Curler calls for a mandatory head protection after suffering a concussion
Updated: May 2, 2021
Coaches and players have mixed feelings about requiring safety equipment
Jen Templeton still suffers long-term effects from her concussion at the Remax Centre in St. John’s, in 2011.
The recreational curler was finishing the last end of the game. Her coaches and teammates were pushing the 19 kg rocks to the side of the arena. Templeton slipped and fell face-first into the rock, causing her to blackout.
"Even though curling is a fairly easy sport, you can obviously do a lot of damage to yourself … I shocked everybody. I knocked myself cold on the ice. It all happened so fast, I made no attempt to stop myself from falling … I was out cold for five to 10 minutes."
As she was put on a stretcher and sent to the hospital, the doctor said her cheekbones and left arm were broken. She didn't know she had a concussion until days later.
"I went to the supermarket and got half of my groceries. Then I realized I was really dizzy, and I thought, 'this is awful.' And that's when it hit me that I probably had a concussion. I couldn't concentrate on reading a book, I couldn't watch TV, I just felt really weird for quite a few months … I was lucky I didn't knock all my teeth out."
Now living in Montreal, she says all curlers should be required to wear helmets, regardless of age, to avoid severe head injuries like hers.
She says her curling shoes might have caused her to fall. In curling, athletes wear specific shoes, one is a slider shoe while the other is a gripper, stopping the person from sliding on the ice.
Over time, the rubber wears down, causing the curler to have less balance on the ice. Curler Joanne Courtney recommends changing the gripper every season.
"I've been wearing those shoes for many, many years and I never thought about the gripper not holding anymore," says Templeton.
Templeton is not the only person to hurt herself while curling. Five years ago, Olympic champion Brad Gushue smashed his head during the Grand Slam of Curling. He finished the game, but the injury was so severe, he spent 14 months recovering.
Since his fall, there has been more talk about protective gear in the sport.
According to a 2012 study by the Public Health Agency of Canada, 92 per cent of curling injuries result from a fall, and 31 per cent were head impacts.
Just only eight per cent of those surveyed for the report support mandatory helmet gear.
The study focused on two hospitals in Kingston who participate in the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program, a national injury surveillance database for curling injuries reported between 1993 and 2011.
223 curlers were found to be injured. Acute injuries were seen in 208 athletes, as opposed to chronic injuries. These aged 50 and older had more injuries than any other age group.
Danny Lamoureux, Curling Canada’s director of club development and event operations, says it’s important for people to wear helmets to be safe.
In 2019, he created the concussion policy and code of conduct, a form all curlers must sign to acknowledge the injury risks and how to seek proper medical care.
"We've got a big push on to wear helmets … specifically older people, younger people,” he said.
Curling Canada requires all players under the age of 12 must wear a helmet. This was adopted after Rowan's Law took effect in the summer of 2019.
"It used to be taboo, 'oh look at them, they're wearing a helmet, they're funny.' It's not anymore. Nobody laughs at people out on the curling ice wearing a helmet," said Lamoureux. "I don't want them to be uncomfortable at the curling rink. I want them to come and have fun and smile and laugh, get exercise, while feeling safe. That's why the big push is on."
Although Curling Canada has seen immense growth of protective gear, they can't mandate headgear in adults because each club is independent. They do, however, strongly recommend players wear safety equipment.
University of Alberta varsity athlete Megan Chambers says her life changed dramatically in 2012, when she was concussed during the Superleague.
She was on the ice, sweeping, when she lost her balance. She rolled forward and bashed her head on the ice, losing consciousness. Chambers came to with a broken nose and was taken off the ice.
Despite the accident, Chambers still doesn’t believe helmets should be mandatory.
"I love curling. It sounds ridiculous because I've hurt myself so many times doing it. But honestly, they're more like freak accidents than anything."
Chambers spent six months in physiotherapy after the fall and, like Templeton, still feels the effects of the concussion. Templeton has no memory loss, but her nose goes numb occasionally, and Chambers can only stand for short periods of time.
"I've lost a lot of long-term recall … It's kind of weird, I get concussed very easily now."
Physiotherapist and curler Robert Heimbach works at Sun City Physiotherapy in Kelowna and helps athletes get back on their feet after an injury.
Heimbach says convincing adult curlers to wear mandatory helmets would be challenging. However, he says helmets should be required for children and young curlers.
