Canadian curling athletes will hit the world stage next year in new team uniforms unveiled Tuesday in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Curling Canada says the uniforms, designed by an artist from the northwestern Ontario city, “evoke meaningful imagery rooted in nature, Canada’s Indigenous Peoples and the iconic Maple Leaf.”
Nolan Thiessen, chief executive officer of Curling Canada, hopes the design featuring Indigenous Peoples “opens some doors” for more people to get involved in curling.
“You always want to provide those platforms so that people see themselves in your sport,” Thiessen told CBC Thunder Bay.
“There's a lot of different ways to do that and this is just one of them, but hopefully, it does showcase that we are open and we are welcoming.”
The uniforms come in red, white and black versions. They'll be worn only in 2026, at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the World Women’s Curling Championship in Calgary, the World Men’s Curling Championship in Ogden, Utah, and the World Mixed Doubles Championship in Geneva.
The prevalent theme of the uniforms is the image of a hummingbird, which Curling Canada says has a four-year life cycle, matching the Olympic and Paralympic quadrennial cycle on which Canada’s high-performance athletes plan around.
Thiessen said it’s “exciting to get to finally show this off to all of Canada and the world.”
Shelby Gagnon, a multidisciplinary 2-Spirit Anishinaabe/Cree artist originally from Aroland First Nation, collaborated with Regina-based designer Steph Schmidt on the final design. Schmidt has curled competitively and played in three editions of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts representing Saskatchewan.
Speaking about the collaboration, Gagnon said it’s been “a beautiful
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