It Was a Long Day on Curling Social Media
That would be enough to cause the twitterverse to go into overdrive because there was a lot of information suggesting that Team Holly Duncan could have been chosen as the Ontario representative.
But, Curl Ontario put some conditions on the nomination in that if Rachel was chosen to represent Canada at the Olympics in the Mixed Doubles event, her team would not be eligible to get a fifth and the berth to the Scotties then would go to Team Duncan.
Let's just say people had some strong reactions, and also some very valid points. I even changed my viewpoint on this issue a few times. However, the one reaction that seemed to unite everyone was, "this is stupid."
And it was stupid. Unprecedented because every other team has always been allowed to have a fifth player at this level and use a spare when necessary. Look at Cathy O also known as the super spare. Chelsea Carey has been basically sparing for over a year before she got her current team together. So, now Rachel Homan has been placed in an impossible dilemma. On so many levels. Is there any athlete who doesn't dream of going to the Olympics? Of course, she wants to go. But, Team Rachel Homan is more than 4 women that get together once a week, they are a business. Their sponsorships, which are their primary income, are based on how well they perform as a team, both on and off the ice. They have commitments to these sponsors. Not only that, but they have all sacrificed so much to be part of the team. Rachel played into her 8th month pregnancy and was back on the ice 6 weeks after giving birth. Joanne moved temporarily to Ottawa to satisfy residency requirements. How big of a sacrifice is that? Of course, Curling Canada then changed the residency rules so that made that moot after a year. Sarah left Team Carey and went down to throwing second stones meaning more emphasis on sweeping. Also, the team, but particularly Sarah had to deal with the consequence of cutting Lisa Weagle. Emma has had to basically hold the fort in Ottawa while the rest of the team is around the Edmonton area. Don't think she doesn't have to work extra hard to maintain positive team dynamics.
That doesn't even cover personal sacrifices of nutrition regime, physical training, all while trying to maintain a life.
Rachel Homan may feel she has to decline an offer from Curling Canada to go to the Olympics because she doesn't want to do something that would have a detriment to the rest of her team.
On the other hand, can you imagine saying no to Johnny Mo. He has already said that he is training and preparing as if he is going to the Olympics. Well, if you think yesterday was a long day on the internet, can you imagine what that day would be like? Not only that, Curling Canada would have to select another team. Again, long days on the internet. If the current selection is taking so long, probably selecting a second team would be, well, long.
Could this all have been avoided? Absolutely. Olympic Trials, which happens once every four years, should be in the spring. The rules should be transparent and known to all.
Unfortunately, the governing curling bodies seem to change the rules or adapt them on the fly to favour their elite teams. There has even been selection that some of the mixed doubles teams were basically created at the urging of the governing bodies to highlight their "elite teams". My husband, who is a much more casual fan, puts it like this. Curling Canada seems to do what they can to support the players and the teams that they think are "eye-candy" for the sport. He notes that physical appearance is not the only criteria for someone to be "eye-candy" but it is one of the bigger ones.
I have to say that when Curling Canada added the "birthright" addendum to the residency rules, at the time, it seemed to strongly favour one team. I don't know if it was favouritism but it sure looked like that to me.
I know that Curling Canada and the provincial counterparts have the best of intentions. This I know. They want to grow the support. Unfortunately, they are doing the opposite. Who wants to play a sport where the rules are fluid, subjective, or unknown? Well, nobody new. This doesn't affect the average club player but it does not motivate new teams to "give it all" to try and break into elite team status. So, the only teams that are willing to play in this environment are the existing elite teams who have already invested so much time and commitment to the sport. So, we seem the same teams over and over again. As my grandson would say, BORING. I have a friend who has a daughter who is a very talented curler. She is a mentally tough Ice-Queen who can make any shot that is called. Her team has beat every top team at some point over the last four years. But, she has some obstacles before she can become a "break-out" team. She has a young family and she doesn't want to travel every weekend and put in the time to became a successful team. She is employed and her employer is supportive, to a point. She doesn't want to jeopardize her future for the present. Even if she was willing to give it her all, could she find three other talented women who would be willing to do this as well. Unlikely.
So, the sport is not growing. That is not good for anyone. Other countries are becoming better and stronger and we are not. Don't even get me started on diversity. As an observer, I see a lot of "privileged" white people and two proud Metis players at the top level. Curling Canada claims that they want the sport to be more diverse and they have had some pretty moving ceremonies to open and close some events, but they haven't made much progress on diversity, despite what their videos and memorable brooms suggest.
You don't have to look across the pond to see that the sport is growing elsewhere. Just look across our border. In the Boston area, they have a curling rink operating 24/7/365 and it is booked pretty solid. Phoenix is not where you think curling would thrive, but it is. They have a bonspiel in August called the "Hot as Hell" bonspiel. It is hard to get a spot in that spiel.
I actually think the sport would do just fine if Curling Canada just relaxed a little. Made their rules an stuck to them. Only modified them after every Olympic cycle, if necessary. If they have a bad rule, it means that everyone is subject to the same bad rule. Just relax. We all know they should have made the announcement on the Mixed Doubles selection over a week ago. At this point, it is just a farce. And, as I learned on That Curling Show, they athletes are not even part of the loop. Unbelievable.
I have some anecdotal evidence about relaxing and relieving some pressure on yourself in curling. In the 2018 Men's Curling Championship, Team USA (Team Ruohonen) was under intense pressure. John Shuster had just won the Gold Medal and there was a lot of expectation because of that. Let's just say they did not have the best start. After their third loss, they initially refused to attend the media availability after the game. Someone from Curl USA had a chat with them and told them they were playing a marginalized sport that needed all the help it could get. But, they were also told that since they were not doing well, perhaps they needed to change their focus. If they weren't going to win, atleast show their fans that they were having fun in a fun sport.
Well, that worked for them. They started having fun. Their attitude was that they had either trained enough or they hadn't. Instead of staying in their rooms, ordering in, and focusing on the mental aspect of the game. They started having their meals out with their fans. Every evening they played blackjack together while smoking cigars. We got to know their personalities, especially Colin's. Somehow they started to win and made the playoffs. It was an amazing turnaround.
So, my advice to Curling Canada at this point is to just make a selection for MD. At this point, you can't avoid criticism. No one will like what you choose because of the time it has taken you to choose. Chose and move on.
After the Olympics are over, have a serious "Moments of Truth" facilitation. (I'm actually available to do this facilitation for you!) You need to have the hard conversations about what is going wrong and how to really grow the game. It will be a hard process but long overdue. Yes, the elite athletes need a voice, but so do the wannabe elite athletes, the strictly beer league players, and the rationale fans. Consultation is vital but if you are consulting Own the Podium and The Olympic Committee, you are going down the wrong path.
Anyway, Rachel, I feel for you. You have done a tremendous amount to grow the sport and you have been rewarded by being placed in a situation which has resulted in, at minimum, a long day on the internet. Not right.
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