Calgary Bubble Planned for Season of Champions

Markin MacPhail Centre
Winsport’s Canada Olympic Park during the 2015 Continental Cup.

Curling Canada has officially announced its plan to run select 2021 Season of Champions events (Scotties, Brier, Mixed Doubles, Men’s Worlds) in a “hub-city” model at Winsport’s Canada Olympic Park in Calgary.

The events will be held behind closed doors, in a made for tv format to be broadcast nationally by TSN and RDS.

While Curling Canada’s announcement was light in terms of specific details, including dates and event formats, it is clear that planning has been underway for some time.

“It is thanks largely to the commitment of our business partners that we are able to have ambitions of holding some of our events, giving the best curling fans in the world something to look forward to in the new year,” said Curling Canada CEO Kathleen Henderson in a press release.

Given the fact that Alberta is currently experiencing an influx of COVID cases, with health experts calling on calling on the provincial government to enact righter restrictions on public gatherings, it is possible that the events could undergo further changes before they officially get underway.

As such, Curling Canada will wait until early 2021 to finalize specific details, while continuing to work with public health officials.

This announcement comes after months of uncertainty from the sport’s governing body, and is most likely welcome news to the country’s top curling teams.

Two athletes who were particularly thrilled by Tuesday’s announcement, were skips Brad Gushue and Kerri Einarson, who were both unable to compete at worlds after winning their respective national championships.

“It’s exciting news, and as a team we’re very pleased to see that such a high priority is being placed on the safety of the athletes and those involved in putting on the championships,” said Brad Gushue.

For 2020 Scotties champion Kerri Einarson, the announcement comes at the end of an emotionally turbulent year:

“It’s been a difficult few months, obviously, so I’m very happy to see these events taking place in a safe environment, and very happy for the fans as they will have something to look forward to.”

Einarson and Gushue will not have to worry about qualifying for next year’s nationals, as defending champions they will represent “Team Canada” at the Scotties and Brier.

However, other teams across the country will have to wait and see what their respective provincial/territorial associations have planned in terms of determining representatives at nationals.

With these events being moved to Calgary, it means that previously announced host cities will have to wait at least one more year before holding their respective events.

Curling Canada announced yesterday that Thunder Bay, original host city for the 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, will host the 2022 edition of the national women’s championships.

It remains unseen what will happen to Kelowna and Ottawa, who were both scheduled to host the 2021 editions of the Tim Horton’s Brier and World Men’s Curling Championships, respectively.

Another major unknown that remains for Canada’s top curling teams, is what will happen to the 2020 Home Hardware Canada Cup, a significant event in determining the field at the 2022 Olympic Trials.

While Curling Canada has postponed the 2020 running of the Canada Cup indefinitely, their plans for the event were noticeable absent from Tuesday’s Season of Champions announcement.

It is expected that the Calgary hub will also play host to two rounds of the Grand Slam of Curling (Player’s Championship, Champions Cup) following the Season of Champions events.

It is unknown if Curling Canada intended to include the Canada Cup in the hub-city events, or whether alternative plans are being explored.

Curling Canada’s Silence is Deafening

Winsport Arena in Calgary could play host to several Season of Champions events in a bubble format

With every day that passes by without an announcement by Curling Canada, it becomes more and more likely that the 2021 Season of Champions events (Scotties, Brier, worlds) will not go ahead in their scheduled dates.

While it has long been rumoured that the national curling association, which sanctions some of the biggest events of the year, is looking at hosting these events using a bubble format, most likely in Calgary, there has been no official word for months. 

In fact, Curling Canada has yet to formally announced the postponement/cancelation of the events at their original sites. You can actually still buy ticket packages for the Brier and Scotties!

While it is understandable that finding an alternative way of hosting these events is likely a massive undertaking, with existing contracts needing to be amended, and health protocols put in place, the fact that Curling Canada has yet to make any sort of official statement is concerning. 

Despite the fact that planning has likely been underway for quite some time, Curling Canada’s reluctance to officially announce the alternate events could mean that they are in jeopardy. 

