Curler Brad Gushue rips World Curling for 'incompetence' in organizing Kelowna event

One of Canada's top curlers, Brad Gushue, says the World Curling Federation's planning and delivery of the Pan Continental Curling Championships taking place in Kelowna, B.C., this week is an embarrassment to the sport and the competitors.

Gushue is angry about a number of issues relating to this year's event, including players having limited space to warm up and practice, largely because of the decision to hold the event in a community curling club rather than an arena that is equipped with more facilities.

"This is an embarrassment. There's a level of incompetence there that needs to be corrected," Gushue said.

"The way the WCF has run this week, it's a joke. It's a big step back from the event we had last year. I don't understand why they've gone this route. I understand you have to give teams a chance to qualify for worlds and what not, I understand that. But I think there's different ways it could be done."

This is just the second time this event has taken place after being voted in by WCF's member association in 2021 as a way to improve competition and participation in the Americas and Pacific-Asia regions.

'I'm a little angry'

Last year's inaugural event, where Gushue won men's gold and Kerri Einarson women's bronze, was held in Calgary's Markin MacPhail Centre, where the Scotties, Brier and world championships were held during the curling bubble in 2021 in the midst of the pandemic.

Gushue's and Einarson's teams are also Canada's representatives at this year's tournament. The top five women's and men's teams qualify their country for the upcoming world championships this season.

Gushue says he feels the curling and curlers are secondary to everything else.

Gushue, right, and his foursome of, left to right, Geoff Walker, EJ Harnden and Mark Nichols after winning the gold medal at the 2022 Pan Continental Curling Championships in Calgary. (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press)

'None of us are getting paid'

"None of us are getting paid to be here and they're selling tickets. There are hundreds of people coming here and paying and none of the curlers are making a dime. And we're being told to go outside and warm up for a game. I'm a little angry," Gushue said.

"It's absolute silliness, the stuff that's happening here this week. There is more care about everyone else than the players. Not being able to have any area to warm up. We were told to go outside. We're sharing change rooms with the women. We're not allowed to view practices. We're now allowed to have one player there."

The five-time Brier champion was told that wearing thermal gear to stay warm on the curling club ice is not allowed.

"We got reprimanded for wearing thermals under our uniforms," Gushue said. A WCF cited the long sleeves as being different colours from the uniform as the reason. "It's so cold in the rink so we went out yesterday and bought thermal, Merino wool underneath our stuff.

TSN moves event to stream only

"We were told by the WCF it's not part of our uniform and we can't wear it anymore. I'm sick and tired of coming to WCF events and the players being an afterthought. We're not getting paid to be here. We're doing this for our country and it kind of pisses me off," he said.

Attendance for last year's event in Calgary was sparse, and it was broadcast live on TSN. The network was broadcasting this year's tournament before dropping its television coverage on Tuesday citing production issues. The network said the tournament would still be available via live stream.

This year's event is being held inside the Kelowna Curling Club, with limited capacity for spectators.

A spokesperson for the WCF said the move from an arena to curling club is part of the WCF's "effort at event sustainability" this season.

"We are trying a number of things with our championships. For example, both the Pan Continental and European championships are being hosted in curling clubs this season," Chris Hamilton said. "Once those events have been completed, we will look at the successes and challenges to evaluate whether it's a viable model for future championships of this size."

Hamilton said TSN is the only broadcast partner to drop TV coverage of the event.

"We were told it was going to be televised and it's an opportunity to showcase our sponsors, represent our country and make sure Canada is in the world championship. So we decided to do it," Gushue said.

Gushue had second thoughts about playing an event of this magnitude at a curling club, favouring the arena setting and arena ice over club conditions. He wants to make it clear his displeasure is not directed toward the Kelowna organizers or the volunteers.

"The volunteers have been amazing. I've played at this curling club before and it's a great curling club. I don't want to take away from anything they're doing. They're working the best with what they have. To me, this is all on the people at the WCF," Gushue said.

Despite his frustration, Gushue says he's doing everything he can for the country to make sure Canada is at the world championships. He curled 99 per cent against Japan on Tuesday night for a third-straight victory.