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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

What the Olympics have Done to Competitive Curling in Canada



What the Olympics and Slams have done to competitive curling in Canada:

 


Quebec Regional playdowns to get to the Brier begin in a few weeks. This year, only 25 teams will compete to try to represent la Belle Province. 10 years ago, this number was in the 100s. I hear that other provinces are facing similar declines. I saw an article where Ontario tankard participation has fallen below 100 teams for the first time ever, from over 200 teams a decade ago. What has happened to competitive curling? I thought the Olympics and the wall-to-wall TV coverage of the Slams and the Canada Cup would result in a curling Golden Age! Instead competitive curling is becoming a niche sport, practiced only by the lucky few.  Sure demographics and society have played a part in this decline, but I believe the core of the problem lies outside of these excuses.

I am going to make a statement:

The evolution of curling as an Olympic Sport, and the development of a professional curling tour has been good for the development of the top 10 teams in Canada, but has been brutal for the next 500 or so best teams.
Not a lot of people talk about this, but the Olympics and the Slams have created 5-10 or so uber-teams of professionals who curl for a living. They cash in big sponsor cheques, they play for big prize money at Slams and receive tax-free funding from the CCA as carded athletes.

While this has resulted in teams that are better prepared, better coached and better trained than ever before, it has all but killed the next level down. 10-20 years ago, lots of teams could compete in well-sponsored and well-attended cashspiels, like Florenceville (sponsored by McCains), the Welton Beauchamp in Ottawa and a number of other reasonable payout cash tournaments across the country against the best teams in Canada. These were big, well-funded sponsored events.

These tournaments no longer exist. The Slams have eaten up all the big curling sponsor money. The top teams have eaten up a lot of sponsor money too, and there is far less left for the next level down of teams to compete for. So fewer teams can play the cash tour, and aspire to get better. Also, the big events that are left seem to assume that everyone is a pro curler with unlimited time off. Events commonly start on Wed or Thursday, with only the finalists playing on Sunday.

So teams that are ranked, say, 11th to 500th in Canada basically have 2 choices:
- give up the dream of the Brier (especially if you live in Ontario, Manitoba or Alberta)
- Try to crack the lucrative top 10 – which means extensive travel, (forget about trying to keep a day job!), practice, and competing initially against guys are far-better funded and prepared then you will be. And more practice.
 Sadly, it seems that most teams have chosen Option 1. 

It seems to me that the lifeblood of curling used to be that next level down of dedicated “amateur” curlers who played on weekend and when they could for the love of the game, not to make a career out of it. These curlers filled the clubs. The masses helped keep the CCA afloat. But these teams have gone.

I was talking to Jean-Michel Ménard a few weeks back at a spiel. I asked him why he has not played in a Slam in a while. His response disappointed me: To paraphrase him: “I need to pay my entry and travel costs, I need to get a few days off work, in order to arrive last minute at a spiel and play against guys who have not paid a cent out of their pocket, and have been at the site practicing on the ice for 2 days. I feel like I am funding them.”

If the current system seems to have discouraged the best team in Quebec, and a former Brier Champion, then I suggest the system is flawed.
What is the Solution? Not sure. But I think the CCA needs to think about how it funds elite curling in Canada, and the effect that it has on those who find themselves on the outside of the funding gravy train.

For example:

  • The Canada Cup? Really? Do we need another big payout cashspiel for the top teams - this one funded in large part by the CCA? Or should we democratize this tournament and make it a spiel for the top 64 teams, like it was a few years ago?
  • The Continental Cup? A Vegas junket for the CCA and a select few teams. Painful to watch. Not profitable. Why is money being spent here? 
  • Maybe the Brier needs to go back to being an amateur event again. There are great teams to watch that are not named Martin or Howard.

In short, less events for the chosen few, more money poured into the next level down.

Like all curlers, I love the fact that curling is an Olympic Sport. However, I love the game too much for it to become like Bobsleigh or luge or other Olympic Sports: a sport that only a few elite athletes play. The CCA and the Slams have done a phenomenal job at raising the profile of the sport, the level of sponsorship and the level of play. Maybe it is time for some teams outside the chosen few to benefit from this success for the overall good of the sport.

24 comments:

  1. eh men and well put.

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  2. Well said, Mike. I think the CCA needs to remember that it is the average club curler that keeps Curling Clubs and, thus, Curling Quebec/CCA, going. I wonder how many times the top players actually make an appearance in their respective Curling Club, or when they last entered a team in the club ladder. I am not talking about entering their competitive team, but a team of club players, like you do, Mike, here at Glenmore. For curling to survive, Curling Clubs need to survive. Some of the money spent on the top 10 teams or so, may be better spent helping out struggling curling clubs. Sure, the big tournaments on TV may attract the odd new curler here and there, but what good does that do, if there is no more curling clubs left for them to join. Just my humble opinion.

