Curling in Turkey gets a boost thanks to team of teachers competing in Canada

While it seems like just about every small town in Canada has its own dedicated curling rink, in Turkey — a country of more than 84 million people — there were, until recently, none.

But the sport has grown a dedicated following over the past decade, and this week, a team of teachers from Turkey is giving its profile a boost as it makes its debut at the World Women's Curling Championship in Prince George, B.C.

The women's team is led by 24-year-old Dilşat Yildiz and 34-year-old Önzur Polat, both of whom are teachers in Erzurum  — an eastern city approximately 1,226 kilometres from Istanbul and 300 kilometres from Turkey's borders with Armenia and Georgia.

Erzurum is also home to Turkey's first dedicated curling rink, the Milli Piyango Curling Arena, which was built in 2010 to help host the 2011 Winter Universiade, or World University Games.

Polat competed in that tournament, skipping her team through a nine-game losing streak.

But she stuck with the sport and says she is proud to be representing her country on the world stage in Canada.

"We are so happy," she said in an interview at the CN Centre in Prince George. "This crowd and ambience is [great]."

Aside from Yildiz and Polat, the Turkish side consists of 32-year-old Ayşe Gözütok, another teacher from Erzurum, and Berfin Şengül, a 19-year-old athlete from the nearby city of Erzincan. 

Prior to 2010, curling in Turkey was primarily a recreational sport played informally by people involved in other ice sports.

The 2011 Winter Universiade sparked more interest, and in 2016, the Turkish Curling Federation was established to formally grow the game professionally, with the hope of making it "one of the most recognizable sports in Turkey" by 2026.

According to Sports