,

Improving Engagement at the Rec Level

,

This week, Curl ON Executive Director Matt Allen joins the show to talk about his Engagement Tour Report (which you can read here). After spending more than 200 hours meeting with curlers and clubs across the province, Matt's report outlines ideas to increase engagement at the local level and proposes strategies to get more people playing the sport. From improving the online presence to attracting new and young curlers to adopting new business models, the report lays out a number of ideas to keep the sport strong at the grassroots. Do you think that these ideas will help increase engagement at the rec level?

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

Curling Trivia

Everyone loves a good trivia game, so this week Sean gives Scott some trivia questions related to the Scotties and Brier. Play along and see if you can beat Scott! If you do, be sure to let us know!

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

We Sponsored a Team! How'd it go?

This week Sean talks with the skip of Team Davies, Zach Davies. You may remember that we sponsored a team for the 2023-24 season, so we wanted to catch up with everything that happened over the winter. Zach talks about the challenge of skipping his team while also playing front end for the Canadian Junior Men's team, how the team improved over the season, and some of the highlights they experienced along the way - including some surprising road trip music choices.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

,

Summer News Update

,

It's been a while since we caught up on all goings on around the world of curling, so this week we catch up with what's been happening. We talk the European C championships, some host city announcements for upcoming events, and the Canadian Wheelchair program selections. We also get into a report on recreational curling engagement from CurlON and finish the show with a special clip of what could Scott's big break.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

Behind the Scenes of the Canadian Junior Program

In 2021, Curling Canada announced that it was changing the timing of the Canadian Junior Curling Championship, allowing teams that win a full season to prepare for the world championship. That puts junior champions in a unique situation as they have access to resources that were not previously available to Canadian champions. This week, Adam Naugler, the lead for Team Johnson Tao, joined Sean to talk about the team's season as the Canadian junior champions. He talks about the challenge of balancing curling and school, the pressure of the Junior B championship to qualify for the world juniors, the resources available to them from Curling Canada, and the state of junior curling in Canada.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

2024 Curling Commercial Rankings

For the first time in a couple years, we were gifted with some new curling commercials for the 2024 Season of Champions! And as we love to do with a new batch of ads, we’re here to rank them. From agricultural products to Curling Canada promotions, there is a lot to discuss this year. What do you think of our rankings? Did we miss any ads this year?

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

Spring News Update

We're back after a brief hiatus to talk about what has been a very busy spring in the world of curling. We start by discussing the Men's World Championship along with the mixed doubles before going across Canada to talk about all the men's (16:00) and women's (39:40) lineup changes that we've seen.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

, ,

Women's Worlds Recap & Men's Worlds Preview

, ,

It's a busy time of year in the curling world and we're excited to be talking about it all. We start by recapping what was a fun week at the Women's World Curling Championship. We talk about Rachel Homan's win, the game/shot of the year, and how the rest of the field broke down over the course of the week. We then move on to preview the field for the Men's World Curling Championship. We go through the field and talk about all 13 teams before offering up our picks for the week.

For more, visit us at GameofStonespod.com

, , ,

Brier Recap & Women's Worlds Preview

, , ,

In the midst of the very busy Season of Champions, we're back to recap the week that was at the Brier and look ahead to the Women's World Curling Championship. We start by recapping the Brier, including Gushue's run of dominance, a great week for Saskatchewan, and some of the best stand out performances of the week. At 31:05 we look ahead to the Women's Worlds by previewing all 13 teams in the field, including Silvana Tirinzoni going for her 5th consecutive title. We wrap the show by talking about our attempt to watch curling at Montana's during the Brier.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

,

Biggest Brier Preview

,

The Season of Champions is in full swing withe the first ever Montana's Brier set to kick off on Friday. We talk about the format, the storylines, and all 18 teams heading to Regina before making our picks for who will stand tall at the end of the week.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

,

Scotties Recap: Passing the Torch

,

We join you nearly live from the Ottawa Curling Club, home of Team Homan, to talk about an action packed week at the Scotties. From Rachel Homan capturing her fourth title to Kerri Einarson's remarkable streak coming to an end to the retirement of Jennifer Jones, there was a lot going on in Calgary and we try to cover it all.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

, ,

Super Scotties Preview

, ,

It's our favourite event of the year, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. To get you set for the week, we give our full preview, including the new playoff format, new rules, and the biggest storylines of the week. We also preview all 18 teams in the field, the expectations for each, and give our picks for how things will stack up at the end of the week. But before all that, we give our initial reactions to the news that this year will be Jennifer Jones' last Scotties as she steps away from the 4-person game.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

Best Active Rivalries

In the midst of the Season of Champions, we take a break from the on-ice results to discuss some of the best matchups that we're looking forward to seeing over the next few months. From cross Canada competition to international matchups, we go across the globe to identify some of the best active rivalries around the curling world.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

Cross Country Checkup

The Scotties field is set! The Brier field is taking shape! This week we go coast to coast to coast to discuss all the goings on in the provincial playdowns over the past couple of weeks! From first time champs to returning veterans, we discuss the teams that are moving on and how they got there.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

Provincial Playdown Excitement!

It's provincial and territorial playdown season across Canada, so we go coast to coast to coast to discuss some of the biggest storylines we're looking forward to following. From deep fields to up and coming teams to the CTRS points, we talk about what will be a fun few weeks as the Scotties and Brier fields are rounded out.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

*recorded Wednesday January 17

Bold Predictions for 2024!

In another one of our favourite annual traditions, we offer up some bold predictions for 2024! From who will win to big event changes, we offer up some thoughts on what could transpire in the world of curling over the next 12 months. We then wrap up with a couple great emails we received over the holidays!

Do you like our predictions? What do you foresee for the year? 

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

,

3rd Annual Stoney Awards

,

It's a tradition like no others - the Stoney Awards! We're back to honour the best in the year in curling. As in the past, we have 10 categories - ranging from Departure of the Year to Team of the Year. Let us know who you would have presented a prestigious Stoney Award for 2023.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

The Ascension of Team Jacobs: Ten Years Later

We're turning the clock back a decade as it was 10 years ago this week that Team Jacobs made their incredible undefeated run through the 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. We discuss the team's rise to prominence, whether the Trials (in particular this shot) represent the team's peak, and what came after the Olympic gold medal.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com

,

Euros Recap: Best Bad Beer Bet Result Ever!

,

The Euros are done and the results of the Bad Beer Bet with Rocks Across the Pond are in and we are excited! We talk about all the action from Scotland, including who is getting promoted, who is getting relegated, and who won! We also finish by briefly talking about the Canadian Club Curling Championship.

For more, visit us at GameofStonesPod.com