Nolan’s mandate: Resurrect the Greatness of Curling
Nolan Thiessen was named Curling Canada’s new CEO this week, and the announcement was welcomed with much hoopla and almost overwhelming support, which is understandable. Nolan combines his passion for curling, which earned him a Brier, with his growing astuteness as a sports executive.
Besides, he’s a pretty good guy.
He now assumes the challenging position of CEO of Curling Canada, a distinctive position with two occasionally at odds goals that will be used to evaluate him:
1) In Canada, how do you maintain your curls?
2) How can we return to taking home gold from the Olympics?
Both of these tasks, in my opinion, appear to be equally essential and quite challenging at the moment.
How can we continue to expand the game?
This one will not be easy.
Without a doubt, curling in Canada is not as popular as it was twenty years ago. The upcoming generation of fans and participants has not been sufficiently attracted to us. We haven’t done enough to acknowledge Canada’s growing multiethnic population. I still firmly believe that curling has the capacity to foster community and act as a center. It’s a social game that is also easily accessible. However, we still need to work.
The COVID-19 pandemic’s two lost years severely damaged junior programs. In Canada, any curling club must have a robust junior program that prioritizes enjoyment. For children, curling is an affordable and accessible sport that serves as a gateway to other communities. Nolan has a long list of things to do, but developing a successful program in every club should be close to the top.
How do we stop the trend of smaller arenas, sponsors, and attendance at Canada’s premier events—the Scotties and the Brier—and elevate their status? Though that is a topic for a more in-depth piece, these events must unquestionably be included in our efforts to develop the sport in Canada.
How can we resume our winning ways?
Probably the most important query for David Murdoch and Nolan is this one. How can we get Canada to medal in the Olympics once more? Despite having the greatest competitive depth of any nation and being home to the majority of curlers worldwide, this no longer guarantees success. Yes, we did secure a well-deserved bronze at the most recent Games, but it’s obvious that Canada will no longer be the dominant nation in the world—at least not for some time.
How about forming super teams?
In Canada, we have erroneous ideas about team building.
Our goal is to improve Gushue (or Dunstone, Koe, Bottcher, Homan, or Einerson). We discuss residency policies in an effort to facilitate team-building. We discuss the dates of the qualifying events and extend the time for them to be ready.
This is an outdated method.
There isn’t much we can do to assist these teams because they will already be making every effort to improve. They have financial support and sponsors. They’re going to be excellent. However, this isn’t how the best programs develop the following wave of victorious teams.
It is therefore necessary for us to examine nations that are effectively creating “super teams” and determine what they are doing differently. For men, we should consider Scotland and Italy, and for ladies, Korea and Japan. What do they do differently to create medal-winning teams? Alternatively, we could reflect on our own accomplishments, such as the Canadian men’s team that won the gold last time out (Brad Jacobs). What’s the magic combination?
As it happens, the solution is not all that difficult.
Four committed young athletes who compete full-time are where you start first.
• Make curling a full-time job.
• Build them a year-round training center with top-notch ice.
• Ensure that everyone on the team can practice together every day and that they all reside close to the training site.
• Ensure that the front end gets enough training so they have the physique of potential bodybuilders.
• Pay for their spieling and travel.
• Offer excellent teaching, which Canada excels at providing (in fact, we export it to every other nation!).
• Get medals from the Olympics!
Rather, we want our athletes, who reside throughout the nation and work at non-curling day jobs, to miraculously unite and defeat teams that compete in this sport professionally.
Early in September, my squad (by no means an Olympic candidate) played at Oakville against one of the best-funded Scottish teams, Ross Whyte. At that point in the season, it was our sixth time skating together. It was Whyte and his boys’ fifty-fifth game of the season up to that time.
By early September, they had skated on the ice 55 times. We don’t compete with one another.
COVID has also made the gap wider. The other nations locked themselves into their Olympic-training facilities with their trainers and improved, while we closed down clubs and postponed competitions. Much better. They improved their sweeping techniques and discovered that throwing with six or more rotations is particularly successful on arena ice that has jagged rocks in it. Less than one-third of teams competing in Grand Slam competitions are Canadian, which is not surprising.
Instead of attempting to improve our current squads, we should concentrate on building the super team that will triumph in six years. And with all due respect, I assure you that team is not called Gushue, Jones, or Koe.