Given the recent cancelation of events and closure of clubs across the country, due to a spike in COVID cases in many hotspots, it is quite possible that organizers are reconsidering their ability to host these events in their scheduled time-slots. 

The delayed response could be a result of Curling Canada not actually knowing when it will be able to run events like the Scotties Tournament of Hearts or Tim Hortons Brier. Currently, the Scotties is scheduled to begin February 20, which is now less than three months away. 

It is likely that Curling Canada will only announce these events when it is certain they will be able to go ahead without interruption, thus avoiding the scenario that played out in Prince George at this year’s World Women’s Championship, with the event being canceled the day before it was set to begin, after teams had already flown in from around the world.

While all these uncertainties justify Curling Canada’s inability to formally announce alternative plans for the Brier and Scotties, their reluctance to formally postpone or cancel the events at their original date and location is perplexing. Even if the governing body is waiting to see whether or not it will be possible to offer the host cities future editions of the events, there is no reason as to why organizers and ticket holders have been kept in the dark for so long.

Weekly Roundup (Week of Nov 11)

This past week saw some of Canada’s top curling rinks competing in a number of tour events across the country.

Okotoks Alberta played host to one of the biggest events of the week, with a $23,000 purse up for grabs at the ATB Okotoks Classic. Sunday’s final saw Brendan Bottcher (AB) defeat Kevin Koe’s (AB) rink 6-5.

Tyler Tardi took home the $4,500 cash prize at the Raymond James Kelowna Double Cash, after beating Sean Geall’s New Westminster rink 7-6 in the final.

The Bally Haly Cashspiel in St John’s brought out a number of Newfoundland rinks, with Nathan Young (NL) getting by Trent Skanes (NL) 5-4 in the championship final.

On the women’s tour, Corryn Brown (BC) and Marry-Anne Arsenault (BC) met in the finals in Kelowna, with Brown’s rink winning 10-7.

In St. John’s, Isabelle Ladouceur’s rink from Halifax won the women’s side of the Bally Haly Cashspiel, after defeating Mackenzie Mitchell (NL) 6-5 in the final.

Coming up this week are a number of big tour events in both British Columbia and Alberta

The Penticton Curling Club plays host to the annual running of the Ashley HomeStore Curling Classic; with a stacked field of 24 teams in action, including Brendan Bottcher (AB), John Epping (ON), Brad Jacobs (NO), and Kevin Koe (AB).

The event in Penticton could prove to be one of the biggest tournaments of the season so far, with many of the elite teams meeting for the first time since the pandemic began.

On the east coast, the Halifax Curling Club hosts the Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic, with Brad Gushue (NL) and Jamie Murphy (NS) making up part of a 16 team triple knockout.

A number of Canada’s top women’s rinks will be in action at the Okotoks Ladies Classic, with Jennifer Jones (MB), Kerri Einarson (MB), and Rachel Homan (ON) all taking part.

Just like the Penticton event on the men’s side, the tournament in Okotoks will be one of the first women’s events of the season to feature such a stacked field.

For more information be sure to follow Fifth End Break on Facebook, and catch our recap of this weekend’s events next week.

2020 Schweizer Cup Preview

2020 Swiss Curling Champions Team Schwaller will be in action this weekend at the Schweizer Cup © WCF / Cheyenne Boone

This weekend, the competitive curling season officially gets underway with the 2020 edition of the Schweizer Cup taking place in Basel, Switzerland.

What: The Schweizer Cup is an annual curling competition in Switzerland, featuring the nations top teams in a round-robin style tournament. This year’s event marks the first major curling event to be played during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teams: The men’s side of the competition features ten teams split between two groups. Among the rinks competing are 2020 Swiss Champions Team Schwaller (Group A), 2020 Swiss Junior Champions Team Klossner (Group A), 2019 World Junior silver medalists Team Holsi, and 2018 World Junior bronze medalists Team Hess (Group B).

The women’s side features a single group of seven rinks competing for an $11,000 purse. Reigning Swiss champions Team Stern will face tough competition from 2019 World Women’s Champion Silvani Tirinzoni. The women’s side will also feature 2019 World Junior bronze medalist Selina Witschonke, as well as several other young teams.

