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Admiration for curler laid bare at tourney

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Scottish skip Eve Muirhead of Team World drew this trio of Kelowna curlers, bare-chested with her name painted across their torsos, to Saturday's World Financial Group Continental Cup. From left are Justin Nillson, Tyler Jaeger and Cam Weir, who said they first took note of the 22-year-old when she skipped for Great Britain at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
A trio of bare-chested men appeared in stark contrast to the crowd watching the World Financial Group Continental Cup at Penticton's South Okanagan Events Centre on Saturday.
Cam Weir, Tyler Jaeger and Justin Nillson of Kelowna had painted their chests blue with the letters E, V and E.
The three men are not only curlers, but also huge fans of Scotland's Eve Muirhead, one of two women's skips for Team World.
"We all stood up and cheered when she threw her first rock," said Jaeger.
Nillson said they had been planning to paint their chests for quite some time after finding out Muirhead would compete in curling's version of golf's Ryder Cup.
The pretty 22-year-old Scot is a four-time gold medallist at the world junior women's curling championships, winning three times as her country's skip. She went on to skip for Great Britain at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
It was there that many curlers, including Weir, Jaeger and Nillson, took notice of Muirhead.
They even bought their seats so they'd be in close proximity to her.
"You've got to support your Eve," they said in unison.
Jaeger said today's curler is fit, strong and younger than 15 or 20 years ago, and he's watched curling evolve into an elite sport in many parts of the world.
"It's moving to a younger crowd," said Weir.
"I like the athleticism coming to the sport," said Nillson. "To see the fitness level go up like it has, it's really encouraging."
For the top curlers, it's even possible to earn a living from curling, something that would have been unheard of in the sport's earlier days.
The best part, said Jaeger, is that anyone can play and excel at curling.
They said the also enjoy the chemistry and camaraderie that comes from playing with three others on a regular basis.
Jaeger said they'll be staying overnight and will be in attendance for today's skins competition, still hoping to catch Muirhead's eye.
They will return to Penticton next weekend for the Men's Bonspiel Tin Cup, and added they could end up being bare-chested again.
"This is bingo dabber and food colouring," said Weir. "We don't know if it'll come off. If you have any solutions, let us know."

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