Officials aim to 'change the face of curling' by welcoming greater diversity, inclusion

Standing in front of a packed room of curling club managers, coaches, Curling Canada officials and industry leaders in a Niagara Falls hotel, Richard Norman delivered a keynote address years in the making on Thursday morning.

With his voice shaking at times, Norman articulated his desire to bring change to curling — specifically Norman highlighted his work from early 2020 which focused on the experiences of people of colour and their relationship with curling.

Norman had just completed his doctoral thesis deconstructing curling cultures, focusing on race, whiteness and colonialism.

"There was an appetite to do this in the beginning. But that was also in 2020 when everything was so fresh. The murder of George Floyd had just happened and people were galvanized and under lockdown conditions," Norman told CBC Sports.

"I think it's more impressive we're having this now because after two years, it becomes this situation of asking if we still want to have this conversation. Is it really important? Have things really changed? I would say no."

Tough conversations. Important conversations. Looking to change the face of curling one conversation at a time. The first day of the 2022 Symposium was all about learning and reflecting. Thank you to all of our presenters and panellists for sharing your perspectives and stories. <a href="https://t.co/WZbTrUH27K">pic.twitter.com/WZbTrUH27K</a>

Norman played a crucial role in helping organize a symposium being held this week by Curling Canada titled "Changing the Face of Curling."

"We are having conversations that are unprecedented in curling," Norman said.

In a first of its kind conference, Norman was joined by curling scholars, coaches, curlers and members of the community who partook in