Curling Jamaica is scheduled to make its competitive WCF debut at the Pan-Continental Curling Championships. Hear about the origins or this federation and how it’s inspiring a new face of curling in our interviews with Ian Robertson and Husani Blaze.
Curling Jamaica
Follow Jamaican Curling on Facebook
Brooklyn Curling Center
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This is the first of a two-part interview with Italian curling coach and Olympic curler Marco Mariani. In part one, we focus on the current state of curling in Italy as they prepare to host the 2026 Olympics. Marco is not only currently coaching the Italian junior teams, but is also on the committee responsible for setting up the curling competition in 2026. He also tells us how curling has changed in the country since he represented Italy at the 2006 Olympics and what programs have allowed the sport to become more professional there.
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This episode takes us near the Arctic Circle, but not quite North of it. We talk to Peter Van Strien from Iqaluit Curling Club, who volunteers there and has represented Nunavut nationally. Peter tells us about living in Nunavut, the unique obstacles his club faces for regular ice time and the progress they’ve made growing the sport with the territory’s youth.
Nunavut Curling Association
Iqaluit Curling Club
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What was it like at the world’s highest bonspiel? Find out in this episode all about curling in India with PN Raju. First, we talk about how he discovered curling and started playing in Oakland, Calif. Then, he tells us about the history of the Curling Federation of India, their recent national championships held in the Himalayas and how soon you’ll see India at World Curling events.
How curling orgs can help foster diversity
Like Indian Curling on Facebook
Follow Indian Curling on Instagram
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Gery Hermans from Belgian Curling returns to the podcast to discuss the world senior curling championship. Jonathan and Gery review the 2022 world senior curling championship and the Gery replays two interviews he completed at the event. The first is with Canadian Team Coach Bill Tschirhart. Bill is also the host of the podcast “A Pane in the Glass”.
Then Gery introduces his second guest Lorne de Pape of New Zealand curling. Lorne discusses what curling is like in New Zealand, and his experience qualifying the Kiwis for the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Finally Gery and JOnathan discuss the comradery at the world senior championships and upcoming events at Gery’s home rink in Zemst, Belgium.
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Sweden captured four curling medals during the Olympics and Paralympics in 2022, including gold for Niklas Edin. But did this unparalleled success lead to more curlers in the country? We talk to development officer Sara Carlsson to find out all about curling in Sweden: from how their high performance program is set up to the changes they’ve made to recruit new curlers. Sweden has had plenty of wins on the ice. However, we found the most interesting part of the conversation to be the wins they’ve had off the ice and how they’re addressing issues that are common around the world. These include initiatives that they have developed with Dr. Richard Norman and Dr. Heather Mair with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.
How curling orgs can help foster diversity
Swedish Curling Federation
Follow Swedish curling on Facebook
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Like the United States, interest in curling soars in Japan during the Olympics. This interest has reached even greater levels following Japan’s bronze medal performance at the 2018 games. Naoki Iwanaga, a former competitive curler from Japan now living in the US, joins us to talk all things Japanese curling. We discuss the differences in curling culture between Japan and the US. Then, we learn about the growth of the sport in Japan and the need for a dedicated curling facility in Tokyo. He also introduces us to the concept of “沼” (meaning pond or swamp) and how it relates to the increased attention on curling during Team Fujisawa’s games.
Japan Curling Association’s Curling Pond YouTube series
Follow Naoki on Twitter
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Everyone’s Olympic curling dream has to start somewhere. For Laventer Oguta and Haggai Odhiambo Ogak, that dream starts New Jersey. These two members of the Kenya Curling Federation recently got their first experience on curling ice at Plainfield Curling Club with hopes that they will soon represent their nation in World Curling Federation events. They join us, along with Dean Roth from Plainfield Curling Club, to talk about how they were introduced to curling, how their initial training is going and what the future holds for curling in Kenya.
Help Kenya get to the Pan-Continental Curling Championship
Kenya Curling Federation on Facebook
Plainfield Curling Club
Curling in Nigeria w/ Harold Woods III
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Slovenia is a country that has everything, but doesn’t have a lot of anything. So says Štefan Sever, who joined us from quarantine at the World Junior B Curling Championships to tell us all about curling in his country. And while Slovenia doesn’t have a lot of curlers, 150 total according to Štefan, it does have both lively recreational and national tournaments. Listen to our conversation with Štefan to find out about his team’s experience at the canceled World Junior B tournament, some of the unique curling set-ups they have in Slovenia and what they need to grow the sport there.
Curling Association of Slovenia
Slovenian Curling on Facebook
Ljubljana Open Curling Tournament
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There is a thriving community of Brazilian curlers playing in leagues in the Vancouver area. First and foremost, these curlers enjoy the sport and the camaraderie it provides. And curlers from these leagues have represented Brazil internationally. But now, with the opening of a dedicated curling and ice facility in São Paulo, Brazilian curling has an opportunity to grow both at home and abroad. Ísis Oliveira of the Brazilian Curling Club tells us how the club in Vancouver was formed, how it’s grown and what the future of curling in Brazil holds now that the sport has its own facility there.
Brazilian Curling Club
Like the BCC on Facebook
Ice Brasil
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