We return from our holiday break to discuss a number of curling topics. We look at curling’s rankings system, why it can be tougher for European teams to earn points, an important facility closure, the difference in how clubs are set up in Europe vs. North America and we get Jonathan’s perspective on Curling Canada’s High Performance Consultant Program.
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Adriana Camarena, the skip of Mexico’s women’s team, joins us ahead of Mexico’s trip to the 2020 World Qualification Event in Lohja, Finland. We discuss her start with the San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club, how she became a part of Curling Mexico, her experience at the 2019 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship & 2019 America’s Challenge and how curling can continue to grow in the Americas Zone. We even have some news about the 2020 WQE field.
Links from this episode:
The Mexico Women’s Team’s GoFundMe Page
Curling Mexico Merchandise
SFBACC’s Dedicated Ice Capital Campaign
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Bobby Torres from the Curling Club at Penn State joins us to discuss his recent Growth of Curling Survey. It’s a fascinating look at how real curlers feel curling clubs can improve. We talk about learn-to-curl opportunities, marketing to the next generation and the unorthodox ways his club is attracting new members. Also, Jonathan and Ryan settle-up on their bad beer bet with the Game of Stones podcast.
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By Mark Steinwachs of Rocket City Curling Club
The world is a heavy place right now. There seems to be little chance to escape some form of negativity on a daily basis. Even the strongest of will can get worn down and places we turn to find a bit of peace can become stressful.
For those of us in the United States, Thursday is Thanksgiving. A time where we do our best to stop for a moment, be it with family or friends (or both), to put all the crap aside and focus on what is good in our lives. I think it’s time to take a moment and look at all the things that make our sport, frankly, so damn awesome.
It’s a double episode! Scott Graham from Game of Stones joins Jonathan to recap the European Championships, debate the broom fiasco and determine the losers of the Bad Beer Bet. But first we talk to Craig Nicko from Craig’s Curling Shoes about crafting crazy custom curling kicks.
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It’s a crossover episode! Scott from Game of Stones joins Ryan to preview the men’s side of the draw. We break down what’s at stake in this event and go over each team in the A flight as well as a B flight that is full of very solid teams. Check out the Game of Stones podcast to hear Jonathan preview the women’s side of the draw with Sean.
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Jonathan regales us with tales from the 2019 World Mixed Curling Championships, including the thrilling finishes to the Gold and Bronze Medal games, how the Nigeria and Kosovo teams came to be and whether or not he’s now motivated to return. We also discuss the difference in the World Curling Tour between now and 20 years ago and we give Jonathan the opportunity to respond to all the mean things we said about him while he was away.
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Toronto curler and Hong Kong men’s skip Jason Chang joins the show to help us preview the 2019 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships. We discuss how he came to represent Hong Kong, the growth of curling in the region and sort out the favorites and sleeper picks for this year’s tournament, taking place Nov. 2-9 in Shenzhen, China.
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We have two special guest hosts this episode: Ontario-turned-England curler Rob Retchless and English junior curler Felix Price. Rob talks changing affiliations to England, Ontario’s curling scene and prioritizing life and family over curling. You may remember Felix from our etiquette episode. He’s back to help Ryan make fun of Jonathan, preview the World Mixed Curling Championship and talk about licking rocks.
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We take you around the curling world in interviews with Trevor Gau of Triangle Curling Club, Joël Retornaz of Team Italy and J.D. Lind of Team Japan. Find out how Triangle went from curling on hockey ice to their own dedicated facility and the get a taste of the state of the sport in Italy and Japan. Thank you to Trevor, Joël, J.D. and the folks behind the scenes at Curling Night in America, including Terry Davis, Rick Patzke and Price Atkinson for helping make this possible.
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