Photo: Randy Nelson Lorraine (centre, in the blue jacket) and Randy (in the grey top) with the four Cologne curlers they played with, 3 on 3.

Curler’s Corner is a column written by the Kamloops Curling Club’s Randy Nelson. This column will highlight moments of Tournament Capital curling history and noteworthy athletes from over the decades.

Lorraine and I were on a trip to Germany in March. I had contacted a member of the Kolner Curling Club to see if we could join them for a game.

The Kolner Curling Club in Cologne, Germany has about 30 members and this night we were to be treated as special guests. My contact, Hans, had told us via email that their curling club plays on hockey ice two nights a week. We arrived at the Lentpark Rink at the pre-arranged time of 8 p.m.

We entered the rink and a hockey game was in progress. I thought the language barrier via email may have been incorrect or that I was in the wrong place until I noticed the curling rings on the hockey rink.

Just then, a man entered the building carrying a curling broom. I approached him. “Are you Hans?,” I asked. He replied, “Yah”. His English was quite good, and my German was non-existent. He indicated that this was indeed the hockey ice where we were going to curl on.

I had some inner doubts, but we followed him down the stairs and along the boards to the hockey player benches. Then he opened the door to the players’ bench and we walked right through the hockey players, still engaged in their game. The smell of hockey gear reminded me why I curl. They smiled and nodded as 30 curlers walked through them, avoiding a collision on the shift change. I tried to imagine if 30 curlers walked through the players bench during a hockey game in Canada. A fight would break out, and a lot of hockey players would have bloody noses.

We continued out the other end of the players bench and into a large room. There were two long freezers with glass tops, like the ones we keep ice cream bars in, but much larger. They were full of two layers of 100 curling rocks! I know curling rocks have to be chilled to ice temperature, but this was something us Canadians had never seen.

I thought, “Okay Hans, how are we going to be curling in 30 minutes with the hockey game going on?” I didn’t say anything. We helped and learned.

The hockey game ended, and the Zamboni came out to scrape and prep the ice. They did one pass with a flood then a second light scrape. While this was happening, everyone pitched in and hauled rocks one at a time from the freezer to the ice and perched them along the top of the boards between the blue lines.

The rocks were a mixture of at least four types of granite including some blue hone rocks that I haven’t seen in a rink for decades. The handles were a variety of colours too, some red, yellow and blue. As the Zamboni left the ice, one guy carried the sets of hacks onto the ice. I helped him as he drilled holes, poured water around the hacks and placed them in the holes and perched a rock on top of the hack to hold it in place until they froze.

It seemed that everyone had a job to do. They were like a well-trained crew. Two guys were pebbling the ice using techniques I’d never seen. In minutes we were sliding the rocks to the end, a score board was hauled out and everyone was ready to play. It took under 30 minutes from the Zamboni leaving the ice until the first rocks were thrown!

Photo: Randy Nelson Rocks in the freezer, rocks on the boards before play, and installing the hacks, all part of the process to prepare for curling in Cologne.

Hans warned me that the ice is usually a bit tricky. I was still amazed how it happened so fast. Lorraine and I took a slide and the ice felt great.

We played a game of 3 on 3. We curled with a young local lady against Hans, Felipe and Nasibah from Chile. The couple from Chile had moved to Germany to work and learn to curl with the goal of making the Olympics as a mixed doubles team.

Hans looked like a curler. It turns out he is heading to the World Senior Championships with his teammates from all over the country.

Everyone threw a few rocks up and back. Wow! The ice was so sloped that you could only throw one turn. If you threw the good turn, the rock would fall back against the turn one to two feet on a draw shot. If you threw the rock with the slope it curled about one and a half times the width of the sheet.

It was actually fairly easy to catch onto the slope. It was just hard to convince the brain to throw against the turn. The speed of the ice was great considering what we were on. My last rock on the first end was an open hit with a foot of negative ice and I somehow made the shot to score one.

