Kevin Koe: Why curling needs more diversity

When it comes to Canadian curling there is one 'King in the North' and that is Kevin Koe.

One of six Indigenous Canadians to don the maple leaf at PyeongChang 2018, the two-time World champion has his sights set on an Olympic return at Beijing 2022.

Koe is also keen to see more diversity and global participation in the sport he loves.

The 46-year-old, born in Edmonton, is part of a dynasty of impressive athletes.

His younger siblings, twins Jamie Koe and Kerry Galusha (née Koe) are also adept on the ice; the two regularly represent the Northwest Territories (NWT) at the Canadian championships.

It is no real accident then that when it comes to Koes and curling, it’s a family affair.

Their parents, Fred Koe – a member of the Gwich’In First Nation in the NWT and Lynda, are also curling obsessives and keeping the family close and connected through the sport was always priority.

“We were hanging around the rink a lot,” Koe shares exclusively in an interview with Olympics.com's ZK Goh ahead of the 2021 Canadian Olympic Curling trials, “it was all family.”

In the early years Kevin would curl with his brother. The two enjoyed their first breakthrough in 1994 when they almost won the national junior title representing NWT.

Nowadays, Kevin is the Koe with the most impressive curling resume. With two world championship golds, four Brier titles and one Olympic Games appearance under his belt, not only is he the pride of his community, but he also has the pedigree to back it, and is

The might of polar power

The son of the Gwich’In elder was thrust under the spotlight when he competed in the Olympic bonspiel at PyeongChang 2018.

“It was an amazing experience,” Koe said, reflecting on his debut in South Korea.

“Obviously it would have been a lot, lot better to medal, but I don’t have any regrets about it. We put all the prep in. We put all the work and things just didn’t go our way that week.”

Though Koe and team came home empty handed to a disappointed Canada reeling from the fact for the first time, its men's and women’s team failed to make podium, the curler still felt supported at every stage of his Olympic quest.

“We had a ton of friends and family and sponsors over there. So, you know, to see them all in the stands and having fun and cheering us on… was super cool.”

And it wasn’t just in the bleachers of Gangneung Curling Centre that Koe’s inspirational run at the Games was being intently followed.

While in PyeongChang supporting his brother, Jamie shared with the National Post: “It’s more than just Yellowknife, it’s really the entire north.

“We were just in Inuvik (at the territory curling championship) last weekend and everyone there was talking about this.”

Kevin Koe on diversity in curling

The support for NWT’s son who had made it to the sport’s great global arena is also a reminder that when it comes to inclusion, Koe believes, curling in Canada still has some way to go.

“I honestly am not sure it is [improving],” Koe answered on whether his sport is becoming more diverse.

“It's tough. There's so many places losing curling rinks. Obviously, there’s still a lot of rinks in the big cities but yes, it's something that definitely needs some focusing on.”

As a curler who cut his teeth first on natural ice in Inuvik before moving to Yellowknife, other young curlers, including Aboriginal curlers like him, were hard to come by:

“There was some other Aboriginal kids playing, but probably not as many as you'd hope. The fact was, there just wasn't many junior curlers up there at that time.”

“So for us,” Koe reflects, “there was a bit of a whirlwind, right? We got to our first Canadians (Championships) and didn't know any better and then had some success.”

“But the truth was there just wasn't that many teams to play against back then."

The curling world order is changing

It isn’t just on a Canada-wide level that Koe would like to more diversity in curling. Widening the scope of inclusion for the Olympian also means having other countries at the table challenging for the top prize.

So far, the World Curling Federation (WCF) recognises 67 member associations as actively participating in the sport through tournaments and championships with Canada representing 90% of the world’s curling population.

“You want it to be more of a diverse, worldwide sport, not just, you know, focused on a few countries here and there.

"I think curling has got a lot of running room left, especially if you can get some other countries, parts of the world to keep playing and to improve where they have good chances to win.

“You definitely like to see it improve and you know that that can only help curling in the long run, right?”

Certainly, the landscape of international curling is changing. Canada seems to be loosening its iron-grip on the rocks as evidenced by the results of the last Games in South Korea,

“The world is catching up, you know?” Koe said candidly.

“Would I say it's a huge number of teams? Maybe not. I think, you know, some countries kind of put all their resources into specific teams and you know, it's working for them.

“Like I couldn't tell you another team other than Niklas's team from Sweden, right? I wouldn't even know a name for you, so obviously them teams like [Scotland's] Mouat, Switzerland's good, they all have vastly improved.”

He believes the mixed-gender event being introduced at PyeongChang 2018 is a positive.

"It's exciting to see where curling is headed. Mixed doubles wasn't even a sport back then, not even close, and [now] it's in the Olympics.

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However, though more international teams are ready and willing to do battle with Canada for a chance to claim their own piece of the sport’s silverware, Koe remains confident in his country’s prospects at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics:

“I think everyone in Canada's eyes have been opened… [but] whoever we send is going to be a favourite for a medal in my eyes.”

The curling competition at Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games will run from February 2 to February 20, 2022. Find the schedule for the competition here.