Inspiring Women and Girls to Love Curling

Curling in Canada has a problem: women and girls aren’t joining, playing or coaching at anywhere near the same rate as men and boys.

You might ask why. After all, there is fairly equal opportunity for everyone –  men, women, girls and boys – to play, and Canada’s national athletes get equal support and funding, as Women in Curling Executive Council Chair Elaine Dagg-Jackson points out.

Yet women make up about 38 percent of all curlers in Canada – and at most about 20 percent of coaches at national championships, according to Jennifer Ferris, Curling Canada’s Head of Sport Integrity and Education & Member of Women in Curling Executive, citing Women in Curling data.

Ferris and Dagg-Jackson are among those working to change this.

“Curling is for every woman who is interested in curling, whether they want to coach, whether they want to play, whether they want to be an official, whether they want to be a volunteer or administrator or a board member,” Dagg-Jackson says. “It’s a place for everyone to belong.”

To foster greater female representation at all levels of the sport, Women in Curling (originally the Women in Curling Leaders’ Circle) was founded as a national initiative in 2020. Its current seven-person executive council is made up of female leadership volunteers and administrators from within the Canada-wide curling system, including two members of Curling Canada’s senior management team. They focus on developing practical, long-term ways to engage women and girls in the sport.

“We’re building momentum with measured programs, systematic measured steps,” Dagg-Jackson says, adding that they are grateful for Curling Canada's support for this important initiative.

Programs include Women in Curling summits, Scotties Legends, Coaches Rock, and various leadership and mentorship initiatives. Women in Curling also developed and piloted the Girls Rock (Presented by Scotties) program that is now being run by Curling Canada. It’s a one-day learn-to-curl for girls ages 9-16.

2006 Olympic medallist Cori Morris, who is also a member of the Women in Curling Executive, notes the need for a program like this.

“Women’s participation in sport is significantly lower than men’s,” Morris says. She points to Canadian Women & Sport’s 2024 Rally Report which found girls participate in organized sports at lower rates than boys. And, although rates are improving from when Women in Curling launched in 2020, almost 40 percent of girls are still missing out on the benefits of sports altogether. By age 16, that number rises to five in 10 girls.

Girls Rock introduces girls to curling through a positive, fun and free half-day session. This includes two taking place in the Mississauga area next week, timed with the Greater Toronto Area’s first-ever hosting of the women’s championship – the Scotties Tournament of Hearts – that will see about 90 girls get out on the ice for the first time ever. 

Girls Rock is also available across the country. Clubs can apply for funding, and can access a program guide and other resources to help them host an event.

“Girls can come out in a really friendly environment and learn a new sport,” Dagg-Jackson says. “We have lots of coaches helping them out plus we always have an Olympian present at our national one. At the end of the morning when they’re having their lunch, the girls can get their photo taken with Olympians and try on the medals. It’s super fun.”

Two other Women in Curling programs will be in the spotlight at the upcoming Tournament of Hearts in Mississauga.

The annual Women in Curling national summit on the opening Saturday of the Scotties is billed as “your chance to learn from the women who’ve shaped the sport, build skills you can use far beyond the rink, and expand your circle with driven, like-minded women from across curling.” Speakers this year include Jennifer Jones, Heather Mair, Sherry Middaugh and more.

This program has also expanded into a Women in Curling Summit series. “We provide organizational support and a little bit of financing to local groups of women who would like to host a Women in Curling summit in their community,” Dagg-Jackson says.

For those who can’t attend the national or local summits, Women in Curling also offers a webinar series that’s open to all.

Another signature program, the Scotties Legends reception, runs on the opening weekend in Mississauga. More than 50 women – all curling champions who have represented Ontario at this event in years past – have been recruited by 1997 STOH finalists and 2 Girls and a Game podcast hosts Lori Eddy and Mary Chilvers, and will gather to celebrate, be celebrated, and cheer on the next generation.

The Scotties Legends program shines a light on these champions as role models, supports intergenerational learning, and highlights the competition, friendship, community and fun of curling.

One of its biggest goals? To ignite – or re-ignite – a love of curling among women and girls.