Nasibah scored one in the second end. We were in good shape in the third end with a couple of rocks behind guards that were impossible to get at. I threw my first rock near the edge of the sheet where it wouldn’t curl to avoid hitting the guards. About 5 feet before the house, the rock hit a Zamboni scrape line and veered off at a 45-degree angle almost raising their rock into the house.

I tried to throw my next rock using the scrape line like a bumper to get my rock in the house and it worked. It felt more like bank board shuffleboard or mini golf bouncing balls off of things. It was a moment that every Canadian who complains about the ice we curl on should experience. You really had to be there to believe it.

Our two hour time slot came way too fast. Within a few minutes, the rocks were back in the freezer, the hacks removed and everyone was off the ice, ready for the Zamboni to get the surface ready for the next hockey game. It was an incredible night! These curlers do this twice a week all winter just so they can play the game we all take for granted.

It was an amazing evening that we will never forget. Nasibah and Hans followed up the next day via email offering some travel tips and making sure we enjoyed ourselves. They may not have the best ice to play on, but they certainly have the most important part of curling figured out, hospitality and sportsmanship.

Photo: Randy Nelson Getting the rocks on the ice before curling in Cologne.

The post Curler’s Corner: A unique experience curling with the Kolner Curling Club in Germany appeared first on Curl BC.

This achievement unlocks the $175,000 grant from the City of Victoria, ensuring the club can move forward with a critical ice plant replacement project that will support curling and community programming for years to come.

For more than 70 years, VCC has been a cornerstone of sport and community life in the region, offering programs for youth, seniors, schools, and Special Olympics athletes, while hosting a wide range of events. The ice plant upgrade is essential to maintaining these activities and preserving the facility as a vibrant community hub.

“Surpassing our fundraising goal was already an incredible achievement,” said Paul Addison, President of the Victoria Curling Club Board. “To now receive this remarkable $75,000 matching gift from Jason and Jeanne Gordon takes us even further. Their generosity—and that of every donor—has made it possible to secure the future of our club. We are deeply grateful for the overwhelming support from our community.”

Victoria City Councillor Krista Loughton also recognized the impact of the campaign:

“Congratulations to the Victoria Curling Club for surpassing their $75,000 fundraising goal and securing the City’s matching funds for a new ice plant. This is a massive win for our community and shows the generosity of our residents. This support doesn’t just save the rink—it preserves a vital space for community events and ensures curling will thrive in our city for years to come.”

The addition of the Gordon family’s contribution significantly strengthens the project, which will include the installation of a modern, energy-efficient ice plant. The new system will improve reliability, reduce energy consumption, and eliminate the use of ammonia—supporting long-term environmental and operational sustainability.

With this momentum, the Victoria Curling Club is moving confidently into the next phase of the project, continuing its legacy as an inclusive and welcoming space for curlers and the broader community.

Curl BC congratulates the Victoria Curling Club and extends thanks to all donors, supporters, and partners who helped make this milestone possible.

The post Victoria Curling Club Surpasses Fundraising Goal, Secures New Ice Plant Project appeared first on Curl BC.

Our Vision – Curling is an inclusive sport for all, enriching every community in British Columbia.

Our Mission – We grow, develop, and celebrate curling as a social sport for life by inspiring participation, performance, and partnership at every level across British Columbia.

Our Mantra – Our House is Your House

Our Values – Integrity, Excellence, Collaboration, Commitment and Community

This “nearly perfect” 2030 vision for curling in BC has been structured similarly to professional sport organizations with just two pillars: Curling Operations and Business Operations. Each pillar has 4 Ends (Goals) for a total of 8 Ends!

Organizational Focus

Pillar 1 – Curling Operations

1. Technical Education
2. Participation Programs & Resources
3. Competitions
4. High Performance

Pillar 2 – Business Operations

5. Member Services
6. Revenue Generation
7. Marketing, communications, & recognition
8. Partnerships and Innovation

Goals, KPIs and Strategic Initiatives are being developed for all of these areas and will be available on Curl BC’s website soon. We look forward to working with you over the next 4 years to make this vision a reality.

