Monthly Archives: August 2020

Ep60: Creating Curling’s Next Generation of Raving Fans w/ John Allgood



The future of curling will rely on our ability to grow the game with younger demographics. But how do we get the next generation to play the sport and watch it on TV? John Allgood, Assistant Professor and Academic Director of the Executive Masters of Sports Business at Temple University, joins us to discuss this and many more topics related to sports marketing. John made a career out of selling sports like minor league baseball, pro bull riding and soccer and now he teaches the next generation of front office staff how to do the same. Join us as we find out how an emerging sport like curling can stand out in a crowded market.

John Allgood
Temple STHM


Polish Curlers Want You to #VoteForCurlers



“Dear World curling community! Polish curlers have an important message for you. Please watch and share – we need all the curling countries to see this!”

The polish curling community is calling for member associations to vote to expel the Polish Curling Association at the WCF World Curling Congress Sept. 4-6.

Why would they want this? We talked to a Polish curler back in March to find out. In that episode, Marcin Madej provided insight into the history of curling in Poland, the division between the Polish Federation of Curling Clubs and the PCA and how the sport can move forward in his country.


Ep59: Are Curling’s Growing Pains Unique? w/ Travis Mewhirter



And now for something completely different. Author and pro beach volleyball player Travis Mewhirter joins the show to discuss that sports’ growing pains since joining the Olympics. How alike are the two sports? Well, beach volleyball joined the Games around the same time and features self-formed teams in a tour-based system. They even had a player boycott in the 90s. We’ll learn about their successes and challenges and how we can apply them to curling.

The Sandcast Beach Volleyball Podcast
Travis Mewhirter on Instagram
Travis’ Amazon Author Page


Ep58: A Curling Science Fair!



We are joined by Megan Balsdon and Derek Leung to discuss their research into curling and curling rocks. Both are competitive curlers and academics who are using science to help us better understand curling. Megan is studying how different types of brooms affect curling ice. Derek is looking at how different types of granite react when stones collide. We talk to them about their research and how they are helping us get a better understanding of sweeping and how curling stones behave. We revisit broomgate and ask Megan what we do and still do not know about how sweeping affects curl. We also discuss what she thinks curlers can learn from her research and what she hopes to study in the future. Derek explains why curling granite only comes from a few places on earth. Derek talks about his cool videos of curling stone collisions. We also discuss how his research into granite curling stones can inform other industries. Join us as we have a super nerdy talk about the science of curling.

Comparing Broom Conditions in Curling
Megan Balsdon on Twitter
Minerals Rock!
Derek Leung on Twitter


Podstacking: Aug. 10



Every Monday we podstack with Sean and Scott from Game of Stones Podcast on their Facebook page at 5 p.m. Eastern. This week we drafted curlers for a simulated season of Survivor, which will run next week. We also discussed the NBA, U.S. college football and zoos in addition to curling.

Drafting Curlers for a Survivor Season with Rocks Across the Pond

This week will be drafting curlers for our simulation of a full Survivor season.

Posted by Game of Stones Podcast on Monday, August 10, 2020


Ep57: New Ways to Analyze Curling w/ Ken Pomeroy



Ken Pomeroy joins the podcast to talk analytics in curling. He is the founder of KenPom.com, which revolutionized the way we analyze college basketball. Ken is also a curler and has started applying some of his analytics to the curling world at DoubleTakeout.com. In this episode, we dive into how Ken got into the game and how analytics can change the way we play and think about curling.

DoubleTakeout.com
Ken Pomeroy on Twitter
Ep55: Cultivating Curling Calculations w/ Gerry Geurts