Curling legend enjoying chance to compete alongside his son

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, February 14, 2017

EVERETT — In American curling circles, one would be hard pressed to find a bigger name than Pete Fenson.

The 48-year-old from Bemidji, Minnesota, has had as much success as any curler in U.S. history. He’s won eight men’s national championships, serving as his team’s skip for the last six of those. He’s represented the U.S. in the Olympics, winning a bronze medal at the 2006 games in Torino, Italy — one of just three medals ever earned by the U.S. in curling. Heck, he’s even one of the voices one hears when tuning into curling television broadcasts, as he’s served as an analyst for both the Olympics and Curling Night in America.

So the fact Fenson is competing in the USA Curling Nationals this week at Xfinity Arena is nothing new. But what is new is who Fenson has on his team: his son Alex.

The Fensons have turned this year’s nationals into a father-son affair, and they’re hoping it results in a winning combination.

“I love playing with him, he’s an excellent player,” Pete Fenson said of his son. “There’s always kinks to work out with a new team, but it’s going well, I really enjoy playing with him.”

Alex Fenson, who bears an uncanny resemblance to his father, has impressive curling credentials of his own, considering he’s just 22 years old. He’s a two-time junior national champion, and last year he competed at men’s nationals with his junior team, finishing fourth.

Yet it required a combination of circumstances and timing to bring father and son together for this year’s event.

Much of Pete Fenson’s success came with a team that was largely intact for a decade. Of the six national titles he won as skip (2003, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2014), Shawn Rojeski accompanied him on all six teams, and Joe Polo was a team member for five. But Rojeski took a job that no longer allows him to maintain the schedule required to curl at the top level, and Polo elected to remain with USA Curling’s High Performance Program after Fenson departed the program last year.

That left Pete Fenson seeking a new team, and he didn’t have to think long about where to find new teammates. Alex Fenson had just completed his junior eligibility, having earned a silver medal with the U.S. at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Denmark. The timing was perfect for father and son to unite at the men’s level.

“It was kind of an ongoing discussion,” Pete Fenson said. “‘What do you think coming out of juniors? I still have a few years left where I think in my brain that I can focus and concentrate on (playing).’ We didn’t want to do it when he was in juniors because he wanted to finish out his junior career. Then we just decided now is a good time.”

When asked to join up with his father, Alex Fenson didn’t need to ponder his answer.

“I was going into men’s and my dad just asked, ‘Hey, I’m only going to play a couple more years, do you want to play with me?’” Alex Fenson said. “I said, ‘Yeah, for sure!’

“I always dreamed of playing with him as I’ve been growing up,” Alex Fenson added. “I’ve watched him my entire life, so I’m really glad that I finally get to play with him.”

Alex Fenson serves as Team Fenson’s lead, meaning he throws the team’s first two rocks each end. He also serves as the team’s vice skip, meaning it’s his job to hold the target broom when his father throws the team’s final two rocks. That unusual role — on most teams the third serves as vice skip — gives Pete Fenson plenty of opportunity to mentor his son during games.

But while being teammates has put them more on an equal footing while competing, the father-son dynamic remains in place.

“I wouldn’t say the (father-son dynamic) goes out the window,” Pete Fenson said. “But over the course of the season we’ve learned to look at each other more as teammates and a little less as father and son. Once we’re off the ice, I’m going to help him with his homework this afternoon (Alex Fenson is a student at Bemidji State University), probably buy him lunch.

“He and I have discussed it, I actually think it’s brought us closer together, which is always nice,” Pete Fenson added. “We’ve always had a good relationship, but we think it’s made it better.”

Because of the team’s youth, Team Fenson is not considered among the favorites to win this year’s nationals. Through the first five draws Team Fenson found itself 2-3 in round-robin play.

But being a young team — the other members are 25-year-old Jared Zezel and 22-year-old Mark Fenner — skipped by a veteran hasn’t diminished the team’s goals.

“The nationals aren’t any different, we’re here to win the event, just like I always have,” said Pete Fenson, who’s also targeting the 2018 Olympic Trials. “We’re just doing what we have to do to win.”

And if he can win alongside his son, the victory would be all the sweeter.

For more on the Seattle sports scene, check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/tag/seattle-sidelines, or follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.