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Irish Curling Association Seeing 'Furious Peak' In Interest

Olympic curling has sparked interest in the sport on the Emerald Isle.GETTY IMAGES

Events at the Pyeongchang Olympics have given rise to a “furious peak” in inquiries to the Irish Curling Association, according to Ian O'Riordan of the IRISH TIMES. Assuming it is "not being confused with hurling, or curdling for that matter," it seems interest in the sport is "genuine and specific." They are "not asking for very much" either: just the chance to "try out their brooms and stones on ice and the prospect for a little bonspiel." For now, all such curling inquiries "are being diverted abroad as Ireland remains one of the few countries in the world without a national ice arena." Former ICA Secretary & President John Burns, now Ireland's World Curling Federation representative, is "hopeful that may change in the future, and possibly give rise to Ireland's first Olympic curling team." Burns said, "There is certainly a furious peak in interest with each Olympics, when we get lots of emails and enquires which we don't usually get during the four years in between. But actually the interest has been ongoing, in that we've been around for 20-plus years" (IRISH TIMES, 2/21).

GROWING THE GAME: REUTERS' Steve Keating reported the 2018 World Men's Curling Championships will take place in Las Vegas this spring, as the WCF "decided now is the time to roll the dice and double down on the spike in popularity the sport will enjoy coming out" of the Pyeongchang Games. The WCF over the last decade has "watched television viewership trend upwards with a surge during Olympic years which has helped to pull in new sponsors, new events and new countries." The organization is "keen to crack" the U.S. market, and the venues for this year’s world championships "give a snapshot of curling’s past as well as a glimpse of its future." The women's championship will be held in North Bay, Ontario. The WCF also will "soon begin a major push into China in the run-up" to the Beijing 2022 Games. The WCF has a $13.4M sponsorship deal with Kingdomway Sports to "develop a made-for-television World Cup featuring the top men‘s, women’s and mixed doubles teams that will have four major events, two in China, one in North America and one in Europe" (REUTERS, 2/20).

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