Pros like Olympic gold medalist Kevin Martin make curling look easy. However, 36 local players learned that it’s the fine details that separate the greats from the just-sort-of-okays.
Kevin and his son Karrick Martin—who is also a well-known name in the curling world—were at the Jasper Curling Club on Nov. 5, hosting two separate curling clinics. The morning session saw 18 youths come out to improve their skills while in the afternoon 18 local veterans took to the ice.
“These are always really fun for me. I’m originally from a small town so for me this is pretty normal to come to a small town and do some curling and have some fun with some locals,” said Kevin.
Somehow between snagging a silver medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, a gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and working as an announcer for Sportsnet, Kevin has managed to find the time to host several clinics a year for the past two decades.
“I only get to do about three a year so I really try to make them count,” Kevin said.
The two-hour sessions in Jasper helped with everything from basic sweeping techniques and proper rock hurling stances to precise hip positions and eye contact.
“I started curling 15 years ago and haven’t kept at it regularly, but when I heard Kevin Martin was coming I had to come. It’s so exciting to have the opportunity to learn from an Olympic gold medalist,” said participant Andrea Sharpe. “It was just great to have pretty much one-on-one instruction and I was amazed at how personable they were.
“The whole thing felt very natural and comfortable.”
After a few hours on the rink, the evening winded down with a casual dinner where both Kevin and Karrick shared the floor as guest speakers, swapping stories of victorious matches and discussing the future of curling.
“I remember hearing in 1998 that no one would every pay to watch curling… Now curling is one of the world’s fastest growing sports for both summer and winter,” said Kevin, adding that during the past few years curling has become popular in countries like Brazil, Spain, Korea and Lithuania.
Here in Canada, the sport is also growing.
Last year, a marquee curling matchup between Rachel Homan and Olympic champion Jennifer Jones drew an average audience of 579,000 viewers despite the fact it was on air against a National Football League playoff game. In 2013, TSN announced more than 13.7 million Canadians tuned in to watch at least some of the network’s curling coverage that season.
“It’s amazing to see the amount of support the sport is getting through sponsorships and TV coverage. It’s really become a worldwide sport, which offers a lot of travel opportunity,” Karrick said. “The TV coverage keeps increasing which means the money (for the sport) keeps increasing.
“I just see good things for the sport from here on out.”
And the sport isn’t just getting better for heavyweights like the Martins. During his talk, Karrick also highlighted the budding opportunities for youngsters involved with the sport. He specifically made reference to the Long Term Athlete Development program; an initiative that allows university graduates to continue receiving sport-related funding for up to three years.
The program is offered at several Canadian universities including the University of Alberta, where Karrick was a student.
“The program helps with coaching resources and all that stuff, but it really helps bridge the gap from university curling to world curling—getting players from one level to the next,” Karrick said. “The growth of this game is just going to keep continuing for young people. I’ve heard worries about low (club) memberships, but I can’t imagine that’s going to continue with the opportunities that come with this game.
“I can’t wait to see what happens.”
According to club president Lee Chorley, memberships at the Jasper Curling Club have remained the same for the past several years, hovering around 100 members.
Kayla Byrne [email protected]