Format: The men’s event consists of a ten team, two group, round robin tournament. Following the round-robin, the top team in each group will face the runners-up from the other group in a semi-final, with the winners of each semi making it to the championship final.

The women’s event features a simple seven team round-robin, with the top two teams at the conclusion of the round-robin facing each other in the finals.

Livestream: The Swiss Curling Association will be providing live streaming of the final three days of the competition. From August 21-23, fans can watch the action from sheets 2-4 live on Youtube. Link: https://bit.ly/2PHf99F

2020 Canada Cup Postponed

Curling Canada/Michael Burns

Due to the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic, Curling Canada announced today that the 2020 Home Hardware Canada Cup, scheduled to take Nov. 24-29 in Fredericton, NB, has been postponed indefinitely.

“We all know the reality of our situation, and it goes beyond sports,” Curling Canada CEO Katherine Henderson said, in a press-release issued Tuesday. “Our primary goal and responsibility, always, is to keep athletes and volunteers safe and it was determined that without any kind of clarity about what the situation will look like in the late fall when these events were scheduled, we couldn’t responsibly go further in the planning process.”

This announcement comes one month after Sportsnet announced the cancellation of the first four events of the Grand Slam of Curling, and is likely a major blow to professional teams eager to get the 2020-2021 season underway.

Given the fact that the Canada Cup acts as a qualifying tournament for the 2021 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings, Curling Canada intents to reschedule the event for some time in 2021.

With these cancellations, the 2020-21 season is now in jeopardy of being missed altogether. Given that restrictions on major sporting events are likely to remain in place for many months to come, it is doubtful that events like the Scotties and Brier will go ahead as usual next spring.

However, with the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics just over 500 days away, Curling Canada needs to find a way to run important events like the national championships and olympic trials, even if the events have to be held behind closed doors.

Curling Canada seeks to give as many elite teams as possible a chance of making it to the Olympics, through a complex qualifications process that spans multiple seasons. And while several teams have already qualified, the vast majority of spots at the 2021 Trials in Saskatoon are still up for grabs.

Given the fact that the 2020-21 season was to be the last full season prior to the Olympic trials in December 2021, the curling world will need to find a way to salvage the season in some way.

As other sports have shown, a willingness to adapt to the changing circumstances is key. Right now, the most likely scenario for Curling Canada would be to hold events such as the the Brier and Scotties, as well as the Canada Cup, without fans in a controlled environemnt.

While the Grand Slams had a number of international factors to consider when cancelling events, Curling Canada’s competitions don’t necessarily have the same issues to deal with. All athletes competing at nationals and the Canada Cup are Canadian, meaning there is no need for teams to quarantine for 14-days prior to the events.

While it is likely in Curling Canada’s best interests to host these major events as usual, with thousands of fans in the stands, the pandemic is making this an almost impossible task.

However, Curling Canada officials will continue to take the “wait and see approach,” offering no updates at this time on 2021 events.

Grand Slam Cancellations Leave Rinks in Limbo

Anil Mungal

Last week professional curling teams around the world were dealt a major blow when Sportsnet announced the postponement of the Grand Slam of Curling Season until April 2021. 

The news all but conformed what many had feared; the COVID-19 pandemic will significantly impact the 2020-21 curling season. While Curling Canada has yet to cancel 2020 Home Hardware Canada Cup late November, there is now a very good chance the Canadian season won’t officially get underway until provincial play downs begin in the new year. 

The cancellation of the first four events of the Grand Slam season has many implications, not only will elite teams be unable to play competitive draws for the next several months, but they will also be unable to compete for the large sums of cash that are made available at the slams. 

The cancelation of these events could also prevent teams from meeting some of their sponsorship requirements. When companies sign-on to back curling teams, they are doing so in part because of the television and media exposure that is made available to teams competing at the sport’s highest level. With these events now canceled, these sponsors have lost out on at least four weekends of national television exposure. 

Corporations like Canadian Beef pay big bucks to get their logos on the jackets of the country’s top teams

Given the fact that curling is still thought of as an amateur sport, at least where the ability for athletes to make a living competing at the highest level is concerned, teams rely on these events to generate much of their necessary funds. With the amount of prize-money up for grabs this season now significantly reduced, teams will have to work even herder to secure the funds necessary to mount a competitive season. 

