An open letter to David Murdoch

 Dear David;

I am overjoyed to hear of your appointment to lead the High Performance program at Curling Canada. I have enjoyed curling against you and watching you over many years of success at beating Canadian teams and in teaching other how to do the same.

So as a fellow steward of this great game that we love, let me share with you my wishes to help this increasingly troubled Canadian program develop.

First, you need to recognize that curling in Canada is unlike any other country. Yes, you Scots might have invented the game, but we made it more than something you do on a frozen loch waiting for the ice to melt so you can golf.

Competitive curling in Canada is history. From Werenich to Hemmings, from Jones to Jones, from Gervais to Jacobs, from Schmirler to Homan, Lukowich to Gushue, from the Ryan Express to the Iceman, from the Richardsons to Koe, from the Howards to, er well, the Howards. Competitive curling in Canada is a legacy. It is the Brier. It is the Scotties. It is big Silver trophies carried by Mounties. It is TSN (or the CBC before). It is the Hackner double, the Schmirler Gold, the Jones in-off, and the Gushue trio. It is Ray Turnbull, Vic Router and Don Duguid, Linda Moore and Cheryl. 

These people and moments in and of themselves are only made special by the legacy and by the context that created them. This legacy and history made Canada the undisputed curling superpower for decades. Canadian curlers were better because curling meant so much to so many. Every year, an ARMY of curlers would mobilize to try to get to the Brier or Scotties. Thousands of teams aspired for greatness. This was the pinnacle. And it was readily accessible.  

But this is no longer the world we live in. The Olympics have replaced the Brier as the pinnacle of the sport. And Canadian teams that used to aspire to winning a trophy now aim for the privilege of wearing the Maple Leaf at the Olympics.

That has changed our game. The bar has gotten considerably higher. The strength that used to come from sheer numbers and competition now is replaced by relatively few teams that dedicate the better part of their lives to reaching the top of the sport. It has created the professional curler; of which you were one, David!

The rewards of Olympic curling have brought other countries into the curling mix. Countries like Sweden, Switzerland, the US and Scotland have realized that they can also reach the pinnacles of the sport with a given formula:

Coaching + time + funding + a dedicated team + practice together + play in the Slams = get very good = potential medals!

Gone are the days of listing the players day jobs on the screen as they compete.

So how do we continue to succeed in this new world, and what is success?

 

My take:

To me, the biggest challenge is to understand what success looks like. Many use medals as the ultimate barometer of curling excellence. But I would argue that might be true for other programs in countries that likely have 1/100^th of the competitive teams that Canada has, but if medals come at the expense of the competitive curling world in Canada, if medals come at the expense of the rich tradition that is the Brier and the Scotties, to me that is failure.

So how do you achieve both?

-          Success on the podium

-          Continuing to develop the mass of competitive teams from coast to coast, and protecting the rich legacy of the Brier and Scotties.

To me, success in one at the expense of the other is failure.

So here are my two cents:

-          This one seems obvious, but let’s qualify the Olympic teams WAY earlier. Like at least a year in advance. This would allow us to fund the team for a year, and let them get used to the weight of curling with the Maple Leaf on their back. The Trials have to be the most stressful event in the WORLD, maybe even more than the Olympics themselves. I get stressed out watching.   It is unreasonable to think that teams could go through that stress and not be a bit burnt out for the next couple of months. Let’s declare our teams a year in advance, and then let them train and play for a year with an optimized schedule that helps them peak at the right time.

-          Unlike other countries, Curling Canada should not be in the team-picking business. This might have worked in the UK, where the teams can be selected from a smaller set of competitive players, but it comes at a price. Create the playing field – and provide the coaching opportunities for the winning teams (like Brier winners or top ranked CTRS teams).

-          Support the base. Canadian curling success has come from the strength of the base. Teams have to go through difficult times and challenge to get great. They need to grind. Make it hard, then let the cream rise to the top. Stop funneling funding to the top teams. Our last Olympic men's winner was Brad Jacobs - who worked their way up the ladder and grinded in the years leading up to the Olympics. They qualfied for the Trials through the pre-trials. The grind made them better. They peaked at the perfect time.

-          A lot is made of residency rules. This is a giant red herring. It really only matters to a small handful of teams, who should be able to work within the rules. We have now made exceptions for birthright, we allow an import, and quite frankly I do not care if EJ Harnden’s official curling residence is Brad Gushue’s basement. Further bending of the rules is not needed.

Well David, I wish you luck. Having hoisted a few pints with you over the years, I am confident that you get it. I am confident that you will not sacrifice the rich legacies of the Brier and Scotties in the pursuit of Olympic excellence. I am confident that you will help make us better.

Yours in curling,

Mike Fournier