Curling fine without or with NHLers

You’d think curling’s grande dame Kate Caithness would be licking her lips at the prospect of no NHL participation in the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Curling numbers continue to grow around the world and less focus on hockey in February 2018 would almost certainly result in even more attention to the roaring game.

But no. The president of the World Curling Federation wants NHLers to be there. And as a member of the International Olympic Committee’s programs commission, Caithness isn’t convinced they won’t be.

“I think there’s still light at the end of that tunnel,” she said, not wishing to elaborate.

Caithness wants the Olympics to be all they can be and believes everybody loses if NHL players are not there.

“Curling is big friend of hockey,” she said. “Curling and hockey go hand in hand. I really, sincerely hope that this can still be resolved.”

Back when curling became a fully accredited sport at the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998, the sport benefited greatly when poor weather hit the ski slopes and TV announcers stood on the mountains, shrouded by fog, and uttered the words: “And now, let’s go to curling.”

Curling has since positioned itself in one of the centre rings of the fivering circus. And Caithness doesn’t believe it needs the loss of NHL hockey talent to help.

“Curling has gone crazy,” she said. “We are now widely recognized as the fastestgrowing winter sport in the Olympics. In 2015 at Sapporo, we had 350 million television viewers for the world women’s event. And two weeks ago in Beijing, the TV numbers in China alone were incredible. Asia has just fallen in love with it.

“We have 56 national federations now, 13 more than there were when I became president in 2010. We have way more dedicated curling facilities. That’s still the biggest challenge. But the numbers continue to go way up.”

In PyeongChang, mixed doubles will make its debut as part of the curling program and Caithness is expecting it to be a huge hit, bringing in viewers from nations without traditional four-person teams.

“We’re actually going to start the competition the day before the opening ceremonies with our mixed doubles and we go right to the very last day with the traditional curling,” she said. “Curling will be on from zero minus one until the very last day. We’ll have non-stop curling.”

For starters, there will be eight teams in mixed doubles. Four years later in Beijing, Caithness hopes it will grow to 16. That, she says, should include a lot of countries that have never before had an Olympic curling team.

“I think the world is going to love mixed doubles,” said Caithness. “And it’s going to give smaller nations a chance to get to the Olympics in curling.”

Caithness arrived in Edmonton on Thursday from Denmark. Near the top of her to do list here is to tour Rogers Place. She will spend the entire April 22-29 world mixed doubles competition in Lethbridge.

Caithness has been appointed to the co-ordination commission for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and will be spending a significant amount of time in China, where she was on hand for the recent women’s worlds won by Canada’s Rachel Homan.

“I think curling lends itself to the Asian mindset,” she said of the benefit of having the next two Olympic ice and snow shows in Asia. “It’s a physical sport with a significant mental component. It just fits perfectly. In China, they are going to put 220 million schoolchildren through the program and curling is in the program. And you know where curling is going to be in 2022? You know where the facility is going to be? You remember the famous Water Cube from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the famous Water Cube for swimming? That’s where curling is going. This is all hot off the press. You caught me at the right time.

“And the legacy is that they are going to put a foursheet dedicated curling facility to remain after the Games, which will be open during the Olympics, and people can go downstairs and try it. They are going to turn the swimming pool into a curling facility. Next to the Bird’s Nest (stadium), it’s their most iconic facility. The Water Cube will now be called the Ice Cube. Don’t you love it?”