Attendance concerns, performance woes among issues on domestic curling scene

Curling Canada's new chief executive officer will have a long to-do list when they take on the job next year.

Danny Lamoureux is serving as interim CEO after Katherine Henderson left to become president and CEO of Hockey Canada. A new hire – expected sometime in early 2024 – will come as curling appears to be approaching a crossroads in this country.

Attendance is sagging at major events, there are fewer top-tier competitions on the calendar and Canadian results at international events continue to slip.

Curling does not seem at the forefront for a younger generation that's used to entertainment-heavy productions and a sports world where social media, engaging athlete personalities and YouTube clips are king. While still a decent ratings draw, curling's in-venue experience is sorely lacking.

But international teams continue to own the top step of the podium at the world championships and the Olympics. They also top the men's and women's world rankings lists.

Nolan Thiessen, a three-time national champ and Curling Canada's executive director of marketing and fan experience, said he thinks the elite curling scene in Canada is in a "bit of a transition."

"I think everyone took a step back this year and just said, 'OK what is everybody doing outside of our borders? How are teams training and getting better?" he said. "There's that realization and that understanding that you may win medals in front of a whole bunch of people in an arena in February and March and April. But you actually win those medals in June, July, August, September, October in front of nobody. That's the big change.

"It's a lot of hard work. We've got a lot of teams putting in a lot of hard work and hopefully we'll start to see all those results later on.