Korea’s Team Kim Eun-jung reached incredible heights at the 2018 Olympics on home ice. However, behind the scenes they suffered at the hands of those closest to them. We talk to their coach, Peter Gallant, and curling consultant Melvin Lee about their courageous journey and their return to the top of Korean curling.

There’s plenty to talk about in the curling world, including:

It wasn’t long ago that Shamrock Curling Club in Edmonton looked like it might close. Now, the club is thriving and has attracted a younger generation to curling. One of the people behind this revival is general manager Chris McTavish. In this episode, Chris tells us the story of how the Shamrock took a different approach to its leagues in order to earn a reputation as the “fun” club. We also learn about the new challenges the club is facing and how they are dealing with curling during the pandemic.

Shamrock Curling Club

How do you build a country’s curling culture from scratch? Find out during our interview with Fred Randver of Estonia’s Curling Tallinn. Fred tells the history of curling in Estonia and how they were able to get a world-class facility built in Tallinn. Thanks to this facility, the country is quickly developing quality grassroots and high performance programs.

Curling Tallinn

How quickly can COVID-19 spread among participants, volunteers and spectators at a curling event? Dr. Paul Luethy joins the show to tell us. Dr. Luethy is an Assistant Professor in Pathology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Assistant Director of the Clinical Microbiology Lab at the University of Maryland Medical Center. But he’s also a curler at Potomac Curling Club. And he volunteered at the USA Curling Club National Championships, which saw an outbreak of COVID-19 in March. He recently published a study that surveyed participants at that tournament to better understand the transmission of the disease during the event. We discuss his findings and what curling centers and event organizers can learn from them.

Estimating the Rate of COVID-19 at Club Nationals

And now for something completely different. We joined Scott & Sean Graham from Game of Stones to pitch our ideas for curling movies to an actual screenwriter, Faisal Lutchmedial. Faisal most recently wrote on Endlings (broadcast on CBC and Hulu) and Ransom (broadcast on CBS and Global). He is currently developing a sci-fi action series with Netflix in the Canadian Film Centre Development Accelerator program. The “most viable” movie selected by Faisal is going to be pitched to the National Film Board of Canada by Sean! Join us as we dive into sports movie tropes and learn why they find their way into our favorite (and least favorite) films.

Video Version of this Show

If you weren’t already suffering from Zoom Fatigue, we are here to talk webinars and streaming. First, Alyson Wiedenbeck joins us to discuss the wide range of topics they’re covering at the Curler Outreach Program. Then our friend Stephanie Thompson joins us to talk about how she’s helping to keep curlers of all skill levels fit during the pandemic. Jonathan and Ryan also dig into the trend of teams setting up their own webcasts and USA Curling news.

Curler Outreach Program

Mike Ferguson, owner of the Forfar ice rink in Scotland, joins us to talk all things Scottish Curling. We discuss how to address declining interest in curling in Scotland, their return to play during the pandemic and the newly created British Players Curling Championship.

Forfar Indoor Sports

One of the newest member associations in World Curling is Nigeria. Harold Woods III, who skipped Team Nigeria at the 2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships, joins us to discuss his start in curling, the history of the Nigerian Curling Federation and how they are working to grow the sport there. We also talk about making curling more diverse and the role the World Mixed Curling Championships plays in curling’s growth.

Harold Woods on Instagram

The future of curling will rely on our ability to grow the game with younger demographics. But how do we get the next generation to play the sport and watch it on TV? John Allgood, Assistant Professor and Academic Director of the Executive Masters of Sports Business at Temple University, joins us to discuss this and many more topics related to sports marketing. John made a career out of selling sports like minor league baseball, pro bull riding and soccer and now he teaches the next generation of front office staff how to do the same. Join us as we find out how an emerging sport like curling can stand out in a crowded market.

John Allgood