People in glass houses can throw these stones – and other tips for high performance curlers
Canadian athletes rock the ice and the curling rink is no exception. Curling is a lifelong sport that is inviting for everyone to play. It is one of Canada’s favourite winter pastimes, which attracts many to both the recreational and high-performance streams of this sport.
If you are interested in raising the level of your game, check out the following information for tips, resources and elite programs to help you reach your goals. Who knows? It may be you and your team wearing that Canadian flag on your back one day.
Learn more about curling with SWSCD
Curling know-how to get you in the house
Curling lingo: a primer to get you sweeping in no time
Curl, sweep and skip your way to a Bonspiel near you
High performance programs
If you are looking to improve the level of your game – maybe even reach the provincial, national or international levels of curling – then you need to find a competitive curling program. Your local club is a good place to start. Each province and territory has a high performance program to help aspiring athletes realize their dream of competing at the international level.
Curling Canada also has a great list of high-performance camps available for juniors and adults as well that will develop the skills necessary to become a competitive athlete on the ice. Canadian elite curlers and coaches often participate in these camps – an excellent resource for learning strategies from the experts in the field.
A coach
Finding a good coach for your team is important. Your club will have information to help you find the right one – the person that will help you compete at the level you are seeking, motivate your team and most importantly be part of your team.
Your coach will find you time on the ice – for both practice and games. The more time you spend on the ice trying out different strategies and seeing the strategies other competitive teams will help you continue to improve your game. The right coach will also understand how to connect you to the events and bonspiels that will get you noticed.
Your coach will develop a training program for you that includes both on and off the ice components. Fitness is a very important aspect of being able to compete at the level required for a competitive team.
Here’s an interesting article “Coaches? We Don’t Need No Stinkin Coaches” written by Sean Turriff an NCCP (National Coaching Certification Program) curling coach that shares some great insight on finding a competitive coach.
Practice makes perfect
As is key to being competitive in any sport, the more time you spend honing your craft the better. This means hours of practice – both on and off the ice. Your certified coach will have the knowledge to outline the proper training program that will help elevate your team to the next level of provincial, national or international level of play.
Your team will use their practice time to focus on improving on-ice skills and strategies, ways to improve sweeping and delivery and ways to raise your overall level of fitness and compete at an elite level. Off-ice training will focus on continually improving strength and endurance. Elite curlers need to be fit to compete with other like-minded competitors – the same as any other competitive athlete.
Playing games and playing as many as you can will help you develop your game. Being part of a competitive program, your coach will find you games and bonspiels that will elevate your game by playing those teams that will challenge every aspect of your game.
Just being at the rink and watching other elite curlers play the game is important as well. You can learn a lot by observing the strategies that other elite curlers employ, the ways that they read the game. Any time at the rink is time well spent.
Team Homan – the 2017 World Women’s Curling Champions – take their practice time very seriously. Check out this article where the women discuss how they make the most of their practice sessions – evident in the successes they have achieved over the last few years.
Fitness is key
A curling athlete must be as fit, strong and focused as any other athlete wanting to take their game to the next level. Training is important and you will need both on ice and off ice sessions that work all aspects of your game.
On ice training will work on developing stronger delivery and sweeping techniques. Off ice training – yes there is an off ice component – will help build endurance and core strength – two important factors in improved sweeping.
Varsity curling
Varsity level curling is a great path to the competitive stream as well. Universities in Canada are governed by U Sports and the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) governs the college system. Both associations support curling programs and host a national curling championship event - with winners moving on to represent Canada on the international scene. More information is available on U Sports and CCAA curling programs. Leduc Recreation Centre (outside of Edmonton) will be hosting the 2018 U Sports National Championship and the CCAA National Championship from March 24-28.
Curling Canada Foundation has a scholarship program – For the Love of Curling – that provides aspiring athletes with financial support so they can focus on athletics and academics. The program is available to athletes pursuing post-secondary opportunities with applications due each spring.
International levels of competitive curling
Canadians love their curlers so what an honour it represent your country at an international bonspiel. There are World Championships every year and of course…the Olympics every four years. So how do teams qualify for these international events?
World Championships
To represent Canada at the World Championships, a team must first win its home provincial championship. There are typically regional qualifiers that lead to provincial level competitions. The provincial champions then play it out at the Canadian Championships – with the women facing off at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The winning team advances to the World Championships representing Canada.
Your provincial association will have all the information you need to find out how to qualify in your region.
Olympics
Because the Olympics are…well the Olympics…qualification is a bit more gruelling and a lot more complicated for this prestigious event. Nine qualifying teams compete for the coveted title of Team Canada at the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings – the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials – which was held December 2-10, 2017 in Ottawa, Ontario.
Teams begin vying for spots at the Roar of the Rings two and three years out based on results and rankings of various national, and international competitions. The Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) is a point system used by Curling Canada to assign points earned by teams at various curling bonspiels held over a particular season(s). The CTRS is used to rank teams qualifying for spots at the Roar of the Rings and the Road to the Roar as well.
Here's how Canada’s top nine women’s teams qualify for the Roar of the Rings:
The top seven women’s teams are seeded directly into the Roar of the Rings based on previous years performances in various championship events and CTRS point totals:
- Winner of 2015 Canada Cup
- Winner of 2016 Scotties Tournament of Hearts (must medal at world championships to secure spot)
- Winner of 2016 Home Hardware Canada Cup
- Winner of 2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts (must medal at world championships to secure spot)
- CTRS leader for 2015-17 (2 year total)
- CTRS leader for 216-17 (1 year total)
- CTRS runner-up for 2016-17 (1 year total)
The Pre-trial event, Home Hardware Road to the Roar, determines the final two teams that will compete at the Roar of the Rings.
At the Roar of the Rings, nine teams compete in a round robin format, with the top three moving on to the playoff rounds - a semi-final and final. The team winning the final game has the honour of representing Team Canada at the Winter Olympics. The 2018 winner was Rachel Homan and her team who represented Canada at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
More specific details of the ranking process and which teams have qualified is available on the Curling Canada website.
Female athletes who know how to rock the ice
Canadian women curlers are a force to be reckoned with. The beloved maple leaf has figured prominently in many international competitions and our women’s teams have earned a great deal of respect amongst their peers.
Team Homan – the 2018 Canadian Women's Olympic team and the 2017 World Champions. Team Homan won the World Championships with a perfect 13-0 record. The team consists of Skip Rachel Homan, Third Emma Miskew, Second Joanne Courtney and Lead Lisa Weagle.
Team Jones – the 2014 Olympic Gold medalists amongst many other accomplishments. This is a fantastic recap of the match against Sweden where Team Jones wins Olympic Gold in 2014. The team consists of Skip Jennifer Jones, Third Kaitlyn Lawes, Second Jill Officer, and Lead Dawn McEwen.
Looking for curling action…get your tickets here
If you are looking for information – dates, locations and/or tickets – for curling championships, Curling Canada has information on their website for the following events:
- World Financial Group Continental Cup
- Scotties Tournament of Hearts
- Tim Hortons Brier
- Ford World Women’s Curling Championship
- New Holland Canadian Juniors
- Home Hardware Road to the Roar
- Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings
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