If you haven’t already, a reminder to register for Curl BC’s AGM at 7:00 pm on June 11th! Annual Awards plus a special announcement are planned for this meeting. Thank you to those who have submitted nominations for the Annual Awards.

All the best for a great spring and summer.

Scott Braley
CEO, Curl BC

sbraley@curlbc.ca

The post VISION 2030 – CEO Message appeared first on Curl BC.

View the full calendar here: https://curlbc.ca/comp/

We extend our sincere thanks to all host clubs and organizing committees. Your commitment and effort are essential in delivering these premier events and showcasing curling at its best.

A New Look for the 2027 BC Men’s & Women’s Championships

This season, the BC Men’s and Women’s Championships will feature an updated competition format, shaped by feedback from the Competitions Committee, athletes, coaches, and event hosts.

Competition Format

• Eight-team field in each division
• Five direct entries awarded based on CTRS season-long performance
• Full round robin format, ensuring every team faces each other in a clear, balanced schedule

The new format is designed to reward consistency, increase meaningful matchups, and create a more engaging experience for fans and participants alike.

Pathways to Qualify

• 1 Defending Champion
  (Must have a minimum of three returning players from the 2026 BC Championship roster; otherwise converts to a CTRS berth)
• 4 CTRS Berths
  (Top-ranked teams on the Canadian Team Ranking System as of December 1 — must be within top 50)
• 3 Championship Qualifier Berths

Any unawarded CTRS berths will be added to the Championship Qualifier.

Important Dates

• November 30 – Preliminary registration and payment deadline
• November 30 – CTRS points cutoff
• December 1 – CTRS rankings finalized and qualifying teams announced
• December 11–14 – Championship Qualifier (Abbotsford)
• December 15 – Championship rosters announced
• January 11–17 – BC Men’s & Women’s Championships

Expect high-stakes games, electric atmosphere, and top-tier curling as BC’s best teams battle it out in a streamlined and competitive championship setting.

More details on team registrations, qualification pathways, and opportunities for spectators and fans will be shared soon—stay tuned as we get closer to the season.

The post Witness the Pinnacle of BC Curling: 2026/27 Championships Calendar & New Format Unveiled appeared first on Curl BC.

These individuals bring a wide range of professional expertise, governance experience, and a shared passion for curling in British Columbia.

Election of Governors will be held at the 2026 AGM in June. Click here to register.

Pursuant to the Curl BC By-Laws, no nominations will be called from the floor at the AGM.

Nando Salviulo

Nando “Buzzy” Salviulo brings more than 35 years of senior administrative experience across tourism, hospitality, and healthcare. His background includes financial management, governance, and operational leadership, with roles ranging from Comptroller positions at major resorts to managing a multi-physician medical clinic, where he oversaw restructuring, HR, and financial operations.

A lifelong curler since 1973, Nando has been deeply involved at the club level, serving in executive roles and leading fundraising initiatives, including a long-running and successful cash bonspiel. He is the creator of Buzzy’s Buzzword – Local Curling Scene, a widely followed platform promoting curling in the Kootenays.

In recognition of his contributions, Nando received the Curl BC Janette Robbins Award in 2023 and the Sport BC President’s Award in 2024.

Dave Durrant

Dave began curling in Victoria in 1987 and has been part of the Kitimat community for the past 33 years. Over the last 15 years, he has been deeply involved in youth curling development and currently serves as Director of the youth program at the Hirsch Creek Golf and Winter Club.

Gregory Graham, CPA, CGA (Incumbent)

Greg Graham currently serves on the Curl BC Board as a Governor and Chair of the Finance & Audit Committee. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant with over four decades of experience in financial leadership and business development. He has held senior roles including CFO and Controller for multiple organizations, helping grow companies from small operations into large, multi-location enterprises.

