Article content

Three-time Canadian men’s champion and 2010 world champion Nolan Thiessen is stepping into the role of CEO with Curling Canada.

Article content

Thiessen, a 43-year-old originally from Pilot Mound, Man., but now living in Edmonton, was named as the successor to Katherine Henderson on Wednesday.

Article content

Henderson left Curling Canada last summer to become CEO of Hockey Canada.

Thiessen already has been a part of Curling Canada’s senior management team for the past four years, serving as executive director of marketing and fan experience.

“I’m truly humbled by this opportunity and it’s one that I know comes with a great deal of responsibility, but I have a great team around me that is well-positioned to continue taking our sport forward and build on what Katherine did during her time at Curling Canada,” Thiessen said in a press release.

“Our sport has so many avenues forward as we look to reach into new communities and make our sport and championship events even more inclusive and welcoming. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for curling in this country.”

Article content

Article content

Curling Canada has been looking for a new CEO since Henderson left on July 4, 2023. Danny Lamoureux, a long-time member of the national sports organization’s management team, has been serving as interim CEO since that time and will now continue on with his retirement plans.

Thiessen was a high-level curler in his day, winning the Brier and world championship as lead for Kevin Koe in 2010.

He also won the Brier with Koe in 2014 and with Pat Simmons in 2015, also going on to win bronze at the world championship that year.

He retired from competitive curling in 2016 and started his time with Curling Canada that same year, serving as an athlete liaison. He moved into the marketing and fan experience role in 2018 and became an integral part of planning events like the Montana’s Brier, Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Olympic Trials and world championships on Canadian soil.

Article content

He played a major role in helping Curling Canada pull off the men’s and women’s Canadian championships and the world championships in a COVID-19 “bubble” in Calgary in 2021.

Thiessen, who has a Commerce degree from the University of Manitoba and is a Chartered Professional Accountant by trade, has also been involved in the World Curling Federation’s Athlete’s Commission and is currently on the WCF’s Competition and Rules Committee.

Thiessen was hired after an extensive search by Curling Canada’s Board of Governors and an external agency.

Thiessen takes on the job at a time when curling in Canada is struggling to find its way at both the grassroots level and at the elite level.

While many of the top teams in the world are Canadian, the country has not won international gold medals in men’s, women’s or mixed doubles curling since 2018.

Article content

Curling Canada hired Scotsman David Murdoch as High Performance Director last spring and he has been charged with trying to get Canada back to the top of the podium.

The two-time world champion and 2014 Olympic silver medallist has been implementing some of the strategies that were used when he held a similar position in Scotland, trying to emphasize the training aspect of preparation for Canadian teams.

At the same time, there are far less curling clubs in the country these days than there once were and there is a wider gap growing between the aspiring competitive curlers and the elite teams. It’s difficult for younger players to make any headway in the game and most of the top teams are comprised of older, highly experienced curlers.

Article content

The fan base, both for in-person events and on television, is aging as well, putting a fair amount of onus on someone like Thiessen to find ways to grow the game.

“Our sport is in need of a really good kick in the butt,” reigning Canadian men’s champion Brad Gushue said last week.

“We’re starting to at least change the direction, but I don’t know if we’re heading in the right direction yet.

“Our game in general, and not just Canada, is in need of a bit of a shake-up and an image change and a marketing campaign to get people excited about it. I think we’ve done a very poor job since I’ve been in curling of marketing the game. We’ve always had this niche, folksy kind of marketing and I think we can put a little bit more excitement into the game by marketing to a younger audience.”

Article content

Thiessen, now holding one of the most important and influential curling positions in the world, will surely need to listen to athletes and work with them to get things pointed in the right direction once again.

Some high-level curlers said the hiring of Murdoch and the appointment of active athlete Laura Walker to Curling Canada’s Board of Governors were positive steps that can be built upon but stopped short of saying things are fully on track now.

“It’s a slow work in progress but we’ve started to make steps in right direction and hopefully it can resonate across this big country,” two-time Olympian Marc Kennedy said recently.

[email protected]

Twitter.com/Ted_Wyman

Article content