Ranked 33rd in the world.
Located 40 minutes from the venue.
Not invited to the AMJ Masters Tier 2.
Over the past number of weeks, a lot of people have asked why our team isn’t in the Grand Slam of Curling event in London next week. I wish I had an answer.
Three teams were given “local invite” spots into the first Grand Slam event of the season, the AMJ Masters Tier 2 in London. For bubble teams like ours, opportunities like this are rare and they matter.
At the start of the season we sat 33rd in the world rankings. If the local invites were based strictly on performance we would have been the second of the three selected teams. If they were based on geography we would also be the second choice, and you could make the case we are the most local.
I’ve lived in Woodstock my entire life. Our team curls out of the Woodstock Curling Centre which is only 43 kilometres from the Western Fair Sports Centre. My wife Mallory and I drive our son to the TVDSB Aviation Program at the London Airport, and my father has worked in London for years. Spencer Dunlop, who plays lead on our team, is also a Western university graduate.
Those are deep ties to the city and community. Yet we were passed over.
One of the selected invite teams comes primarily from the university circuit, which is very different from the week-to-week grind of men’s tour competitive events. I respect those players and what they have accomplished, but if the goal of these Slam events is to showcase the best of the best, the criteria should be clearer.
This isn’t about sour grapes. It’s about fairness and transparency. For bubble teams balancing jobs, families and competition, local events like this are often the only realistic chance to prove ourselves on a big stage. When decisions don’t reflect either performance or geography it makes athletes question whether their path forward is blocked before they even get a fair shot.
Moreover, back in March our team was registered for two competitions that month, but based on our understanding of qualification we would have had the Masters berth regardless of the results in those two events. As a result we saved the money and time off work, and stayed home rather than trying to earn more points. Teams in our situation have to balance decisions like that or we will get burnt out.
Since posting the original version of this, I’ve heard directly from someone on the committee. I respect the effort they’re making to grow the game, but from the outside these decisions can still feel discouraging for teams grinding to break through.
I’ll keep competing and giving everything I have to this sport. But I believe organizing committees need to think carefully about how their decisions affect the curlers grinding just outside the top tier. Curling is stronger when opportunity is earned and when the next generation knows their commitment will be respected.
I’m sharing this not just for myself, but for every team pushing from the grassroots up, because our sport is stronger when every curler knows their hard work matters.