Most recently, Greg served as CFO of POCO Building Supplies, where he played a key role in expanding the business and strengthening organizational structure. He is now transitioning into an advisory role on the company’s Board of Directors.

Greg has a long history of community service, including 41 years with the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve, where he achieved the rank of Sergeant and received national honours. Within curling, he has served over 10 years on the Coquitlam Curling Association Board in various leadership roles, including President and Treasurer.

Earlene Graham (Incumbent)

Earlene Graham is seeking re-election after completing a three-year term on the Curl BC Board of Governors. She currently serves on the Executive Committee as Vice-Chair and chairs both the Awards & Recognition Committee and the Curl BC Hall of Fame Committee.

Earlene’s professional background includes 15 years as a Certified Dental Assistant and 10 years in hotel management with Princess and Holland America cruise lines in Vancouver. Her experience includes marketing, public relations, and event management.

An active member of both Port Moody Curling Club and Golden Ears Winter Club, Earlene has contributed extensively at the club level, including 15 years on the Coquitlam Curling Club Board. She also served as President of Port Moody Curling Club during the successful amalgamation with Coquitlam Curling Club.

Curl BC encourages all member facilities to review the candidate information and participate in the upcoming AGM.

The post Meet the Candidates – 2026-28 Curl BC Board of Governors appeared first on Curl BC.

Throughout the year, we’ll be sharing stories that celebrate the people who make curling possible in communities all over BC. We’re proud to begin by recognizing Kevin Swaile, whose dedication this past season made a meaningful impact across the BC curling scene.

If you have attended a BC Championship this past season, you have almost certainly seen Kevin around. From Esquimalt to Kimberley and everywhere in between, Kevin volunteered at seven different BC Championships as a game umpire and a timer. He also volunteered at two Canadian Championships and the Olympic Qualification Event in Kelowna.

“I missed the curling rink environment,” said Kevin when asked what drives him to give back to the sport. “I enjoy working with the curlers on ice and the volunteers that help to organize events, as well as the timers. I also enjoy travelling to different communities around BC.”

Kevin’s connection to curling goes back decades. He first became a fan in the mid-1980s, drawn in by the strategy of the game. He eventually took to the ice himself, playing lead through the early 2000s. As the game evolved, so did the demands of the position, and Kevin stepped away from playing and moved on to other pursuits.

That changed in 2023, when he volunteered as a timer at a Grand Slam of Curling event in Grande Prairie. Being back in that environment hooked him back in, this time as an official, and he hasn’t looked back since.

Volunteering creates connection, purpose, and lasting impact within communities. For Kevin, it’s a way to stay socially active and engaged, while continuing to be part of a sport he enjoys. At the same time, the role volunteers play is essential. Without their generosity, competitions simply wouldn’t happen. By travelling to events across the province, Kevin has seen firsthand the effort local volunteers put in and how much it matters. Showing up, lending a hand, and sharing experience can make a real difference in helping those communities grow their volunteer base and continue hosting events.

That’s what National Volunteer Week is all about. It’s a reminder that giving your time  sustain the sport today while inspiring the next generation to get involved.

Kevin plans to pick up where he left off next season volunteering at as many events as possible.

If you want to celebrate passionate and dedicated volunteers like Kevin:

• nominate them for Curl BC Annual Awards, deadline is April 30 curlbc.ca/recognitions/curlbc-awards/
• send us their stories by filling this webform: wkf.ms/41YzqNc

The post Celebrating Volunteers – Kevin Swaile appeared first on Curl BC.

Curler’s Corner is a column written by the Kamloops Curling Club’s Randy Nelson. This column will highlight moments of Tournament Capital curling history and noteworthy athletes from over the decades.

Erin Pincott and Samantha Fisher have represented Kamloops’ long tradition of successful competitive curling for 18 years.

They have curled together with Corryn Brown for that entire time. It was an amazing run with incredible victories and heart-breaking losses. Rarely is any team able to sustain high-level play for that long without some very special people on the team. Erin and Sam certainly are that.

