The Russell Curling Club gathered at the rink on October 14 to celebrate the amazing achievements of Cochrane, who has been a member of the club for fifty years. He won five world championships between 2003 and 2021, the fifth being last November.
“It’s not something that you try to achieve. You’re not trying to go for the Lifetime Achievement Award for the Ontario Curling Association, but it’s something that comes along with success,” said Cochrane. “Winning five provincial championships in your career gets you to that spot.”
He got into curling because his parents were members of the Russell Curling Club and brought him there often. He has fond memories of running around the lounge as young as seven years old, running around the ice and helping teams get the curling rocks out for games. Now, after five championships and a lifetime achievement award, it might be time to hang up the broom and put away the rocks.
Cochrane said he doesn’t have any serious plans for competition in the future. His team is thinking of playing in the 2022 Ontario Senior Playdowns, but that doesn’t involve a lot of serious training. Just playing often to keep their skills sharp.
