By John Hodge
STEINBACH, Man. — Curling is traditionally considered a gentleman’s game, one played by clean-cut athletes who practice impeccable sportsmanship. Tattoos and armpit hair typically aren’t part of that equation.
Tradition was cast aside at the Crown Royal Players’ Championship this week, however, when Team Shuster competed at the Southeast Event Centre wearing sleeveless uniforms. Shuster himself remained in a jacket, though third Chris Plys, second Colin Hufman, and lead Matt Hamilton each had their guns on display, leading the Grand Slam of Curling to be inundated with complaints from viewers online.
Following his team’s 6-4 loss to Ross Whyte in the quarterfinals on Saturday, Hamilton took the opportunity to explain his team’s choice of attire. The story started months ago when Plys ordered exclusively long-sleeve uniforms for this season, which became a problem when he started to overheat in Steinbach this week.
“This arena is a little bit hotter than some of the other ones we’ve played in. It’s quite warm out there. (Plys) was like, ‘I’m gonna cut the sleeves off to t-shirt length.’ We were like, ‘Bro, if you're gonna cut the sleeves off, cut ’em off at the shoulders.’ He was like, ‘Well, I don't want to look like an idiot out there,’ and I was like, ‘Well, we'll look like idiots with you,’” said Hamilton.
“It was for (Plys) because he was too hot and honestly, it's way more comfortable out there without sleeves. (We got) mixed reviews from some of the fans — some of the old guard seems to like their tradition and we were ruining it. Then you have a bunch of people that are like, ‘You guys are so much fun, it looks like you have fun, and you're just a hoot to watch,’ so very mixed reviews on the sleeveless look.”
The Grand Slam of Curling does not have an official dress code, The Curling Group co-founder and CEO Nic Sulsky said. He feels strongly that teams are and should be free to wear whatever they want at these events, provided uniforms don’t feature any language or iconography that’s hateful or disparaging.
“We have no influence or input over what these teams decide to do with their jerseys. There's only one group of folks that have any sort of say or influence over what the teams do with their uniforms, and it's their sponsors. What they want to do, they can do,” said Sulsky.
“These teams are not owned or operated by the Grand Slam of Curling. Unlike events like the Brier, the Scotties, or the worlds, where you're representing your province or your country, here they're representing themselves and their sponsors, so it's up to them.
“The Slams is an event for the players, based on the players. If they want to (cut off their sleeves), great. I embrace it, I love it. If they think it's going to make them curl better and it's going to make them happier to be playing, do it.”
It’s not so long ago that fans complained about curlers wearing hats or flamboyantly coloured pants. A few years ago, Brad Gushue’s team was reprimanded by the World Curling Federation for wearing thermal underwear that didn’t match the colour of their uniforms.
One of the women’s playoff teams in Steinbach told Sulsky that they were considering cutting the sleeves off their uniforms, though they didn’t end up doing so.
It’s possible that sleevelessness in curling will end up being a one-time thing, but who knows? Team Shuster may have started a trend.
“This is a global sport played by incredible people who are having fun and expressing themselves,” said Sulsky. “As far as the traditional curling fan, honestly, I think they need to get over themselves a little bit. It's some tattoos and it's some armpits. They're having fun.
“There's plenty of sports out there where they're shirtless in swimming, you’ve got volleyball players that are wearing tank tops,” said Hamilton, who won Olympic gold in Pyeongchang in 2018. “This is no different. This is a sport that's played and players get hot. They should be able to wear whatever makes them comfortable and if getting tattoos and being comfortable in your own skin (offends traditionalists), then my thing to say to (them) is, ‘Get over it.’
“I wouldn't play this game if I didn't have a good time with it and when I hear people saying, ‘This is ruining the game,’ or, ‘It's not within the spirit of the game,’ I say, ‘Who are you to tell me what the spirit of the game for me is?’ For me, it's having the best time I can competing at a high level, and if I want to cut my sleeves off and get tattoos, you can quietly disagree with it, but no one needs your comments.”
Team Shuster’s sleeveless uniforms may have received mixed reviews, but this week’s event did not. The Crown Royal Players’ Championship was a hit, selling the second-most tickets of any event in the history of the Grand Slam of Curling, with capacity crowds of nearly 3,000 fans packing the arena all weekend.
“This community, they've completely showed up. It's an incredible, brand-new venue. The energy's been unreal all week,” said Sulsky.
“We're going to come back to Steinbach and Manitoba as quickly as possible. It takes time to organize all that, but candidly, I've already been talking to the folks who are in charge of the venue, the folks from the incredible town of Steinbach, and we want to come back as quickly as possible.
“This is unbelievable and that's a message for the other curling communities around Canada and around the world that we hope to go to in the near future. If you love curling, show up because guess what? We'll come back. Why wouldn't we? This is unbelievable.”
