• • • The Curling Project
We don’t see ourselves as curlers anymore, but as athletes – Ryan Harnden, Team Brad Jacobs (Dettman & Stroumboulopoulos, 2014, March 7)
The past decade has witnessed a shift in idealized expressions of Canadian curling masculinity. In men’s elite-level curling, the Canadian public has moved from celebrating curlers as older athletes marked by maturity and conviviality to celebrating curlers as younger athletes who focus on their bodies (like other elite-level athletes) and are committed to fitness and nutrition. Where once Canadians perceived curling bodies as the rather ordinary bodies of parents – and sometimes even grandparents – now there is a new focus on youth, muscularity, and fitness. Curling, as a quintessentially Canadian sport, importantly celebrated a different sense of masculine embodiment than Canadian sports like hockey and lacrosse. This study examines this seeming change in the dominant identity of the sport and the impact of it on the structure of the sport and older men who curl.
Academic Publications:
Episode 1, Fire on the Ice: It Used to be Called an Old Man’s Game Podcast:
Kristi Allain (researcher & narrator), with Stephanie Dotto (writer) and Cory McKechnie (editor)
Although Canadians are becoming demographically older, the athletes we see on TV and in stadiums are eternally youthful and fit. Curling was one important exception, where ordinary-looking men and women in their 30s, 40s, and even 50s could excel on an international level. But that changed in 2014, when Team Brad Jacobs broke onto the scene as youthful curlers with bulging muscles and an “agro” attitude. This podcast returns to the local curling rink, to ask the older men who form the heart of these curling clubs how they feel about the changes in Canadian curling.
References:
Cleaver, R. (1911). A winter sport book. A & C Black, London.
“Curling Quotes.” The Quote Garden. Accessed July 4, 2016. http://www.quotegarden.com/olympics-winter.html
Friscolanti, M. (2010, March 15). ‘Old Bear’ has his day. Maclean’s, 123(9), 56–58.
https://www.macleans.ca/general/old-bear-has-his-day/
Strombo. (2014, March 7). Team Brad Jacobs on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight: INTERVIEW [Video].
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E00Q3iDHM4
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. (2014, February 18). Will Smith could revolutionize curling [Video].
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqkQl6RfqvM
Episode 2, Fire on the Ice: Stick Shifts:
*There is some unbleeped swearing in this episode.
Kristi Allain (researcher & narrator), with Stephanie Dotto (writer) and Cory McKechnie (editor)
Winter can be a tricky season for older Canadians, as they face duelling pressures. On the one hand, health agencies and the media encourage and even pressure older Canadians to keep up high levels of physical activity, to stave off what they call “age-related decline.” On the other hand, the same sources also warn older Canadians to stay inside in the winter, in order to avoid winter slips and falls. While contradictory, both of these pressures emerge from the same neoliberal mindset that views older individuals as morally obligated to avoid burdening the healthcare system.
In this podcast, I interview older men who participate in the winter sport of curling, asking how they feel about playing the sport at an older age. While they’re conscious of the pressures to stay healthy and the health benefits of curling, they’re more focused on the enjoyment and community it brings them, as well as the feeling of athleticism and mastery that might be increasingly difficult to find in other arenas.
The question of aging and sport becomes particularly acute when I ask them about stick curling, a variation of the game that allows players to curl without having to kneel to deliver the rock. Stick curling has enabled curlers in wheelchairs and other disabled people to curl and has extended the curling life of many players with various injuries and conditions. But picking up the stick can be a blow to the pride of some curlers, an admission that their body cannot do what it once did. With the curlers, I explore the crucible of the stick, its connection to their feelings about aging and sport, pressures and possibilities, health and fun.
References
Bartels, S. J. & Naslund, J. A. (2013). The underside of the silver tsunami — Older adults and mental health care. New England Journal of Medicine, 368: 493–496. NEJMp1211456
Chai, C. (2013, February 4). 5 lifestyle changes to improve your heart’s health. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/388255/5-lifestyle-changes-to-improve-your-hearts-health/
Das, R. (2015, August 11). A silver tsunami invades the health of nations. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/reenitadas/2015/08/11/a-silver-tsunami-invades-the-health-of-nations/?sh=64ec1bc13efd
Glicksman, E. (2012). Preparing for the ‘silver tsunami.’ APA, 43(9): 32–3. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/10/tsunami
Society & social. (2013, August 3). Make health last – Heart & Stroke Foundation – health awareness [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzu8BFDY9Tg&ab_channel =society%26social
The silver tsunami. (2010, February 6). The Economist. 2010/02/04/the-silver-tsunami
In 2018 this work was recently featured as part of the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation's R3: Innovations in Aging conference.
International Network for Critical Gerontology covering this work: http://criticalgerontology.com/curling-youthful-turn/