Beijing 2022 - ‘How do we get that retention?’ - David Murdoch ahead of Team GB reigniting love for Olympic curling
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Updated 01/02/2022 at 12:56 GMT
Every four years, British sports fans go curling crazy at the Winter Olympics - but Team GB head coach and Sochi 2014 silver medallist David Murdoch says the UK needs to find a way to increase participation and retain the attention it gets, with more facilities the key. GB begin their mixed curling campaign on Wednesday. Follow every moment on discovery+.
Winter Olympics profile for British curlers Dodds and Mouat
Team GB are about to begin their bid for Winter Olympic curling glory.
Every four years the UK goes crazy for the sport. But while there is no doubt there is interest in Scotland, and that the status has grown over the past 20 years, Team GB's head coach believes far more needs to be done to increase retention.
On Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony in Beijing, reigning mixed doubles world champions Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds will begin their tilt for glory when they take on Sweden in their opening group game.
Across the UK, pop-up curling rinks have emerged around the Christmas period, but David Murdoch, the Sochi 2014 silver medallist who is now in charge of Britain’s elite set-up, says more investment is needed to capitalise on the profile it gets on a quadrennial basis.
It all started to kick-off when Rhona Martin’s rink won gold at Salt Lake City 2002, followed by medals won by Murdoch and Eve Muirhead’s teams in 2014. The lack of ice rinks in the south of England especially is a problem for the head coach.
“After every Olympics the interest grew, but it faded between Games,” Murdoch told Eurosport.
“After Vancouver it probably explored the most and then in 2014, with social media, #lovecurling was a big hashtag. The fact that myself and Eve got medals there, as well as the Paralympic guys, it created a huge amount of interest.
“When we got back from Sochi, we couldn't believe just how many people had enjoyed it and had watched it, they were really gripped by it. That was fascinating for us because you're stuck in a bubble and out there in the village, you don't really know too much about what's happening back home. The same happened again in 2018.
People just love to watch curling over the course of those few weeks. I've got no doubt that will be the case again for Beijing. The toughest part is how do we get some of that retention?
“There's certainly interest in Scotland but I think until we get some facilities where you could go and try it out across the UK, then I suppose interest will just dwindle again. That's got to be the priority, investing in facilities in the south and in England.”
Murdoch is a champion for investment in winter sports, and believes more multi-purpose ice rinks should be built to accommodate curling, skating and ice hockey. He says facilities have innovated - heat retention can be used for swimming pools - and a more joined-up approach could be beneficial to multiple sports.
“It's strange because it's not like we have a great climate here, people want to do sport indoors. The UK is windy, it's rainy, it's cold. Curling is easily maintained indoors, you just need the facilities to set it up,” he said.
“The best thing about it is there's huge interest in it, you can play it from eight to 80 years old. It's quite a wide scope for people to get active, to socialise, to be part of a club. I think they're missing a trick there to be honest.”
Mouat will also be one of the favourites for gold in the men’s event, while Muirhead is also back in an attempt to upgrade her bronze from Sochi.
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