Curling fans elated as world men's championship finally hits the ice in Ottawa

Samuel Akca didn't expect to be standing next to athletes from his home country, competing at the top level in the sport he loves.

But on Friday, Akca watched the Turkish men's curling team practice draws and takeouts on the ice at Ottawa's TD Place arena, one day before the country makes its debut at the world men's curling championships.

"I feel amazing!" said the 34-year-old curler, who'd never heard of the sport growing up but embraced it after arriving in Canada about 15 years ago.

He even caught the team's eyes and greeted them with a friendly merhaba and hoş geldin — "hello" and "welcome," respectively, in Turkish.

"I'm happy that I'm here to support them," Akca said. "And to just make them feel that they're not alone, as well."

With their men's team ranked 93rd in the world, Turkey might not be considered a global curling power.

But after a successful European qualifying run, the team has found itself among the 13 rinks descending on TD Place this weekend, as the nation's capital welcomes some of the world's best curlers — albeit two years behind schedule.

Ottawa was slated to host the worlds in 2021, but those plans were derailed when the COVID-19 pandemic forced curlers into the mostly fan-free "bubble" in Calgary.

"This was supposed to have happened a few years ago. That's a long wait for something pretty interesting," said Alex Birtwistle, vice-president of the Ottawa Curling Club.

One of the tournament's many volunteers, Birtwistle said she's delighted to be ferrying curlers around to media appearances over the course of the nine-day event.

Getting a chance to meet 2023 Brier champion Brad Gushue — the "hearthrob" of the sport when she was a teenager — would be especially cool, Birtwistle said.

"I'm pretty