If there’s one thing Canadian curlers can agree on right now, it’s that innovations are needed to breathe new life into the game and perhaps push the country back to the top on the international stage.
So, as the top curlers — and many up-and-comers — in the country take part in Curling Canada’s PointsBet Invitational single-knockout tournament in Fredericton, N.B., this week, there is plenty of cautious optimism.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a new format, or a new type of event,” reigning Canadian men’s champion Brad Gushue said.
“I think, the single-elimination, it’s great to try it out. It’s exciting for the fans, it makes every game that much more intense. I love the idea, I love the concept and trying to get more engagement in the event, I think there are a lot of positives.”
Positives are what high-level curlers across the country have been looking for since the end of last season, a year in which Canada struggled at the Olympics and didn’t taste gold in any men’s or women’s international events.
There were calls for changes to how Curling Canada operates its events and it’s evident the deep thinkers at the national body listened. The hope from many curlers is this is just the beginning.
“There’s been some progress,” said Gushue, who won a bronze medal at the Olympics in Beijing and silver at the men’s world championship. “I know they’re working with a consulting firm and we’ve spoken to them. I’ve had conversations with (Curling Canada CEO) Kathy Henderson and (executive director of marketing and fan experience) Nolan Thiessen as well, so I think the work is going in.
“How much they take from that and make changes, is yet to be seen. At this point, it certainly looks like they’re making an effort to make some changes and at least get information to make a more educated decision.”
Changes are clearly not going to happen overnight — there are many curlers with many suggestions on how to fix things — but it’s looking like things are on the right track with this unique event in Fredericton.
“It’s completely new — win or go home,” said Mackenzie Zacharias, the new vice-skip for six-time Canadian champion Jennifer Jones.
“The playoffs really did start on the first day of the competition. They make it super intense and super exciting in the arena as well and I think that’s something that hasn’t always been a part of the larger events. It’s going get the fans more involved, especially with the ($1 million) bracket challenge that they have going on.”
The PointsBet Invitational started on Thursday and continues through till Sunday, with games televised on TSN.
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There was even an upset on Day 1, when fourth-seed Chelsea Carey of Winnipeg lost to 13th-seed Selena Sturmay of Edmonton. Many a bracket was busted and a top team went home after the first draw.
“The more upsets that happen, the better, but obviously I don’t want to be on that side of it,” men’s No. 3-seed Matt Dunstone said. “You never know in a one-game showdown. That’s what makes this exciting.
“You look how exciting it is in March Madness (NCAA basketball tournament). When you have a 15th seed like St. Mary’s going and making a deep run, that’s the most exciting thing. At that point, the only thing more exciting is the championship game itself.”
Dunstone, 27, has been one of the most vocal curlers in calling for changes to the game in Canada. For him, it’s not just Canada’s performance on the international stage that needs addressing.
“What I’d like to see is just more innovation and more excitement around fans and bringing new fans in and getting a younger atmosphere,” Dunstone said. “The amount of people I’ve talked to around my age — 20-30 years old — they say they don’t really know where to sign up, where to go, how to get involved in curling and how to get to a high level.
“I really hope, whether it be this PointsBet event or the Canada Cup, something more Canadian based, those are avenues we need to use to get those teams, that we haven’t seen at the Brier and Scotties yet, the valuable experience of playing on arena ice in front of the fans, playing the big teams.”
Curling Canada did a good job in that area for this tournament, bringing in Canadian junior champions Emily Deschenes of Nova Scotia and Landan Rooney of Ontario, among other younger teams, to compete against the best of the best.
Finding a way to get more teams like that into the Canadian men’s and women’s championships each year should be another priority, Dunstone said.
He said he sees what Curling Canada has done so far as “tweaks,” but the expectation is that much more will be done in the future, as we move toward the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan.
“The amount of people that Curling Canada has to work with to grow our sport, right from the grassroots to the high-performance level, is immense,” Dunstone said. “There’s a lot of moving parts and that’s what makes everything so difficult about curling in Canada. There’s so many separate things to take care of.
“I can tell you, on the high-performance side of things, we’re really trying to dial in and figure out what we need to do to make this work because the last two Olympics and the most recent worlds, to our standards, they’re not good enough. I can tell you that every team that’s in the running for that sort of thing is very, very hungry.”
It’s not like Canada is being left in the dust by the rest of the world. It’s just not dominating like it used to and many people would like to get back to that level, given the amount of time and money that goes into the game in this country.
The goal is to catch up to the likes of Sweden’s Olympic champion Niklas Edin, Scotland’s Bruce Mouat and Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni.
“I’m happy with the process, so far, the way they’re going about it,” Gushue said of Curling Canada.
“I’m anxious to see what they’re going to come back with and from that, how it’s going to be executed. That’s the biggest thing. There’s no sense getting all this information and having the recommendations and then not following through and executing on those.
“I don’t know the exact time frame but I would assume there’s going to be more discussion throughout the year. I don’t see changes happening overnight. I think in the next eight to 12 months or so you’ll probably see some real progress from this whole process.”
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