Curling Commentary Journey Volume 1

I have long wanted to be a sports broadcaster. 

Sports have been my passion all my life, with curling obviously taking the top spot. My primary goal, of course, was to be an athlete – to be a top-level curler, win the Scotties, win Slams, go to the Olympics, etc. The two didn’t seem like they could work very well together for me to be a broadcaster in general, so the clear angle was to eventually become a curling broadcaster, but obviously not until I was done playing.

Life threw me a loop in 2024 when, mid-season, the team I was committed to dissolved just after Christmas, taking with it a berth to the 2025 Scotties and a potential appearance at the Olympic Trials in Halifax. 

I was absolutely crushed. Gutted. Devastated. 

I felt completely lost and discarded by the game I have loved since childhood; that I’ve devoted my life to. I didn’t know what to do next. 

I wanted to play, but it was too late in the Olympic cycle to put a new team together and have any hope of qualifying for the goals I had in mind, so I was left without much choice but to take some time off. So I did. 

After a few weeks, still hurting, reeling and struggling to figure out a path forward, I was encouraged by a good friend in the curling broadcast world to reach out to Nic Sulsky (CEO of The Curling Group) about joining the Rock Channel broadcast team. Said friend told me that my name had been brought up throughout the season, as they needed one more person. 

I’ve done some broadcasting in the past and they thought I’d be a good fit, but of course it didn’t work when I was competing in the Slams. I didn’t feel ready to make the leap to broadcasting yet, I still wanted to be playing, but I also realized it was a potential way to stay close to the game while on a “hiatus” from competition, so I reached out. 

Fast forward a week or two, and I was booking flights to the January Grand Slam event in Guelph, Ont. to join the broadcast. 

I had dabbled in this area in the past. I’ve done lots of games on Curling Stadium, some on the now-defunct Curling Live, and I even covered a Manitoba Scotties on Sportsnet when we were Team Canada in 2017 (and therefore didn’t have to play in our provincials). I’ve always loved it, it feels easy and so fun to me. I’m talking about curling... it’s basically what I would be doing in my living room anyway.

The TCG commentary group at the time included Brent Laing, John Cullen, Tyler George and myself, along with some “guest star” curlers on their off draws (a role I had played while I was still with my former team). It’s a great group of people and we had so much fun working together, I truly enjoyed the experience, though it was hard to be watching rather than be competing out on the ice. 

The next thing I knew, World Curling TV reached out to me about the men’s worlds in Moose Jaw last year, asking if I would be available. I quickly agreed, and worked my first event with them. It was a steep learning curve, as WCTV’s broadcast is much more formal than the TCG streams, but I picked it up over the course of the week with the help of my coworkers, and had another great experience. 

A year later – being the Olympic year so, again, putting a team together didn’t make sense – I worked a few Slams, and was on the WCTV broadcast crew in Calgary at the women’s worlds. I also worked the world men’s championship in Ogden, UT and am one of the voices describing Rock League this week from Toronto.

But the biggest twist came over the summer.

A few different curling/broadcasting friends reached out to me, asking if it was okay if they passed along my information to Olympic Broadcast Services. 

Wait... what? I could be working the broadcasts at the OLYMPICS? 

My initial reaction was pure excitement, but as thought about it more, some conflicted feelings began to emerge. I had a very clear mental picture (dream) of what my first Olympics would look like, and it was to be on the ice, competing. 

In losing two Olympic Trials finals, I had spent a lot of time visualizing and manifesting having that experience. How hard would it be to be watching/commentating instead of playing? Would I be able to enjoy the experience or would those feelings overwhelm me?

Of course, there was no question I wanted the job. It was a chance to be involved in the game I love at the event I’ve been chasing and dreaming about most of my life, even if in a different role than I’d imagined. I had an interview and sent them some samples of my broadcasting work, and was lucky enough to be selected. 

The Olympics are an incredible event. I think everyone kind of knows that, but it’s one of those times when no description, no matter how thorough, can possibly do justice to being there. The energy of the people, the camaraderie between countrymen, and even the bringing together of people from different countries for the same purpose. 

The power of the Olympics is palpable everywhere you go. I had chills on a daily basis just being there, and the atmosphere in the curling venue was incredible, absolutely electric! It brought a smile to my face, but also a pang in my heart wishing I could be on the ice experiencing it.

Being on the media bench was killing me, no doubt. But I am so incredibly grateful to have been part of it. My role was not what I imagined, but the experience overall blew me away.

A few months later, I was given yet another incredible chance – to be part of the first-ever broadcast for Rock League, curling’s first professional league. We did the stream for the week on Rock Channel as usual, but on the weekend, we were live on CBC’s main network, which was so fantastic.

I got to work with a few folks I was familiar with already (Tyler George and John Cullen), and some I knew as friends and competitors, but hadn’t worked with in the commentary realm before – Joanne Courtney, Jennifer Jones, and Mike Harris. It was an absolute blast, both because of my coworkers and the awesome new format of fast-paced, high-intensity curling.

I am so thankful to The Curling Group (Rock Channel), World Curling TV (Curling Channel), and Olympic Broadcast Services for believing in me, taking a chance on an unproven broadcast newbie, and allowing me to live yet another dream.

Does this mean I’m done curling permanently to focus on broadcasting? I’m not sure, but honestly, I hope not. I still love to play, and if the right opportunity came my way, I would jump at it. That being said, the broadcast side allows me to stay part of the game I still love, and I’m relishing that opportunity, as well as all the amazing support and feedback I have received already in my young broadcast career. 

Maybe you’ll see me back on the ice one day... maybe not. Either way, I will always love curling and any time I’m given a chance to help the game and stay close to the game, you’d better believe I will seize it.