Manitoba taking lead role in elite curling

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This article was published 14/12/2017 (2322 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A who’s-who from the Manitoba curling scene is joining forces to help bring a world-class training centre to Winnipeg.

More than a dozen people with ties to the province’s rich history in the sport have been named to a committee to help establish an International Curling Centre of Excellence (ICCE), Premier Brian Pallister and Sport, Culture and Heritage Minister Cathy Cox announced Friday.

“Manitoba has a reputation as a world leader in curling, and we will build on that excellence with a centre to develop and support the sport at all levels,” Pallister said in a release. “We are bringing together some of curling’s best and brightest to help us develop a training ground that will nurture great talent from at home and abroad, and inspire the next generations of curlers.”

Committee membership represents 13 players, coaches and icemakers with experience ranging from grassroots to top-level international competitions. The committee will be chaired by Mark Olson, a Brier champion, international-level coach and past-president of the Manitoba Curling Tour.

He’ll be joined by the likes of Jennifer Jones, Connie Laliberte, Jill Officer, Ron Westcott, Lois Fowler and Resby Coutts.

The committee had its inaugural meeting Friday. Olson said plenty of ideas were shared, but the entire concept of a centre of excellence in the Manitoba capital is, indeed, still in its infancy.

“It’s very exciting and also a bit daunting because its a wide-open, unpainted canvas. It’s interesting and a great challenge,” said Olson, who played with Kerry Burtnyk when the young foursome won the 1981 provincial and national championships, and took a third-place finish at the world championship.

“We’re independent and not looking at stepping on curling associations’ toes. I classify us as a spoke in a larger wheel of curling, and we hope to work with the associations to maintain what Winnipeg is thought of on the international stage, a real hub.”

The committee will make recommendations to government on how best to establish a centre in Winnipeg. ICCE will be designed to promote curling at all levels, train and develop curlers and coaches to achieve top-class international performance, engage students from across Canada, and seek out and host international competitions.

The committee is expected to provide recommendations to government by summer 2018.

“I’m excited about the opportunity. It’s a chance to give back to an elite sport that has given so much to me, and to build potential champion athletes,” said Officer, who won Olympic gold with Jones in 2014. “For Manitoba and Canadian curling, it will, hopefully, increase the access to technology and more tools that players need in order to improve.

“We have similar ideas in Canada, but having one in central Canada will be great. Hopefully, we can make it better than anything we’ve ever seen.”

ICCE committee members include:

Mark Olson* (chairman) — 1981 Brier champion, international-level coach, past-president of the Manitoba Curling Tour.

Kelly Collett — past-president of the Portage Curling Club, a 12-time participant in the Manitoba men’s provincial championship, 1989 MCA Bonspiel champion.

Resby Coutts — former president of CurlManitoba, highly involved member of the curling community through his service on national and provincial boards and committees, the board of governors chairman for Curling Canada.

Lois Fowler* — former provincial champion, and Canadian and world senior champion.

Cathy Gauthier** — four-time national champion in women’s and senior women’s play holding world gold, silver and bronze medals, high-performance coach and colour commentator for TSN.

Daniel Grant — two-time Canadian junior curling champion and university national champion.

Jennifer Jones* — Olympic gold medallist and five-time Canadian champion.

Connie Laliberte** — world champion, six-time provincial champion and director of high performance, CurlManitoba.

Rose Neufeld — past-president of CurlManitoba, provincial championship chief umpire and national championship game umpire.

Jill Officer* — Olympic gold medallist and five-time Canadian champion.

Dennis Thiessen* — Paralympic gold medallist and two-time wheelchair curling national champion.

Ron Westcott* — Manitoba senior men’s and masters men’s champion, and Canadian masters champion, coach.

Hans Wuthrich* — world-renowned international ice technician and consultant, and chief ice technician of the Olympic Games since 2010.

* Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame member

** Manitoba and Canada Curling Hall of Fame member)

— staff