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  3. Your comments are well founded Mike and not just limited to adult curling. The introduction of the Junior competitive circuit in Quebec eventually decimated the province's junior curling ranks for pretty much the same reason. Junior bonspiels all became "circuit" bonspiels where all teams had to be registered on the competitive junior circuit and all games were played against the most elite teams. In the end, the entire age group suffered, because regular kids could never play outside their own clubs in friendly events. These events no longer existed.

    Curling Quebec finally recognized this problem and reduced the number of circuit events so that clubs who want to hold non-elite junior bonspiels can do so. Time will tell if the number of players increases enough for any of these bonspiels to become successful. I fear the damage has been done.

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  4. In PEI were down to 7 teams in our provincials. Years ago we were at 40. Too many super teams.

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  5. Took a quick look at last years revenues for the CCA (Can be found at the CCA website). They had 10 million in revenue, 5 million was sponsorships, 3 million was Own the Podium money.

    So 80% of the total revenue the CCA makes is directly from these Elite events and ensuring we continue to medal.

    I am not saying it is right, but non-profit NSO's have to follow the money, they have no choice.

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    1. And the Own the Podium funding will be targeted to the high performance teams in some ways creating a self creating prophecy

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  6. 100% Mike, right on the money. Eye opening, actually.
    You got all of that out without even mentioning relegation and Team Canada in the Brier, which in theory further cuts off the legs of the next level curlers - or provinces struggling to support the top level curlers. The CCA should be commended for one of the best olympic programs in Canadian sport, but even more harshly viewed for building up the top 8 and killing the next 500.

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  7. Very well put Mike. It's very true, I haven't seen you in 10 years and we used to run into each other at spiels 2 -3 times a year at a minimum.

    J Mac

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  8. This is an excellent read Mike. You are bang on in this killing curling. It is starting to show with attendance as well. The Edmonton Briers of 2005 and last year show a decline even though more name teams were in the last Brier. The Roar could not even fill the curling hot bed arena. I love to watch the name players and admire all they do to be that good but I think the game is definatly 2 levels as you mentioned. Some how we have to define weather its money won to make the choice of which events to enter(playdowns,slams Olympics). Lets say its $40000 per year or $60000 per 2 years per team or even make a # per player(you can haggle the numbers)if you make that maybe you should not be permited to enter provincial playdowns. You have teams competing and learning to be good and maybe one day they make the choice to chase the riches.But at least you have teams numbered 11-500 entering playdowns and competing in regular club leagues which in turn make a healthy club and cca. And I to have competed in a Brier and 2 other national championships and cash spiels and no longer go in events because of a lot of the reasons Mike mentions. Ft

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  9. I agree with that column.....and I miss watching Menard and team at these events!

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  10. You could shoot a cannon through the arenas' stands at the recent Fuessen Olympic qualifications and the USA Trials. Roar to the Rings looked like it had a lot of empty seats. Yep, "elite" curling is just a nicer name for hired guns in a freak show of 90%+ shootin'. At least, unlike professional basketball curling won't see the genetically wow-their-all-tall players nor the win-the-genetic-lottery to get into the finals of the Olympic sprint races. Counting our blessings.

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  11. Canada is not the only country where this is occurring. Just look South and the same thing is happening in the USA. Since curling has become an Olympic sport the USCA has been jumping through hoops everytime the USOC says boo. The USOC wants the USCA to change their style of governance and certain individuals are worried that if this does not occur that funding will be lost. Now to get to the Worlds it isn't enough to win the US Nationals. Another team may have more points from OOM and even if they don't win the Nationals they will go to the Worlds. Yes the Olympics have brought new people to the sport but less and less people will compete competitively since they are not funded and can't afford to miss work and take all the extra time off to compete.

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  12. Very well put. I have enjoyed watching the top teams across this country for years but over the past couple find the slams boring entertainment.._or maybe just so predictable! Its an elite tour full of amateur athletes given celebrity status that breeds questionable lifestyles. The designation of an Olympic Sport certainly has generated an awareness but not in a sense of growing our grass roots curling but rather in growing a desire within a very select few national curlers who suck the life out of corpirate sponsorship for personal gain and not for the growth of the sport. I for one have decided to put my money and curling energy into teaching new curlers in my community just "for the love of the game". As for competitive curling, thank you Dominion Insurance for keeping the spirit of competition within the club curlers and giving them the opportunity to shine without walking in some one else's shadow! its time to crawl out from under your rock CCA…....

