Curling Stories Untold

Welcome to episode seven of the Curling for Change Podcast! In this limited series, our host, 2023 All Heart Curling Award recipient Wil Robertson, will chat with folks from all corners of the curling community to hear their stories, their perspectives, and how we can change the face of curling and promote inclusion within our sport.

This episode focuses on Curling Stories Untold. Our guests are high-performance athletes, who have represented their provinces, or indeed their country, with pride. Yet, you may not know their stories, and you may not have seen them curl. In this episode, they share their stories and their lessons for how we can make the sport of Curling more accessible and inclusive for all.

If you enjoyed this discussion, and look forward to the episodes to come, please like or share this video. Anyone can tune in on Curling Canada +, YouTube, or wherever you find your podcasts!

Our guests:

Emma Logan (She/Her) – Halifax, Nova Scotia: Emma Logan is from Halifax, Nova Scotia and curls out of the Halifax Curling Club. Her first national appearance was at the USports Championship in 2017 after she led StFX University to their first AUS championship title. She has two Scotties appearances representing Nova Scotia in 2020 and 2021. She also represented Canada at the 2022 World Deaf Curling Championship where they earned the silver medal. She lost her hearing at 13 months old and now wears a hearing aid and cochlear implant. In recent years, she started learning ASL to better compete in deaf curling and connect with her DHH community. Up next, she will be representing Canada at the Deaflympics in March 2024.

Carly Smith (She/Her) – Fredericton, New Brunswick: Carly Smith was born missing her left arm and has been curling for 13 years. She has represented New Brunswick at 5 national events and was the first amputee in Canadian history to play at the national stage in able bodied curling.

Holly Maschmeyer (She/Her) – Bruderheim, Alberta: Holly (formerly Jamieson) Maschmeyer is from Bruderheim, Alberta and her home base is the Lamont Curling Club. She is the 2015 World Junior Curling Champion Gold Medalist, 2-time U21 Alberta Junior Curling Champion, U18 Optimist International Silver Medalist and 2-time U18 Alberta Juvenile Curling Champion. She is hard of hearing and wears two hearing aids. At 20 years old she learned American Sign Language and immersed herself within the Deaf community. She is now representing Canada at her second Deaflympics in March 2024 with a previous 2 World Deaf Curling Championships also under her belt.

Jon Thurston (He/Him) – Dunsford, Ontario: Jon Thurston is a Paralympic Bronze Medallist and a two-time World Silver Medalist in Wheelchair Curling. Jon first made Team Canada in 2019 and has represented Canada at 4 consecutive World Championships along with his first Paralympics in 2022. Born and raised in Dunsford, Ontario, Jon has been curling for 11 years training out of the Peterborough and Bobcaygeon Curling Clubs.