Monthly Archives: October 2020

Curling Case Study: Estonia’s Curling Tallinn



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 Tallinn on Facebook 


How COVID-19 Spreads at a Curling Event



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
USA Curling COVID-19 Updates


Curling Movie Mania



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
Faisal on Twitter


Ep63: Connecting with Curlers during COVID-19



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
Curler Outreach Program on Facebook
Empowered Performance
Empowered Performance on Instagram