Fire and Ice: New curling exec Sulsky makes early impression on Slam circuit

The Curling Group CEO Nic Sulsky is shown in a handout photo. One thing was clear at the recent season-opening Grand Slam of Curling event. The circuit's new ownership group would not be afraid to make big changes and the face of the enterprise - Sulsky - was definitely not your traditional curling executive. (The Curling Group)

Change is in the air on the Grand Slam of Curling series, and The Curling Group CEO Nic Sulsky is leading the charge as the face of the circuit's new ownership group.

Early returns are in after the season-opening HearingLife Tour Challenge and one thing is clear: this is not your parent's curling scene anymore.

"The sport needs a promoter," Sulsky said. "The sport needs somebody to help tell stories and help drive energy and ultimately that's part of my job. So yeah, go with it man. I'm going to Dana White this (thing)."

Sulsky, who capped his quote with an F-bomb and a laugh, referenced the UFC head honcho, a sometimes brash, tell-it-like-it-is CEO who's definitely not your traditional sports executive.

Mixed martial arts and curling couldn't be more opposite. The former is a primitive, violent exhibition of fighters battling in a cage while the latter is a polite competition described as chess on ice.

But the folksy world of curling can learn from the UFC's playbook. The MMA giant has become a powerhouse by creating a product that ticks many boxes for today's sports fan.

And that's where the Roaring Game is way behind.

Sulsky and his team want to change that and they took some big swings in Charlottetown. They introduced a new GSOC website, app, podcast, and perhaps the biggest change of all: they provided live streaming of all games.

"Candidly, we were a lot of talk over the last six months," Sulsky said in a recent interview. "We delivered. I think for the first time in a long time, curlers heard a new group come in with these big ideas and what we said (we'd do) actually happened."

Sulsky, 49, got a taste of the curling experience while serving as chief commercial officer of PointsBet Canada, which became Curling Canada's sports betting partner in 2021.

He was involved in the PointsBet Invitational competition and was on hand at the national men's curling championship in 2023 in London, Ont. The Brier experience -- with the fanbase, tradition, athletes, and the Patch party barn -- really got him thinking about the sport's potential.

"He believes in the players and the brand and the opportunity," said longtime curler Brent Laing. "He's just full of passion."

Sulsky went all-in last April when The Curling Group -- which includes two-time Olympic champion John Morris, Rumble Gaming co-founder Mike Cotton and former NFL player Jared Allen -- bought the series from Sportsnet.

"Will some traditional fans not embrace everything we do? Sure. But ultimately you've got to break a couple eggs to make an omelette," Sulsky said. "So hopefully they'll love most of the things that we're doing and I think they do.

"If they don't like the odd F-bomb, well I'm sorry. I hope they accept my apology because there will be more of them."

There were some hits and misses at the Oct. 1-6 bonspiel at the Bell Aliant Centre.

Despite some early hiccups, HomeTeam Live provided free streaming of all non-televised games (Sportsnet still serves as host broadcaster). It was a big change from previous seasons when there was no coverage at all until the third day of competition.

The website's scores, standings and draws section were somewhat difficult to navigate and could use improvements to make them more user-friendly.

However, commentary was available for select streaming matchups and viewers had a 'full house experience' to watch multiple games at the same time. Attendance improved and merchandising options got an overhaul.

Sulsky said there were many learnings but added the first event "exceeded every expectation."

"We pushed a lot of change, we got a lot of feedback, the majority of that feedback is pretty positive," he said.

The traditionally staid Grand Slam in-venue experience also got a jolt with a livelier post-game setting at the Apres Curl music/bar area.

Sulsky raised a few eyebrows one evening by capping a karaoke performance in front of players, fans and sponsors by extending his middle fingers, dropping an F-bomb and declaring that he "owns this thing."

He described it as a light, "very playful" interaction because he's not a good singer and "wanted to help get the energy up."

"If somebody is having a beer at the Grand Slam of Karaoke and somebody happens to throw out a couple F-bombs, I don't think they should be all that surprised," he said. "Now, will some traditional curling fans not love 100 per cent of what we're doing? Maybe. But now for the first time ever those hardcore traditional curling fans can now watch every (game).

"Now these hardcore curling fans I hope share the same goal that I share, which is to finally get to a day where curlers don't have to have second jobs to put money on their table. I believe these are the types of things that are going to help broaden the overall audience of curling, bring the demographic down a little bit, which is a massive positive for the sport."

Mike Naraine, an associate sport management professor at Brock University, said the time is right for the sport to spice things up with a hard reset, since the demographic is aging and ratings/attendance have sagged of late.

"I think this is an important inflection moment for curling," Naraine said. "It could either go really great or it could go really bad, really quick."

Streamed games drew 566,200 total views for the six days, a spokesperson for The Curling Group said. Sportsnet said television ratings were unavailable.

"Every Slam is going to get better," Sulsky said. "We're excited and we couldn't have hoped for a better foundation to grow from."

The next stop on the circuit is the Nov. 5-10 Co-op Canadian Open in Nisku, Alta.

   This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.