. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  6. ^ "2019 Tour Challenge". CurlingZone. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  7. ^ Robin Short (January 31, 2021). "Greg Smith headed back to the Brier as Newfoundland and Labrador representative". The Telegram. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  8. ^ "Ontario tames Wild Card #2!". Curling Canada. March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  9. ^ "Rock Stars!". Curling Canada. March 22, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  10. ^ "We're down to eight!". Curling Canada. March 23, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  11. ^ Juanita Mercer (August 17, 2020). "Top N.L. curler announces intention to run in St. John's Ward 2 byelection". The Telegram. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  12. ^ "2020 By-Election Results". City of St. John's. Retrieved March 25, 2021.[permanent dead link‍]
  13. ^ @GregSmithNL (17 June 2021). "Today, I am glad to announce I will be running in the St. John's Municipal Election on September 28th" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "St. John's City Election 2021: At-Large". 14 September 2021.
  15. ^ "St. John's Mayor Danny Breen Officially Announces Bid for Re-Election".
  16. ^ "Here are the winners of the 2021 N.L. municipal elections on the Avalon Peninsula | CBC News".
  17. ^ "New and Familiar Faces Elected in St. John's".
  18. ^ @GregSmithNL (2 Aug 2022). "Excited to cast my #cpcldr ballot for my 1st choice @JeanCharest_ a pragmatic, progressive and moderate leader that can unite our country by leading a renewed @CPC_HQ and much of the same in my 2nd choice @ScottAAitchison" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ [1]
  20. ^ Greg Smith (July 13, 2023). "I've had a few people reach out about Eugene Manning's NL Progressive Conservative leadership campaign". Greg Smith. I agree with the Manning campaign on many issues, however, my political ideology and vision are different than theirs. I believe in being transparent and not having to defend my values for the company I or my close network keep. Therefore, I cannot support any association with the CPC as a queer man and as an advocate of 2SLGBTQIA+ rights. Pierre's recent remarks on Policy 713 in New Brunswick and his decision to pose for a picture with someone while wearing a "straight pride shirt" this past week in Calgary has led me to this decision. I have been clear from day one that I am a moderate and not a member of the Conservative Party of Canada under Pierre Poilievre's leadership.
  21. ^ "St. John's byelection set for March following councillor's resignation | CBC News".
  22. ^ "2024 By-Election Results". 12 March 2024.
  23. ^ Smith, Greg (May 24, 2021). "Today is Pansexual Visibility Day!". Twitter. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  24. ^ "Greg Smith Past Teams". CurlingZone. Retrieved March 25, 2021.