Curling Canada | Award winners!

Inductee of Hall of Fame, honoree honored by Curling Canada

A new member will be inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame, Curling Canada announced today.

In addition, the winners of the Curling Canada Awards have been confirmed and will be honored at events later in the season.

Additional announcements of new inductees into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame and honorees will be made later in the season.

The Canadian Curling Hall of Fame will posthumously welcome an inductee – Lino Di Iorio as Builder.

Meanwhile, the Ray Kingsmith Award for his dedication to curling goes to Ken Thompson; the Curling Canada Award of Achievement presented to Scott Higgins; the 2021-22 Volunteer of the Year Award goes to Jeff Northey; and the Board of Governors Special Recognition Award is presented to Dr. Presented to Robert McCormack.

Here’s a look at each honoree:

hall of fame

Lino Di Iorio (master builder)

(Aurora, Ontario)

Di Iorio, who passed away on January 13, was an innovator who applied his inventor’s spirit to the sport of curling when he began the sport in his mid-40s.

His desire to design a better curling shoe that helps curlers slide easier and offers more stability led to the development of a slider in 1995, which formed the basis for the 1996 creation of BalancePlus Curling Equipment, one of the world’s leading curling manufacturers and retailers.

Collaboration with his wife and partner Lynne, as well as Scott Taylor, Di Iorio and BalancePlus would grow beyond sliders and start looking for ways to improve the technical aspects of the sport in terms of delivery lines, lag and trigger points.

But in the end it was always about Di Iorio’s goal to make curling easier and more enjoyable for everyone and of course for himself.

His innovations to improve himself (and many others over the years) included:

• A remote video recording system that allowed him to unaided check his delivery line on all areas of the arc. This led to better delivery techniques.
• Rock matching equipment that can be used to throw a whole set of rocks at once to reduce the negative results from mismatched rocks and can also be used to compare sweeping techniques.
• Using Doppler radars to measure the delay of curling devices. Subsequent adjustments to equipment allowed members of a team to have similar glide speeds during their delivery.
• Automatic sensors that measured delivery velocities and initial rock velocities.

Di Iorio was also heavily involved in coaching and worked in different countries in Europe.

Balance todayPlus Logo can be found on clothing, broomsticks, broom heads and of course their shoes. And it all goes back to a new curler, Lino Di Iorio, who’s looking for a better way to curl.

Board of Governors Special Recognition Award

The Board of Governors’ Special Recognition Award is presented to an individual or organization whose unique contribution(s) or achievement(s) significantly impacts the sport of curling in Canada.

dr Robert McCormack

(Vancouver)

dr Robert McCormack – commonly known as Dr. Bob – has worked with Canadian curlers for years in his role as Chief Medical Officer for the Canadian Olympic Committee from 2005-2019.

In the summer of 2020, he assumed a major role in the Canadian curling community when he was involved in the planning and eventual successful execution of the Calgary Curling Bubble, which safely and responsibly hosted seven major championship events over a three month period.

dr Bob designed the medical protocols that resulted in no positive tests for hair curlers and staff inside the bladder. Its protocols, created in consultation with other subject matter experts in the field of prevention, became the gold standard for other sporting events, and Curling Canada was the only NSO to successfully hold amateur sporting championships during the pandemic.

In addition to his responsibilities at Curling Canada, Dr. Bob Medical Director of the BC Lions and a member of the CFL Medical Committee since 2011. He is Professor of Medicine in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of British Columbia, where he serves as Chief Medical Officer for the British Columbia Hockey League and Medical Director for the Canadian Premier Soccer League.

Achievement Award

The Curling Canada’s Award of Achievement is presented annuallyS Individuals who have made a significant contribution to curling in one of the four areas – builder, technical development (instructor, trainer, official, ice technician), marketing and media.

Scott Higgins

(Toronto)

Since joining TSN 34 years ago, Scott Higgins has been around the world behind the scenes as an integral part of the broadcast team. But it is his work as senior producer, live events at curling events over the last 20 years that has consistently raised the bar of excellence and has provided thousands of hours of entertainment to curling fans across Canada.

Higgins’ passion for curling and its people comes through loud and clear on TSN broadcasts. He oversees all content and presentation of TSN’s curling coverage while leading the network’s talented group of storytellers. His goal has always been to ensure that each show strikes the right balance of analysis and entertainment for the viewer at home.

His first major Canadian championship event was the 2003 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Kitchener, and since then he’s been at almost every Season of Champions, working in Dome Productions’ trusted mobile truck and orchestrating the show, which not only tells the stories of the games, but the curlers themselves.

Among its many highlights, the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier at St. John’s stands out thanks to the storytelling of the TSN announcers, production and technical group combined with the dramatic and emotional ending that saw Team Brad Gushue finally win his first Canadian men’s title at home won ice cream.

Curling Canada Volunteer of the Year

The Curling Canada Volunteer of the Year Award is based on the nominee’s contributions from the previous curling season in any number of areas.

Jeff Northey

(Forestburg, Alta.)

For four decades, Jeff Northey has been a member of the Forestburg Curling Club, a three-hour drive northeast of Calgary.

And when it comes to giving back to the sport of curling, and his home club in particular, Northey has earned the respect and admiration of his peers for his volunteer efforts on and off the ice.

His latest projects took place in the 2021-22 season. Projects he oversaw and worked on included the installation of a new cement ice floor for the three-tier ice rink, remodeling of sidewalks, and the installation of insulation, a vapor barrier, pipes, and rebar for the cement floor.

In addition, he was project manager for the installation of a new ice plant when the old plant failed in January 2022. He oversaw and worked with contractors and volunteers on site, contributing more than 450 hours of his time to the project.

It is estimated that his volunteer work has saved the club approximately $50,000.

“Our facility is now modern, stylish, welcoming and energy efficient,” wrote Ken Bullock, President of Forestburg Curling Club, in Northey’s nominations package. “We’ve seen a 15% increase in our curling memberships. The community can see the positive energy and amazing results that Jeff and other volunteers have achieved in keeping our club vibrant and viable for years to come.”

The other nominated finalists were as follows:

• Martin Forster-Sands (Ontario)

• Jean Garbolinksy (Manitoba)

• Cathy Jones (British Columbia)

• Charlene Morin (Manitoba)

• Dustin Rohr (Ontario)

• Gary Smith (Ontario)

• Ken Stevens (Manitoba)

Ray Kingsmith Prize

The Ray Kingsmith Award is named after the man who played a leading role in bringing curling into the Winter Olympics family. He has been a tireless volunteer in administrative and management roles in the sport of curling. The award honors individuals who have best demonstrated a similar commitment and dedication to our sport that has made Kingsmith the consummate sport manager.

Ken Thompson

(Kingston, Ontario)

Ken Thompson has spent countless hours working behind the scenes of successful major Ontario curling events and it all began in 1974 at the Brier in London, Ontario where he volunteered as a driver for visiting media.

He has since served as Chairman or Vice-Chairman of four Canadian curling championships – the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier in Kingston, the 2017 Canadian Curling Club Championships in Kingston, the 2013 Scotties Tournament of Hearts and the 1991 Brier in Hamilton.

He has also been active at the local level, serving as a board member, past curling chairman and president of the Cataraqui Golf and Country Club in Kingston.

Thompson also showcased his journalism skills as a columnist and co-owner of the Ontario Curling Report for 38 years.