Despite the fact that this sort of announcement is exactly what teams and organizers were hoping to avoid, it was the right decision. Given the global nature of competitive curling, there was no way Sportsnet could pull these events off in time, amidst a global pandemic. 

While teams do face a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the upcoming season, there are still options for teams to stay in-shape and competitive during this extended off-season. 

As provinces and other jurisdictions begin to loosen some of the restrictions that have been put in place over the last few months, curling clubs and other athletic facilities are beginning to open up. As organizations like Curling Canada start to publish return-to play strategies, it will become much easier for teams to train and compete during the pandemic. 

Given  the fact that many curling clubs often have a number of elite teams as members, rinks will be able to train alongside some of their regular tour competitors. While the competitiveness of these rinks will vary, teams shouldn’t have to go too far to find decent opponents. 

There may also be opportunities for rinks to compete in smaller cash-spells around the country this fall. A number of World Curling Tour events are still on the schedule for the fall and winter months. While it is impossible to predict where we will be in regards to COVID come October, if the spread of the virus continues to slow,, is is possible that some of the more “open” provinces would welcome such events. 

While the World Curling Tour events don’t often feature as competitive of fields as the Slams do, nor do they have as much prize money, these events would definitely be welcomed by the country’s elite teams. 

Given the current rules associated with travel into Canada, it is unlike that international teams would be able to come and compete in these events, unless significant improvement is seen in regards to the pandemic, or if event organizers are able to receive exemptions from the federal and provincial health authorities. 

Another important thing to consider is the fact that Sportsnet’s announcement is likely not the last. The uncertainties surrounding COVID-19 that additional cancellations are always possible. Until a vaccine is found, the status of the 2020-21 curling season is largely unknown, leaving the world’s top teams in limbo with less than 20 months left before the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. 

Top Five Team Canada Appearances

Throughout the years Canada has been well represented on the international curling stage. In total, Canada has won a whopping 36 world men’s curling championships, 17 world women’s curling titles, and six Olympic gold medals.

Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018

With many of the sport’s biggest names having donned the red and white at some point in their career, it’s no easy task to craft a definitive list of the best of all time.

The list of the five greatest team Canada appearances is judged on more than just championship titles. To be considered one of the best of all time, these teams provided some of the most memorable performances in curling history. They are teams that are forever etched in the minds and hearts of Canadian curling fans.

5. Earnie Richardson: 1959, 1960, 1962 World Championships

Michael Burns Photography Ltd

It makes sense to start the list of best Team Canadas with the first ever world championship winning rink.

The Richardson foursome was comprised of Ernie and brother Garnet (Sam), and their counsins Arnold and Wes Richardson.

Together the Saskatchewan-based rink won three world titles in just four years, an impressive feat even in the early days of international Curling.

At the first ever World Championships in 1959, a five-draw series was held between Canada and hosts Scotland, to determine the title, with the Richardson rink winning handily 5-0.

4. Jennifer Jones: 2018 World Championships

Jennifer Jones arrived at the 2018 World Women’s Curling Championships in North Bay as the best ranked team in the world. Having missed February’s Winter Olympics following a disappointing trials performance, Jones likely felt as though she had a lot to prove in front of the home-crowd.

The Winnipeg-based rink dominated the round-robin, winning all twelve draws, and curling an impressive 85% throughout the week.

The Canadian women received a bye into the semi-finals, where they defeated Jamie Sinclair’s Team USA 9-7, setting up a date in the finals with Anna Hasselborg’s Team Sweden.

The gold-medal game was a tight affair between Canada and Sweden, with Jones’ rink starting things out with three straight blanked ends, followed by a score of two in the fourth.

With the game tied at six after ten ends of play, Jones was able to score a single in the extra-end and take home her second world title, in front of a record crowd at the North Bay Memorial Gardens.

The 2018 World’s also marked the final appearance of the legendary Manitoba foursome, as lead Jill Officer officially retired at the end of the season.

