Now that I’m on the outside looking in as far as curling is concerned, it’s only right that I spend some time to pay a proper tribute to the contribution Kate Caithness has made to our sport.
Kate was the president of the World Curling Federation for pretty much the whole time I was a professional curler.
You just took for granted that she was at the top of our governing body – and it wasn’t until a few years ago that I found out where the WCF office was in Perth!
Kate did more than her fair share to develop curling.
Under her leadership, it’s been taken to new corners of the world and wheelchair curling has grown stronger and stronger.
She is as genuine a person as you could wish to meet and will have been fair-minded but it certainly couldn’t have hurt Scottish curling – or indeed European curling – to have her as President.
Ahead of electing the next World Curling President, we would like to sincerely thank President Kate Caithness for her dedication to our sport over the last 12 years.
Join us in wishing her all the best during her retirement. 🙏#WCFCongress | #Curling pic.twitter.com/vRyGB2h0Kx
— World Curling (@worldcurling) September 11, 2022
An American, Beau Welling, has taken over and only time will tell if there are any significant changes of direction.
It might sometimes feel as if curling is a sport that doesn’t change much but there have been some big equipment and competition issues through the years and we will need to keep adapting to thrive.
Personally, I’ll never forget that Kate reached out to me after our World Championship disappointment in Canada last year when we had a bad week.
That meant a lot at the time and still does.
For her to be in Beijing for the gold medal presentation was perfect.
Kate, who comes from Inchbare in Angus, had a special presentation of her own when Thomas Bach, the Olympic Committee President awarded her the Olympic Order.
It’s the highest honour that can be granted by the IOC and nobody deserves it more.
Glenn played such an important part in my career, coaching us in the Olympic cycle through to PyeongChang 2018.
We are pleased to welcome the legendary Glenn Howard to Team Jennifer Jones as our new coach.
Glenn brings so much experience and knowledge on and off the ice and has tons of coaching experience.
All of us are super excited to have Glenn join the team!
📸:@CurlingCanada pic.twitter.com/sBWeZnuoTg— Team Jennifer Jones (@TeamJJonesCurl) October 4, 2022
He’s actually take over from Viktor Kjell, who was the coach of Team Smith, our men’s team at those Games.
The list of foreign coaches who have been part of the British set-up and are at the top of the sport is a long one.
Kristian Lindstrom was our coach for the last Olympics and has taken over the job with the number one team in the world, Team Hasselborg.
Al Hackner, who coached my brother Glen’s team back in 2019 and Ian Tetley who was with Team Paterson around the same time are two others.
I’m all for bringing through Scottish coaches but that’s a lot of top level experience and knowledge we’ve lost in the last few years and I know from my own experience how important it is to get fresh ideas from curling hotbeds like Canada and Sweden.
Talking of coaches, I had a bit of a ‘This is Your Life’ night at sportscotland’s Coaching, Officiating and Volunteering awards.
It was a ‘coaching chain’ award for people who have helped me over the course of my career.
What a lovely surprise to see so many old faces like Siobhan Penman, my PE teacher at Pitlochry High School; Cate Brewster, who got me into the Olympic Futures program; Derek Brown, the head coach for my first Olympics in 2010; Rhona Howie, who has been a coach and an inspiration for so many years; Dave Hay, my coach in Sochi 2014 and for World gold in 2013; and my old strength and conditioning coach, Dave Leith.
Glenn, Kristian, players like Vicky Chalmers and Kelly Wood who were team-mates for so many years and, of course, my family were crucial parts of that chain as well.
There wouldn’t be enough room on a stage for them all!
Conversation