Erin’s introduction to curling came when her grandpa (the late Grant Young, who curled in the Brier with Barry McPhee) offered to take her curling on Saturdays.

Grant had known Corryn’s father from curling in Manitoba, so Erin ended up curling with Ken’s daughter Corryn. Erin’s positive personality, sense of humour and shot making was a perfect fit to play third.

Erin curled with friends and siblings for about five years before their parents thought they were ready for competitive curling. Syd Fraser was also on the team. But they needed a fourth curler.

Sam had also been curling since age 6 in the Kamloops junior program. She had some curling roots, too.

Her grandpa curled and had been president of the curling club. During the drive to the rink one Saturday morning, Sam’s dad Brian (who curled with Jim Cotter in the 1995 Junior Nationals) told Sam, “Someone is coming to watch you curl today. They want to see your slide and how you throw and they might ask you to play with Corryn.”

Sam did her best, and her long, successful curling career was launched in 2006 with Erin, Corryn and Syd.

Front-end players on any team are often the unsung heroes. Getting the first rocks in the right place is such an important part of the game — that, plus the ability to judge weight and sweep the rock into the exact spot when required.

Great teams know that, but not all the fans can appreciate what it takes. All four have roles to play, and if anyone isn’t happy in their role, the wheels will likely come off. This team had it right.

The team played in Juvenile Playdowns for the first few years and won the B.C. Winter Games gold in 2010 in Terrace at the age of 14. They also made their way to the U-18 Optimist Nationals in Regina.

In 2011, the team lost the provincial junior final. That same year, they won their way to the Canada Winter Games in Halifax and won gold. Their final game was against Jocelyn Peterman.

The team’s successes continued with winning the Juvenile provincials three years in a row. They won the 2013 B.C. Juniors at the age of 17, and went to the Fort MacMurray where they won the National Junior Championships by defeating another future great curler in Shannon Birchard.

The team didn’t win the Worlds, but Erin picked up another prize at the 2013 World Championships in Sochi, Russia, where she met her future partner Matt Dunstone from Manitoba who won bronze at the Men’s World Championships.

High-level losses challenged the team. Erin said if losing builds character, we should be great characters. They were and are just that.

They won bronze at the 2015 Canadian Juniors, four Western Canadian University titles, three silver medals at Youth Sport (University) Nationals and another junior silver medal.

The team’s success resulted in an invitation to a junior cash event in China in 2016. The team won $10,000 US. Another team from Canada was from Manitoba at the same event. That’s where Sam met her future partner, Jared Kolomaya.

Sam and Jared spent a lot of time flying between Winnipeg and Kamloops to see each other before Jared moved to Kamloops in 2018. It would be the same year that Matt Dunstone would move to Kamloops to be with Erin. Life has some twists and turns. Sam and Erin met their partners (Jared and Matt) from Manitoba curling in China and Russia.

The team survived the challenging COVID-19 curling season with their trip to the Scotties in 2021. It was a strange event to play in without any fans, having to have separate rooms, wearing masks except during play and all the restrictions that the pandemic brought.

The four seasons after COVID brought success on the curling tour and some heart-breaking losses in provincial finals. Erin says the 2023 loss hit her the hardest. She’d worked hard with coach Jim Cotter on mental training. She never had a doubt they would win. She said she’d had not thought about losing until it happened.

The team was second at the 2024 provincials but won a berth to the Scotties through points. They won provincials in 2025 and attended the Scotties. Both events were much more enjoyable with fans back in the stands after the pandemic.

I asked for a couple of memorable funny events during their curling years.

“I fall a lot,” Sam says. “We were curling in Martensville, Sask. The ice was very greasy and I had a fall when Erin threw a peel. It wasn’t just a fall — I was flailing all over, but managed to avoid hitting the rock.

“The next shot, Erin was in the hack, when she stood up and looked at me and smiled.”

Erin was going through her visualization routine before her shot when she stood up, turned to Sam and said, “all I could visualize was you falling.”