3. Brad Gushue: 2006 Winter Olympics

Getty Images

Newfoundland’s Brad Gushue is currently one of curling’s biggest stars. In the last five years, Team Gushue has won three Brier titles and a World Championship.

Long before winning his first ever national championship in 2017, Gushue made a name for himself after winning gold at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

At just 25 years of age, Gushue represented the sport’s rising crop of young talent. To get to the ’06 games, the Newfoundland rink defeated some of curling’s biggest names at the 2005 Olympic Trials.

In Turin, Team Canada started the tournament with a 6-3 record in the round-robin, placing second to Markku Uusipaavalniemi’s Team Finland.

In the 2v3 semi-final, Gushue’s rink handily got by Pete Fenson’s Team USA, 11-7, setting up a matchup with David Murdoch’s Team Britain in the final.

In the gold-medal game, Gushue’s squad downed Britain 8-6, to claim Canada’s first-ever Olympic men’s curling title.

Gushue’s gold medal winning performance was one of Canada’s most impressive of the ’06 games, and is still fondly remembered by Canadian curling fans.

2. Kevin Martin: 2010 Olympic Games

Rick Earnst/Canwest

Alberta’s Team Kevin Martin arrived at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver with the eyes of the nation on their back’s.

Despite the tremendous amount of pressure that comes with competing in an Olympic Games on home soil, Martin’s rink did not disappoint.

Team Canada started the tournament with an impressive 9-0 performance in the round-robin. After defeating Nicholas Edin’s team Sweden 6-3 in the semi-finals, Martin’s rink met Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud in the gold-medal game.

In front of a jam-packed crowd at the Vancouver Olympic Centre, Martin’s team downed Team Sweden 6-3, to win their first-ever Olympic gold medal.

With their win, Martin’s rink also became the first squad in the ten-team format to go undefeated throughout the tournament, an impressive feat for one of Canada’s most accomplished curlers .

1. Sandra Schmirler: 1998 Winter Olympics

Schmirler’s rink on the podium in Nagano, after defeating Denamrk 5-7 in the Gold Medal Game.

Saskacthewan’s Sandra Schmirler arrived at the ’98 Olympics in Nagano as one of the favourites to win the gold medal.

After winning five Scotties Tournament of Hearts titles, three World Championships, and a legendary performance at the 1997 Olympic trials (featuring “the shot“), Schmirler’s rink was one of the best in the world at the time.

Team Canada opened the tournament with an impressive performance in the round-robin, finishing atop the standings with an 6-1 record. In the semi-finals Schmirler defeated Britain’s Kristy Hay 6-5 to clinch a spot in the gold-medal match.

Schmirler’s rink faced Helena Blach Laverson’s Team Denmark in the finals. After Schmirler opened the game with a score of three-points in the first end, Team Canada proved to be too much for Laverson’s squad, with the Danish rink conceding after the ninth end.

Schmirler’s win marked Canada’s first ever Olympic curling title, and would become one of the highlights of Canada’s performance in Nagano.

Sadly, the win in Nagano marked Schmirler’s last major bonspiel win, as the skip tragically passed away from cancer in 2000.

Honourable Mentions: Kaitlyn Lawes/Johnny Morris (2018 Olympic Mixed Doubles), Jennifer Jones (2014 Winter Olympics), Jeff Stoughton (2011 World Championships), Rachel Homan (2017 World Championships) , Linda Moore (1988 Winter Olympics), Reid Carruthers/Joanne Courtney (2017 World Mixed-Doubles).

Diversity in Curling: Addressing the “White” Elephant

Karrie Alaqel, Suleiman Alaqel, ksa © WCF / Richard Gray

For the last several weeks, the sports world has begun to grapple with the national reckoning that is the Black Lives Matter movement. While the movement’s main focus has been, and remains, the excessive use of force by law-enforcement towards people of colour, it has also spawned consciousness raising towards the importance of racial and cultural diversity. 

In many major sports organizations, such as the NFL or NBA, prominent black athletes have emerged as spokespeople for the movement, often chronicling their experiences with racial injustice.

While sports like basketball and football tend to be more diverse, other, more white sports, have begun to consider the ways they can attract more diverse athletes and fans. For example, Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s only full-time black driver, has been vocal of the need for greater diversity in the sport.

