Martin thrilled to enter World Curling Hall of Fame
LAS VEGAS — Not content to be one of the best curlers in the world, Kevin Martin went rogue to make the sport more lucrative for athletes and more marketable.
The 51-year-old from Edmonton was inducted into the World Curling Hall of Fame on Tuesday at the 361 World Men’s Curling Championship in Las Vegas.
“I’m proud to be part of that group who have loved the sport and seen it grow and helped build it to where it is today,” Martin said following his induction ceremony at the Orleans Arena.
“There’s so many people in this Hall of Fame that have done a lot for game, yes on the ice, there are many curlers, but some great builders.”
Martin joined Elmer Freytag of the United States Curling Association, who was inducted posthumously, and World Curling Federation board member Young C. Kim of South Korea in this year’s class of inductees.
An Olympic and world champion and four-time Canadian champion, Martin might have won more titles had he not been a ringleader of a player-led boycott of the Canadian championship from 2001 through 2003 to wring financial concessions out of what was then the Canadian Curling Association.
He championed the World Curling Tour, where curlers are paid to wear their teams’ sponsors crests and win prize money. Martin wanted curlers to have similar financial compensation at the Brier.
The WCT’s Grand Slam is now eight events offering just over $2 million in prize money.
Curling teams at the national men’s and women’s championship now receive money from Curling Canada for wearing the event sponsors’ crests, with the winning teams earning the most at $40,000.
Prize money for the association’s Canada Cup and the Continental Cup of Curling also rose exponentially.
Martin said the athletes exercising their collective power to bring about change is an important piece of his legacy.
Martin, third John Morris, second Marc Kennedy and lead Ben Hebert were undefeated at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. “I feel that team was the best curling team that has ever played the game so far,” Martin said.