We are very proud of our Calgary Curling Bubble which enabled world class curling championships to continue during COVID-19.

Over the past year, professional sports has attempted to use pandemic “isolation bubbles” to maintain their schedules. Our Calgary curling bubble is the latest iteration.

Curling is a popular winter team sport in many countries. If you live in Canada or northern United States, or many countries in Europe, you probably know all about curing. Four men or women with brooms throw stones along a sheet of ice towards a bullseye target. Sweeping the ice effects the stone’s travel.

Hilda and I have curled. She is better than me, and even won some trophies in the past. A lot of Canadian couples do some recreational curling during the winter, just for fun. And I will say it’s a lot harder than it looks.

Calgary stepped up with a world-class curling arena and two hotels to create the Calgary Curling Bubble. Basically, teams and broadcasters get locked into the bubble for the duration of a tournament. No fans, though. Canadian and world curling championships have been running since February and will continue through May.

We are watching the Men’s World Curling Championship this weekend, with more to come. So far, our bubble has been a success. Fingers crossed. Check us out on your local cable sports channel.

Calgary Curling Bubble Process

All participants are required to isolate and be tested before entering the bubble zone. We see continuous testing during the tournament, including exit testing. Our bubble is divided into color coded zones to control mingling, but basically once your team enters you have a fair amount of freedom.

Most teams have abandoned the traditional handshakes in favor of knuckles. No masks, though. Our teams play each other on the ice, but don’t otherwise intermingle. You can read the rules here.

Players and broadcasters are shuttled between hotels and the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park.