The sport of curling has not been exempt from this reckoning, with many competitors and members of the media exploring the ways the sport can become more diverse. Curling Canada’s CEO Kathleen Henderson has committed to making the sport more inclusive. 

While commitment’s such as Henderson’s are an important first step towards solving curling’s diversity problem, the sport’s national governing body has yet to take concrete action to address the issue. 

One of the potential reasons for Curling Canada’s somewhat muted response, is the debate over exactly what action will be needed to solve the problem. 

One way Curling could solve its diversity problem is through outreach programs specifically targeting people of colour and other visible minorities. Such initiatives are currently underway to attract groups such as the LGBTQ+ community, and could be expanded .

Mark Crawford’s play The New Canadian Curling Club imagines a small-town Learn-to-Curl program which seeks to teach immigrants the sport of curling. (Photo by ftdb.ca/ Randy deKleine-Stimpson)

While such initiatives seek to combat some of the hurdles preventing certain groups from participating in the sport, it risks creating factions within curling clubs. Instead of creating separate leagues for immigrants or people of colour, such efforts should be aimed at diversifying existing leagues and programs.

It is also important to consider the ways economic inequality may keep certain groups away from curling. Like many sports, curling can be expensive, ensuring greater accessibility to all income-levels certainly will help with the diversity issue. 

However, portraying the issue simply as one of financial inequity fails to address some of the underlying and systemic issues that might keep certain groups away from the sport. For one, curling clubs tend to be more popular in small rural communities. As larger urban centres around the country continue to see their curling clubs close, the sport is unable to attract a wider range of participants. 

Increasing curling’s presence in larger cities, while maintaining its popularity in small towns, could be a win-win situation. As the Canadian population continues to migrate to larger urban-centres, away from rural communities, the sport of curling will need to adapt. While this plan certainly comes with its host of challenges, least of which would be the high price of real-estate in cities like Toronto, the sport’s best hopes of attracting more diverse athletes is in bigger cities. 

Curling’s diversity problem is as much about the culture of the game than it is anything else. In order to attract more racial diversity, the sport of curling needs to ensure marginalized groups feel welcome at their local club. You can do so much to get people in the door, but once inside, the curling rink needs to be a welcoming environment for all. 

The majority of curlers will tell you this is not an issue, for one the sport of curling has always been a respectful ‘gentleman’s’ game. However, not everyone has the same experience. There is always more work to be done to ensure a welcoming environment for all. 

The other issue with attracting a wider range of participants to the sport, is that curling still receives very little exposure when compared to other more mainstream sports. For curling to grow and attract more diverse participants, it needs increased exposure, especially among younger audiences.

One way to ensure more kids are being exposed to the sport of curling from an early age would be to have it included as part of the physical education curriculum in schools. If kids experience the game from an early age not only does it have the ability to remove some of the perceived prejudice that may be experienced by people of colour later in life, but it also has the potential to build life-long fans and players of the game. 

Another aspect of the diversity issue that needs to be addressed is the perceived “whiteness” of elite level curling. That is, the vast majority of high-performance athletes, the ones competing at Grand Slams and national championships, are white. Very rarely are people of colour or other visible-minorities able to see themselves reflected in the sports top-class. 

The diversity issue is less prevalent on curling’s international stage, with Asian athletes and other people of colour often represented at world championships. However in Canada, competitors at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and the Tim Hortons Brier are almost always exclusively white.

The curlers at this year’s Tim Horton’s Brier in Kingston, ON all seemed to have one thing in common… (Curling Canada Photo)

If athletes of colour were to become more prevalent at the sport’s biggest events, it could help attract a new, more diverse crop of players and fans to the game. When young people have role-models who look like themselves, it gives them something to strive for. 

Fixing curling’s diversity issue will not be an easy task. Seeing governing bodies such as Curling Canada make commitments to addressing the problem is a good sign. However, athletes and fans need to see concrete action taken if the sport is to effectively address this ‘white’ elephant.

