Hurry Hard, Comrade

So it was in the news yesterday that Jason Gunnlaugson, a Manitoba curler who managed to qualify for the Canadian Olympic Trials last year, is going to be curling for Russia for the next four years.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/curling/curling-for-the-kremlin-92393409.html

The initial knee-jerk reaction is Gunnlaugson is deserting his country to compete for Russia in the 2014 Olympics, that he's a deserter. And while I was surprised to hear of his decision to curl for Russia (since the Manitoba curling scene is starting to open up for the younger teams with Burtnyk retiring from competitive curling and Stoughton getting up there in age), I can't say I blame him.

Firstly, he will be a funded athlete, meaning that he will truly be a professional curler. He will be getting paid to do what he does best. This is a guy who play on-line poker to support himself while curling because of the flexible hours needed to dedicate yourself to the sport. No more hunting for sponsorships, he will be a paid curler.

Second, he will be living in Russia for 2 months out of the year, an adventure he is looking forward to. Getting to experience another culture on the host country's dime is something a lot of people would love to do. He'll still spend most of his time in Canada, especially since most of the World Curling Tour events are in Canada. The report said he'd curl about 2/3 of the times in Canada and 1/3 in Europe. So not only will he get to see Russia, but other parts of Europe as well.

Third, he wants to get international experience; do you know how hard that is to do in Canada? Canada has such a strong field of curlers it is almost impossible to get to the international level. Look at Kevin Koe this year; he's never been able to curl for his country because Kevin Martin and Randy Ferby live in the same province as him. With Martin curling at the Olympics, Koe was able to attend his first Brier, win that, and then go on to become world champion! A guy who never made it to the Canadian play-downs beat the rest of the world! If that doesn't show the depth of Canadian curling, nothing will.

By playing for Russia, Gunnlaugson automatically becomes top dog and will be able to get that international experience. He will also be helping to grow the sport in Russia, which is a good thing.

It shows though that maybe Curl Canada has to look at the way things are done in Canada; a promising young curler defects to another country because he has the chance to become a professional athlete, not one who also has to hold down a day job. This certainly isn't the first time something like this has happened, but I think it is a first for curling. Hopefully it doesn't become a trend, but if I was Gunnlaugson, I can say I certainly would have been tempted by the opportunity.