They also shared a story of being in Russia. They were walking around in their Canadian jackets and drawing a few onlookers. A man walked up to them with a live, fully dressed monkey and threw it into Corryn’s arms. Corryn caught the monkey and they took a bunch of pictures when the monkey’s owner started asking for money for taking the pictures.

They both talk fondly of the memories in juniors with all four in a hotel room, winning juniors and the Canada Winter Games to name a few. They have travelled across the country and beyond. They have met people and made friendships from everywhere.

“The nice thing about curling is the community,” Erin said. “We made so many friends from across provinces and have to embrace that.”

She also talked of learning so much by getting other people’s perspective of the game.

I asked Sam’s dad, Brian Fisher what was the best memory of watching the team. Brian said there wasn’t a single event but more the thrill of watching them grow at each level as they grew up. The team was like a family with occasional disagreements, but always having each other’s back for the 18 years they played together.

It will be a difficult feat for anyone to repeat. Both Sam and Erin are model teammates and we will likely find them curling on another successful team in the future. Thank you Erin and Sam for making Kamloops proud.

The post Curler’s Corner: Teammates Erin Pincott, Samantha Fisher make Kamloops proud appeared first on Curl BC.

Photo: Randy Nelson Third picture – from left – Ken Brown (coach), Corryn Brown, Erin Pincott, Sam Fisher and Sydney Fraser winning the Canadian Junior Women’s Championship in 2013.

Curler’s Corner is a column written by the Kamloops Curling Club’s Randy Nelson. This column will highlight moments of Tournament Capital curling history and noteworthy athletes from over the decades.

The father/daughter duo of Ken and Corryn Brown have brought curling titles home to Kamloops for 30 years.

Ken represented B.C. at the 1996 and 1997 Briers. Corryn has been to the Scotties National Women’s event four times in 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025. She also skipped the winning team at the National Junior Championships in 2013 and then on to the Worlds.

She won gold at the 2011 Canada Winter Games and represented Canada at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games. She also skipped the team to a bronze medal at the 2015 Canadian Juniors.

Ken was raised in Flin Flon, Manitoba at a time when kids weren’t allowed to curl until Grade 8. He vividly remembers walking into the curling club and smelling the fresh French fries. Fries were the prize for watching your parents curl at the rink.

Kids were allowed to play in the annual “Cordwood Bonspiel.” Each kid was given a couple wooden ”rocks” cut from a tree the approximate size of a rock. Parents would help sand it smooth and wax the bottom and screw in the handle given to them by the curling club. The kids would use the rocks in a bonspiel similar to the jam can event held in Kamloops for many years.

Ken’s dad was in charge of the unofficial beer fridge in the boiler room (snake pit) of the curling rink. He put the fridge against a post so he could padlock the fridge when not in use. The players purchased beer on the honour system.

Ken and his friends would sneak in the crawl space and crawl over to the fridge. They would spin the entire fridge away from the padlock, thereby opening the fridge door. They’d take a beer then rotate the fridge back into place. Ken’s dad would grumble about some curler taking a beer and not paying for it.

The high school teams were picked by appointed skips. Ken was not happy when he was picked to play with a girl. It turned out she was the best curler and their team won the high school trophy. In 1974, Ken’s team made it to the provincial high school championships as the #32 seed, with the right to drive eight hours to Winnipeg.

They had a flat tire on the way and were late for their game leaving no time for practice. They were playing against the #1 seed. As they entered the club, one of the organizers yelled, “you’re too late for your practice.” Ken’s skip quickly responded with, “we didn’t come here to practice, we came here to curl.”

They went onto the ice and pummelled the #1 seeded team 12-1. The news made Winnipeg headlines the next day. They went all the way to final before losing to future world champion Dale Duguid.

Ken moved to Richmond to take aircraft maintenance and curled in 1974 briefly with Bob McCain where his team lost the provincials to Bernie Sparkes when their rock picked and stopped short.

