Vera Pezer has always had a mind for curling. From her early days in Meskanaw, SK, tossing stones on a two sheeter at the age of 6, Vera developed a lifelong passion for the roaring game. In our conversation, we cover her development at the University of Saskatchewan where she honed her curling skills and her studies, eventually blending the two as part of her PhD in Sports Psychology. Vera won 4 Canadian Championships as Team Saskatchewan. First as third for Joyce McKee in 1969, then skipping Sheila Rowan, Joyce, and Lenore Morrison to three consecutive national victories from 1971 to 1973. Vera then stepped back from curling, but eventually found herself working with the CCA, providing a focus on the mental aspects of the game. After the 1992 Winter Olympics, career again pulled her away from the game, but her passions remained and she directed this energy into writing a book "The Stone Age: A Social History of Curling on the Prairies", published in 2003. She followed up with "Smart Curling: Perfect Your Game Through Mental Training" in 2007.
Vera tells stories from across her curling career including the Canadian Championships (CLCA and Macdonald Lassies), the 1988 Olympic Trials, and shares her thoughts on the modern game. You'll also hear about her clash with Orest in curling's original "Battle of the Sexes" in 1972.
In addition to her own books, you can find out more about Vera Pezer in "Tales of a Curling Hack" by Doug Maxwell, "Curling: The History, The Players, The Game" by Warren Hansen, and "Some outstanding women: they made Saskatoon a better community".
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