Rocks Across the Pond

We are here to sort out the results of the 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts as well as give out some awards. First, we look at the storylines that emerged from Team Canada’s victory over Ontario in the final and Alberta’s run to the semifinal. Then, we hand out some awards including Rookie of the Year, top shots and best “hot mic” moment. Team Jones’ Split vs. PEI

The Global Initiative for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Curling has lofty goals. They want to inspire all of curling’s stakeholders (from the very top to the grassroots) to make the sport reflect the communities in which it’s played. We are joined by India’s P.N. Raju, the USA’s Monica Walker and Sweden’s Sara Carlson to discuss the campaigns, resources, policies...

“Run it Back” is our continuing series looking at important games from curling’s Olympic age. In this episode, we discuss the 2001 Scott Tournament of Hearts final between Colleen Jones and Kelley Law. Joining us is Sean Graham from the Game of Stones Podcast to discuss this game’s place in curling history. Among the topics: defensive curling, frost, hair brooms, Vince Cart...

For the first time in almost a year we get to talk about major curling events. First, we preview the 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts with Jonathan’s 10 things to watch. Then, we preview the Swiss Championships and Japanese Championships and tell you why they’re intriguing this year. Finally, we interject with an update on the cancelation for the Women’s World Curling Champions...

In 1998, the Danish women’s curling team took home silver at the Nagano Olympics. They did this despite no dedicated curling rinks anywhere in their country. Since then, curling has grown in the country and Denmark has regularly sent teams to the Olympics. We talk to Danish curling president Henrik Christoffersen and Mads Nørgaard of Team Mikkel Krause about curling in Denmark, how the count...

What does it mean to be a member of USA Curling? What benefits does an individual or club get from membership? That’s now in the process of changing. USA Curling is rolling out a new membership structure where individuals, not just clubs, can join the national organization. In this show, we talk about what that means and the impact it will have on curlers and clubs with Mid-South Curling Clu...

USA Curling CEO Jeff Plush was on the job for less than a month before the world changed due to a global pandemic. He joins us to discuss how USA Curling is navigating the pandemic and his plans for the future of the organization. He has high hopes to strengthen the sport in the US at all levels, from grassroots to high performance by drawing on ideas from both inside and outside of curling. USA C...

The World Championship Qualifiers in Denmark were recently suspended due to a positive COVID-19 test . Despite having similar protocols in place to the proposed Calgary curling bubble, the disease infiltrated the field of just four teams and spread quickly. Danish Curling Federation Chairman Henrik Christoffersen and Mads Nørgaard of Team Krause join us to talk about the lessons we can take away f...

This is part of our series, “Run it Back,” which looks at key games during curling’s Olympic age. We start with the 1997 Brier Final between Kevin Martin and Vic Peters. Kevin Palmer of Curling Legends Podcast and Curl with Math joins us to discuss this game’s place in curling history. Among the topics: Warren Hansen and moving the Brier to big arenas, Rudy Ramcharan and di...

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: The “Curling Bubble” and what it means for the Olympics USA Curling’s Annual General Meeting Club closures in North America What changes clubs can make coming out of the pandemic to grow membership The triumphant victory of Team Kim at the Korean Curling Championships

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”...

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 Curling Ta...

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...

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 Acce...

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 int...

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 Scottish Curling’s Return to Play Guidelines British Players Curling Championship

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...

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 sp...

And now for something completely different. Author and pro beach volleyball player Travis Mewhirter joins the show to discuss that sports’ growing pains since joining the Olympics. How alike are the two sports? Well, beach volleyball joined the Games around the same time and features self-formed teams in a tour-based system. They even had a player boycott in the 90s. We’ll learn about...

We are joined by Megan Balsdon and Derek Leung to discuss their research into curling and curling rocks. Both are competitive curlers and academics who are using science to help us better understand curling. Megan is studying how different types of brooms affect curling ice. Derek is looking at how different types of granite react when stones collide. We talk to them about their research and how t...

Ken Pomeroy joins the podcast to talk analytics in curling. He is the founder of KenPom.com , which revolutionized the way we analyze college basketball. Ken is also a curler and has started applying some of his analytics to the curling world at DoubleTakeout.com . In this episode, we dive into how Ken got into the game and how analytics can change the way we play and think about curling. DoubleTa...

This episode is all about building new dedicated curling facilities. We talk with Alan Hannah, who is working to build a new curling center in Glasgow, Scotland. Also, Liza Beres and Matt Gamboa of Hollywood Curling discuss the efforts to bring dedicated ice to Los Angeles. Glasgow Ice Centre Southern California Curling Center

We welcome CurlingZone’s Gerry Geurts to the show to discuss the impact COVID-19 will have on the upcoming season, changes to curling’s ratings systems and ways competitive curling tours can help promote the growth of the sport. Jonathan also has an update for us on Scottish Curling’s selection system for the World Curling Championships.

We are joined by Adriana Camarena —a writer, rule of law consultant, anti-police brutality activist and member of Mexico’s national curling team—for a much-needed discussion on how curling can be more inclusive, the Black Lives Matter movement and the fight against racism in the United States. Unsettlers.org Justice for Luis Góngora Pat