Ken moved back to Manitoba before realizing he’d made the right choice the first time and moved back to Kamloops in 1978. He curled with Eric Wiltzen for several years but left the game due to chronic back pain.

In 1995 Barry McPhee asked Ken to play. They lost the zone final that year. The team would go on to win the provincials in both 1996 and 1997. The 1996 Brier was held in Kamloops before a very happy home crowd. After the 1997 Brier, Ken left the game again due to recurring back issues.

Corryn was on the ice at the age of 4. She remembers having “fries as the prize” for making a good shot. Maybe fries as the prize is the secret to success?

Photo: Randy Nelson Erin Pincott on left, then Corryn Brown winning the jam can event in Kamloops.

Erin Pincott joined her when she was 6, and Sam Fisher at age 11. The three have played together for nearly 20 years (Erin and Sam will be featured in another article). They won the 16 and under provincials in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and Canada Games Gold.

Corryn and her team went to Sochi, Russia for the World Junior Curling. They had a great time. Third Erin Pincott must have had an even better time. She met Matt Dunstone, who was representing Canada curling out of Manitoba. Matt would later move to Kamloops from Manitoba.

Corryn’s team went to China twice for curling events. They took the time to see the Great Wall on their second trip. They hired a taxi (for over four hours return) with no cell phone, no translator and no idea where they were going. They got to see the Great Wall and made it safely back to their event.

Although Sam was not on that trip to China, she was on the second trip. That’s where she met her partner and fellow Canadian curler Jared Kolomaya, who would move to Kamloops from Manitoba. Maybe Kamloops should put a recruitment poster up in Manitoba curling clubs?

Corryn and Ken’s successes are displayed on about a dozen banners in the Kamloops Curling Club. They have continued to keep Kamloops high on the list as one of the greatest curling clubs in B.C. I fully expect Corryn’s newborn will be on the ice at a very young age and enjoy the successes the family has had for the next generation.

Photo: Ken Brown Rocks for the “cordwood spiel” referred to in the story.

The post Curler’s Corner: Father daughter duo brought curling titles to Kamloops appeared first on Curl BC.

Curler’s Corner is a column written by the Kamloops Curling Club’s Randy Nelson. This column will highlight moments of Tournament Capital curling history and noteworthy athletes from over the decades.

Brian Eden is the longest serving manager of the Kamloops Curling Club, with more than 34 years in the role. He also found time to curl, finding success with his wife Jane in mixed as well as representing B.C. at the Brier in 1981 and 1986.

Brian was born and raised near Summerland where his parents ran an orchard. Brian’s dad was also the ice maker at the three-sheet Summerland curling club in the downtown area, where the old folks home is today. His mother ran the concession. It was inevitable that Brian would take up curling, with it being part of his parent’s life every winter.

Brian was 12 years old when the introduction of sliding came to curling. Prior to that, curlers just squatted in the hack and threw without sliding. He remembers wanting to try sliding, but curling shoes with sliders weren’t available yet.

Most kids with a rural or farming background are used to being creative and making do with what they had. Brian pulled one of the metal score numbers off the scoreboard, stood on it with one foot and pushed out in the hack. He had just invented his own version of a slider!

Summerland High School didn’t have as many curlers as most schools. Brian played in high school and played third for his father on a men’s team. They achieved his dad’s dream of winning the Summerland spiel with his son before Brian went off to Calgary to take accounting.

His accounting career took him to Camrose and Edmonton with jobs working for Massey-Ferguson (farm equipment) and a finance company. Accounting can be considered boring for many. Brian’s skill of working with numbers landed him his number one partner for life. Jane also worked in the office. They would get married and have been together for 56 years and counting.

Brian and Jane moved to Kamloops in 1973. A couple of years later, the curling club was in need of a manager. Brian’s accounting background was handy for the business side of things, but he had to learn the rest of the job on the fly. Jane volunteered her time to help out.