At his work, he discusses how curlers can prevent injuries in three ways: wearing proper equipment, warm-up exercises before practice, and having a qualified coach look at the athlete’s skills to ensure proper techniques.
Sun City is currently in the process of becoming a Complete Concussion Management certified clinic. The program focuses on using app-based technology to communicate with all those involved to get an athlete back into play safely. This includes the athlete’s coaches, teachers, doctors and parents.
Outside the clinic, Heimbach and his co-workers' volunteer as trainers for hockey, baseball and other sports to spot potential concussions and ensure speedy treatment quickly.
“After a concussion has been diagnosed, our role includes providing education about rest and how to safely and gradually return to activity. This process is different for each athlete as it can involve gradual exposure to physical, environmental or cognitive stimuli,” Heimbach said.
“Mandatory helmet use is appropriate for beginner and young curlers. I think mandatory helmet use would be a very tough sell to more experienced curlers because the incidence of head injury in curling is much lower than other helmet mandatory sports like hockey or football.”
Physiotherapist Brittany Morgan however, says senior curlers over the age of 60 should consider wearing a helmet.
Morgan works at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary, and sees a fair amount of athletes with injuries. Not many are curlers.
"I've seen maybe two out of the past 10 years," says Morgan.
She says a concussion is often "passed off as something else, especially in older people. If they have fallen and hit their head, they should probably go to a doctor one way or another. Slow bleeds can show up later on,” she said and need to be caught as early as possible.
"Our brain is what runs everything so make sure that you take care of it if you do injure it, so it will heal. Brains are amazing in what they can do and heal from."
Andy Jones, the former master coach developer for Curling Canada, says the worst accidents he's seen is with older curlers.
"There was even a death at one club in the city. Many seniors have taken to wearing head protection. There are some stylish choices that look like regular hats. As I get older, I understand how balance deteriorates."
Jones was talking about Barbara Weber, who died at 72, a week after hitting her head in the curling arena.
Jones says newcomers are also at risk. Before the pandemic, he was training the U18 girls’ team in Calgary.
"When teaching curling to newbies, we always stress safety first. The two types of newbies who typically fall are the very timid ones who lock up their muscles and joints, and the ones who are over-confident. Those are the two groups I keep an eye on."
Team B.C. curler Stephanie Baier said her life changed when she was concussed at the Osoyoos curling summer camp in 2007.
She was only 20 years old at the time, but her concussion didn’t scare her away from the rink.
"I was kind of horsing around a little bit with my boyfriend. It was at a summer camp and I was an instructor. Me and my boyfriend were at different ends of the rink and we had music playing on the CD player. His favourite song and my least favourite song was playing [and so] we both sprinted for the CD player. I was sliding down the ice. Somehow, my foot came out from under me, and I landed on the top of my hip and I slingshotted my head back and it hit the ice and I was out like a light, it was awful."
Because Osoyoos is the hottest place in B.C., Baier was playing in a tank top and curling pants.
"When I woke up, I thought I was on fire because the backs of my arms were melted into the ice. But because it was so cold, it felt hot."
Since Osoyoos is a small town, Baier went to the walk-in clinic. The doctor told her she had a severe concussion and to rest at home.
14 years later, she still suffers from the long-term effects of her injury.
While Baier says helmets shouldn’t be mandatory for professional play, they should be.
“Helmets should not be required for curlers. The falls happen so infrequently. I only know literally a handful of people that have had these types of falls,” she said. “New players should definitely wear it. Curling now is becoming like you can go down to the rink as if it's a bowling alley and rent the gear and go out and just try it.”
Baier says she wishes it was more normalized for people who want to wear equipment.
“It is scary when people fall and I wish it was more socially acceptable for the middle group to wear some sort of protective gear,” she said. “I would say they feel embarrassed.”
The middle group she refers to is children, people who have pre-existing injuries and seniors over the age of 60.
She says it’s rare to see people wear helmets on the ice, which might be the reason why curlers feel embarrassed to do so. “Unless that person has fallen before, they’re most likely not to wear gear.”
She says clubs have various ice conditions, from sticky to super slippery. Even professional curlers can't be sure what the ice may be like.
Although helmets aren’t mandatory for adults in curling, Templeton hopes there will be a change in the future.
“It just shows it can happen to anybody,” says Baier.
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