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  13. I agree the Dominion has really tried to promote the up and coming. Thank you. It is so hard to curl competitive, look at the teams in the pretrails. The only reason they were there was because they were from areas that have ctrs spiels every weekend in their backyard. There are serveal curlers that just can't find the spiels to get better and get the points truly based on location. We need to develop the whole country from coast to coast to coast.

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  14. I agree with how the Dominion Curling Club Championships has actually become more important for a lot of "competitive" teams. They won't have to play (and subsidize) the professional teams, the travel and time needed is much more manageable, and they still get the chance to compete in provincial and national championships against other teams of similar skill levels.

    Why would you bother to try to play in any elite events when you're at a significant competitive disadvantage? And with the way the CCA throws more money at the elite curlers (Canada Cup, Continental Cup, funding for coaching and so on), the gap will continue to widen, and teams will continue to opt into the Club Championships.

    And now with the relegation system in national events, some of the weaker provinces may even find it more difficult to garner any interest, knowing that they may not make it to the main event.

    I watched some of the Mixed Nationals in Ottawa this year, and that is an event I think many competitive (if not necessarily "elite") players will start moving towards, as well as the Club Championships. Most of the players at the event are on the same level (in terms of funding and so forth... it's still a truly amateur event). While it may not garner the general public's attention, I think it's starting to gain more attention from those curlers who have no hope of beating the elite curlers with all their advantages, but still have that drive to compete.

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  15. The fact is that Mike Fournier has expressed his opinion and I have heard this opinion many other times. Curling needs to stop with elitism and focus on the sport as a hole! When has top professional curlers entered into local curling event with a grassroots line up to promote the game in local clubs? Lets all remember before you are successful in anything you have started at the grassroots and there was always someone to help you get to where you are now! Lets not forget to give back!

    Matt Yeo

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    1. The situation in the "Duck Pond" Sweden is the same,
      I would like to cite "Animal Farm" by George Orwell... :-(
      /Hans in Leksand

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  16. I totally agree with the sentiments of all above. I would like to see Junior curling overhauled. Canadian High School Champs should be the team going to the World Junior Championships. Funding high school curling leagues would be a step in the right direction. Might bring back the feeder system that was so important to competitive curling.

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  17. As always us Scots are several years behind our Canadian friends - but the warning signs are developing over here too. While I respect what Muirhead, Murdoch et al have achieved both nationally & internationally the writing is on the wall as regards the realistic prospects of any other teams breaking through. Not only are costs, travel, time off work etc etc proving prohibitive, but even with sponsorship (which is thin on the ground) the "newbies" cannot compete with the copious funding being ploughed in to the elite few. And the same is true of our youngsters who are by & large cherry-picked by the Royal Club Academy selection program......these young people are given all the best equipment, trained by elite (& well paid) coaches, have all entry fees & travel & Accommodation costs paid for them, including overseas competitions....we can all see where it's going, but the Powers that Be seem disinclined to listen to the concerns of the grassroots curlers. Sad to see that the once all-inclusive social sport is turning into a two tier glass ceilinged mockery in a country that was once proud to claim the origin of the sport.

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  18. This is a fantastic article and I would really love to see the non professional teams boycott the Briar and Scotties trials. The game is dying out but the pros don't care because they're getting paid

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  19. Great article. I curl "competitively" in NL. We all curl against each other and practice all year to gear up for provincials. A couple of teams might even arrange to do a spiel on the ACT or even go as far as Quebec or Ontario...once. The only time we get to see our provincial champion is on TV. The only games he plays in our province throughout the year is during our provincial Tankard. Once Tankard starts and he goes undefeated, he gets a double life in the finals. 10 years ago we had to play 16-18 games just to qualify for our 10 team Tankard. The past few years it's been "sign up and you're in". Gushue and the rest of team NL (2 from PEI and 1 from AB) are on a 31 game win streak in our provincials dating back to 2010...and did I mention he gets a double life in the finals? We had 6 teams play this year. Next year it's in Corner Brook and I would imagine the number of teams will be even less. Agree 100% with your article. They should televise the Brier on Sportsnet and add it as the 5th slam.

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  20. Excellent. But is anyone listening? Probably not. I played you a bunch of times over 10 years Mike and retired to raise my family and do more meaningful things when it became apparent there was nothing to play for. I now play B local spiels and love every minute. Reminds me of when my dad played 64 team spiels with a prize table, five events and calcutta on 8 sheet rinks and still talks about playing and losing to Hackner. A team like Hackner's wouldn't touch a spiel like that now. Gone are the glory days of amateur curling. Let's bring it back with more local spiels and make the dominion a true amateur hampionship. The Canadian Amateur. You can't play in it if you have been to a provincial in your province in the last 8 years and if you haven't played in a slam or Canada cup in the last x years, choose a number.

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