The club was a booming business to operate, with 1,000 curlers, 64 teams of men’s curlers four nights a week, two full draws of business ladies, mixed on Saturday, a CN Rail league, a Woodward’s league, B.C. Teachers league, Nisei league and Commercial Traveller’s league.

The job included printing draws up for everyone on a Gestetner machine, a hand cranked device that would produce one copy each turn of the crank, hiring the ice making crew, building up the kitchen, order food and liquor for the bar, et cetera. The only free time to work on the ice was after 11 p.m., as curling occupied most of the day.

In 1981, Brian played second for skip Barry McPhee, third Rob Kuroyama and lead Grant Young. The Interior playdowns were in Prince Rupert and they won. They had to return to Prince Rupert a week later for the provincials and breezed through the event, earning their spot in the Brier in Halifax where they made it to the playoffs before losing out.

During the event, Brian made friends with a lobster supplier. Another club member worked for an airline and was able to provide free shipping for the lobster feast that Brian and Jane arranged once a year for upwards of 200 people at the curling club in Kamloops.

Brian has more than 20 zone plaques from his curling accomplishments. He’s won a plaque playing in all four positions. That’s a remarkable achievement given how busy the club was, how many teams there were and how little time he would have. Jane would run the office when Brian had to go to playdowns.

In 1984-85, Brian was curling with another great team, Tony Eberts, Glen Archer and Wade Carpenter. The playdowns were in North Kamloops.

Tony was skip, but was late for the first game so Brian started to skip. Tony showed up but let Brian finish skipping the game. Brian skipped the team all the way to the provincials that year. The moral of that story is a skip should never be late for a game.

Brian made it to provincials a couple of times as skip until 1986, when he played second for Barry McPhee along with Rob Kuroyama at third and Dave Schleppe at lead. They won the provincials, and made it to the semi-final at the Kitchener, Ont. Brier where they lost a heart breaker by one inch to future world champions Russ and Glen Howard of Ontario.

I asked Brian for a good story and he delivered.

It turns out an out-of-town curler at a bonspiel had acquired a serious case of alcohol flu. The guy ended up in the bathroom speaking on the great white phone. He flushed the toilet just as another stomach heave launched his false teeth down the hole. The next morning, Brian took the toilet off to find the teeth balancing on the toilet base. He was able to locate the hungover, toothless curler before he returned to the coast and gave him his teeth back.

Brian and Jane ran the club for more than 34 years before they retired in 2008. They saw some remarkable times at the club. They also saw some things that we can’t print.

Their dedication to the Kamloops Curling Club helped make it a resounding success over the years. Brian is truly one of Kamloops Curling Legends. Today, Brian and Jane run a small honey business and enjoy their grandkids and some of their curling successes. Thank you, Brian and Jane.

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Curl BC’s competitions and events team has been proactively planning out the 2026/27 BC Championships season in collaboration with host committees and facilities. The full calendar will be announced very soon.

The Curl BC Annual Awards nominations end April 30. Please seize the opportunity to nominate and recognize those who have contributed and excelled this past season and beyond. Click here to submit nominations.

Good curling to Team Mychaluk and Team Craig at the 2026 Canadian Masters Championships, Team Smithies and Daw at the 2026 Canadian Wheelchair Championship and thank you Teams Fitzgibbon, Bartlett and Hrynew for representing BC so well at the 2026 New Holland Canadian U20 Championships in Sudbury. Team Hrynew finished 3^rd in their pool and so qualified for the Men’s playoffs.

Registration has just opened for Curl BC’s 2026 AGM to be held online at 7:00 pm, June 11^th. We encourage everyone to attend and please make sure your Club President or their designated representative is registered and in attendance to vote. Curl BC is required to have a minimum of 20% (17) of its facility members in attendance to have a quorum.

I hope everyone had a great season of curling and is looking forward to getting outdoors. Have a great spring/summer and we look forward to you joining us again next fall.

Scott Braley
CEO, Curl BC

sbraley@curlbc.ca

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