Rocks Across the Pond

The Korean has had a tumultuous eight years since “The Garlic Girls” burst on the scene to win silver at the 2018 Olympics. Despite this, women’s curling in Korea as flourished and four teams are in the Top 15 of the world rankings. Melvin Lee, a curling consultant and president of the Korean Canadian Curling Federation, tells us how things have improved for the Korean Curling Federation and the prospects for Team Gim, currently third in the world rankings, at the upcoming Olympics in Italy. Our ebook: Welcome to Curling!: The Rock Across the Pond Guide to the Roaring Game Our original Welcome to Curling series (2022) The Remarkable Return of Korea’s Team Kim (2020) Korea’s Team Kim makes triumphant Olympic return (2022) Curling DEI initiatives in action with Melvin Lee (2023)

Jonathan and Ryan are back! We discuss a book project that will be available soon, our first thoughts on the Olympic field and the recently released lineups for the inaugural edition of The Rock League.

Despite not having any dedicated curling ice in the entire country and very little funding, Lithuania is heading to the 2025 World Women’s Curling Championship. How did a country about the size of West Virginia with a population less than Mississippi accomplish this? A lot of it has to do with their skip, Virginija Paulauskaite. The president of the Lithuanian curling federation, Tadas Vyskupaitis, joins us to tell us about his country, how their national team was able to qualify for worlds and the future of curling there.

The 2024 European Curling Championships take place Nov. 16-23 and our very own Professor of Peel, Jonathan Havercroft, will be there in the A division representing England. Here we take a moment to wish Jonathan and the rest of the team good luck!

Jonathan and Ryan are back to talk about Jonathan’s experience representing England at the European Curling Championships. His English men’s team not only secured a spot in next year’s A-pool for their country, but captured the gold medal.

Marco Mariani is back to tell us about his experience coaching China’s women’s curling team at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. First, we learn why his lineup changed so much going into the Olympics and the one thing he thinks would have allowed Han Yu’s team to make the medal round. Then, we hear about his interactions with Chinese officials and his relationship with his fellow coaches, Peja Lindholm and Sören Grahn. Finally, he tells us what he thinks the future holds for curling in China. Marco Mariani part 1: Italian curling Our interview with Marco leading up to the 2021 Worlds

This episode takes us near the Arctic Circle, but not quite North of it. We talk to Peter Van Strien from Iqaluit Curling Club, who volunteers there and has represented Nunavut nationally. Peter tells us about living in Nunavut, the unique obstacles his club faces for regular ice time and the progress they’ve made growing the sport with the territory’s youth. Nunavut Curling Association Iqaluit Curling Club

Ling-Yue Hung from Team Hong Kong gives us a beginner’s guide to rock matching, including whether or not it can help club-level curlers. She also tells us about her iOS app, CurlingRockBook, which helps curlers of all abilities track the rocks they use at different clubs and competitions.

We break down the latest news in curling, including a short-lived Curling Canada pregnancy policy and its hiring for former world champion David Murdoch from Scotland to lead its high performance program.

It’s time for our annual Bad Beer Bet with the fine folks from the Game of Stones podcast. Each year we all make picks for the European A and B pools and the podcast with the fewest points has to drink the beer of the winner’s choosing. In this episode, Ryan from Rocks Across the Pond and Scott from Game of Stones preview the women’s side of the 2022 European Curling Championships. Head over to Game of Stones to hear Jonathan and Sean’s preview of the men’s side. Also, tweet us and let us know what beer we should make Sean and Scott drink after we win again. Game of Stones Podcast Follow Game of Stones on Twitter Like Game of Stones on Facebook

USA Curling’s CEO, Jeff Plush, is under fire for how he responded when notified of allegations of abuse and sexual misconduct. He received allegations against a soccer coach while he was commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League in 2015 and how he handled them calls into question whether curlers can have confidence in him to protect athletes going forward. Report Concerning Allegations of Abusive Behavior and Sexual Misconduct in Women’s Professional Soccer USA Curling’s Statement USOPC CEO Calls Findings “Appalling”

Recently, USA Curling’s board of directors voted to remove the regional association representing clubs in the Eastern United States, the Grand National Curling Club. We dive into why this happened, what this means, possible resolutions and the next steps for the two organizations. Joining us are Kristen Conrad, vice chair of the GNCC board of directors, and Dean Gemmell, USA Curling’s director of curling development. Grand National Curling Club GNCC FAQ USA Curling Open Letter The Whole Spiel