Boricuas with brooms: The debut of the Puerto Rican curling team

John Shuster’s eighth-end spectacular at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games sent ripples through the curling world, far beyond what he would have expected.

The United States won the Olympic gold medal for the first time in curling history, sending its citizens into a frenzy nationwide. While many predicted an American surge in the following years, Shuster inspired others.

In San Francisco, Jose Sepulveda watched from his television, ignoring the dismissal of curling felt around him at the time. He hadn’t long unbanned himself from watching the Games, long being disillusioned with sport after his sporting dreams had not came to fruition.

“I wanted to be an Olympian, I wanted to represent Puerto Rico and that began when I was watching the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984,” said Sepulveda.

“I tried to do that in gymnastics, but I began too late and I refused to accept it.

“My dream died and I was frustrated, bitter and sad.

“I didn’t even want to watch the Olympic Games until my wife told me ‘you need to get over it’.”

The search for a team

A eureka moment led the audio video engineer on a search for a Puerto Rican curling team. There were nearly six million to choose from in the states, with another three million on the island often regarded as the unofficial 51st state. He was buoyed by San Francisco’s multi-cultural curling scene — which played a part in the creation of the Mexican national team — and sent emails out. With no replies, he was ready to quit the sport as the COVID-19 pandemic shut facilities down and froze his dream.

“I said I’m going to send emails to Puerto Ricans once again and if no reply I was going to quit again,” he said.

“Then Dean Roth found the email.”

Although Roth was not a fellow Boricua, he was even better than that. The New Jersey resident is seen as a golden ticket for developing new nations in the sport, supporting the likes of Kenya and Ukraine. Not only was he interested in supporting the team, he knew some eligible players.

“Dean reached out to the New York clubs where Rachel Conley plays,” said Miguel Gutierrez, Conley’s partner.

“She is half Puerto Rican and we messaged back to say she could play and I can help out as coach.”

Gutierrez, who is Filipino, supported Roth during his endeavours with Kenya’s team and has since worked with the Philippines set-up. Finding the rest of the team for the upcoming World Mixed Curling Championship would be no issue, with nearly a fifth of all Puerto Rican Americans living in the New York City metropolitan area. Conley and Sepulveda — who became the Puerto Rican Curling Federation President — were joined by Jonathan Vargas, the team’s skip, and Che Smith.

Sepulveda emigrated to the United States from the island when he was 27, while the rest have Puerto Rican heritage. Conley’s grandfather was famous Bolero singer Johnny Albino, who played in the famous groups Trio San Juan and later Trio Los Planchos.

Puerto Rico’s status as an American territory has always created a separation from the US, with great pride from those born on the island or those who can trace their lineage back there. Considering the team is new, it is a great feat that there are 15 registered curlers and teams heading to the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship and Pan-Continental Curling Championships, showing the passion the island’s people have to represent their country. To Gutierrez, that is the most important part of this experience.

Team Puerto Rico in Aberdeen © Team Puerto Rico

“I try to make sure that they don’t put too much of an expectation on themselves,” said the coach, who has been regimented in creating an air of professionalism in the rink.

“They’re here to represent themselves and their country – that is more than just wins and losses.

“That means, you know, upholding the etiquette of curling.

“Everyone wants to win, but I want to make sure that they accomplish the simplest of feats first.

“Just getting on the ice is important, making sure that we have the right uniforms at all times is important, making sure we play a full game and not run out of the clock.

“It feels like people end up skipping a step, when in order to win or just to complete the game, you still need to complete many other steps.”

Another factor is the mental endurance of the team. Their competition generally has involved bonspiels across the east coast of the US. Smith may have the physical side down having recently completed an ultra marathon, while Conley plays softball and Vargas plays pickleball, but the longevity of a major competition is untested so far. Time management simulation has been tested at bonspiels playing with an imaginary shot clock.

“Just because we’re practising doesn’t mean we can’t take variables that we need to apply to these types of international tournaments,” said Gutierrez.

“Trying to scale that up to a full week competition is a little hard given our schedules, they’re all working professionals.”

While Sepulveda has no interest in returning to Puerto Rico permanently — finding San Francisco to be his home now — he returns every year, praising the warm beaches, the old town of San Juan, music, festivities, and most of all, the people. He even suggests that it’s a “contradiction” that he would leave his home island while also wanting to represent his birthplace.

But above all, Sepulveda is a dreamer. He speaks of his ambition to move to the United States to study film making, his commitment to flying across the continental US for competitions with the team and his defiant attitude towards becoming an Olympian against the odds. “No puedes” is not in his dictionary.

Puerto Rico at the Olympic Games may be a mountainous task for 2026, but it’s the hope that keeps Sepulveda so motivated, 40 years on from first finding that inspiration as a teenager.

Written by: World Curling journalist Michael Houston

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