It’s going to take a long time for curling to catch up to other more diverse sports, however there is room for small changes to be made in the near future as the sport’s governing bodies find ways to build a new more diverse range of players and fans. 

Curling Canada can start by investing in programs that seek to attract immigrants and other minority groups to the sport. The national governing body can also use its scholarship money to specifically target people of colour or other marginalized groups. 

If these steps are taken now, and combined with more long-term efforts, it can help bring a new range of fans and athletes to the sport of curling, one that is more reflective of Canada’s diverse population.

Why Start a Curling Blog?

“You actually like that sport?” “It’s like watching paint dry”

These are the sorts of comments I get when I tell people I love the sport of curling. While I am a big fan of pretty much every sport out there, since 2013 curling has been my ultimate sport of choice. While my room is not presently adorned with the jackets of my favourite curling rinks, I do consider myself somewhat of a diehard fan.

It all started at the 2013 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in my hometown of Kingston, Ontario. A few weeks before the tournament began I remember calling into a radio station and winning a pair of tickets to an early round draw. Because we had already planned a trip to Syracuse, NY the same weekend, I decided to give the tickets to my grandfather. At the time I didn’t think I was missing much. To be honest, I didn’t know anything about curling at the time, least of all that it makes for excellent live viewing.

Because he had such a great time at the event, my grandfather decided to repay the favour and take me to an afternoon draw later in the week. By then I tuned into a majority of the tournament’s early draws; I was fascinated that such a world-class event was taking place in my hometown. Going to a live curling event for the first-time I was spoiled, the feature draw that afternoon was a clash between Manitoba (Jennifer Jones) and Ontario (Rachel Homan), both teams who had a serious chance of taking home the title at the end of the week.

While I didn’t know much about the specifics of the game, I was already well aware of that we were watching a legend in the making, as Rachel Homan sought to win her fist ever national championship at just 24-years of age. I attended a few more draws throughout the rest of the week, and was there at the finals when Homan’s rink defeated Jones’ and took home their first of three Scotties titles.

Since that week back in 2013, Curling has become a major passion of mine. I have attended numerous events as both a fan and volunteer, and began playing the sport myself.

I was thrilled back in 2018 when it was announced that Kingston would host the 2020 Tim Horton’s Brier, arguably one of the biggest annual curling events in the world. By then I had already started my journey as an amateur sports journalist, working as an INDYCAR reporter for Essaar Motorsport out of the UK.

I knew I wanted my involvement at the Brier to be more than that of a spectator or a volunteer, so I was thrilled when the local news site The Kingstonist, agreed to have me come on-board and cover the event.

Covering the 2020 Tim Horton’s Brier was one of the best weeks of my life. There were so many incredible stories, both on and off the ice, getting to capture them for local readers was such a rewarding experience.

Following this year’s Brier I knew I wanted to become more involved in the sport, but given the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic, many plans fell through. I started to realize the best way to cover the sport I love would be to do something myself.

I thought about starting a podcast, but then I realized there were already many people doing a much better job than I could (how could I possible compete with Two Girls and a Game or Game of Stones?).

As I thought about it more, I realized that writing seemed to be my greatest outlet. Starting my own curling blog would allow me to continue the work I started at the Brier, and tell the stories of the incredible people who make this sport so special.

I’m lining up some fun articles over the summer, including interviews, historical features, and fun lists. I will also be seeking reader’s input on the sorts of content they would like to see. Once the season formally gets underway, whenever that may be, the blog will feature the usual weekly previews and recaps of the sport’s biggest events. However, my main goal is to use this blog to to write feature articles that share the stories of the game that other media don’t often tell.

As we are in the midst of a major pandemic I understand that it might seem trivial to start a blog solely dedicated to the sport of curling, But if there’s anything the last several months have taught me, it’s that sport can provide a valuable distraction to the problems of the world. But by no means will this blog ignore the current state of the world, I already have articles lined up that explore the pandemic’s impact on the game, as well as the issues of diversity in the sport of curling.

I also realize that the pandemic will force us to become adaptable, we don’t even know if there will be a season at all in 2020-21. But I am excited to get things started over the summer, and I hope you will check back regularly.

Thanks,

Dylan Chenier 

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started