Calgary’s championship curling success built by community

For anyone walking through the door of the WinSport Event Centre in Calgary to attend the BKT World Women’s Curling Championship 2026, everything seemed to be running itself.

For athletes, coaches, officials, family, friends and supporters alike, the experience was nearly always straightforward and welcoming. But behind this slick operation, a lot of hard work, experience and community involvement have played a role to make things happen.

Two of the key people involved are Britney Andersen and Michael Heeb, event vice-chairs, and they took some time out to reflect on what made their event such a success.

Britney Andersen and Michael Heeb at WinSport Event Centre © World Curling / Anil Mungal

Experienced volunteer network

Altogether some 375 volunteers helped deliver the championship and, as Britney explained, many of them have done it before.

She said, “We’re very fortunate because a lot of that 375 are repeat volunteers. So, it makes a huge difference for us as the vice chairs, because there’s a comfort level and there’s understanding: people know the building, they know a lot of the athletes, they know a lot of the coaches, they know what the media is looking for.”

One more benefit of having an experienced cohort of volunteers is that they are relatively easy to recruit.

Britney added, “Because we’ve been fortunate to have so many events here in the past, we’ve started a little bit of a volunteer database, and it has grown a lot.

“The word also spreads around that events are coming here — it really helped this year. We also have call-outs through the internet, through social media.”

Curling at the BKT World Women’s 2026 © World Curling / Anil Mungal

Collaboration at the core of success

Michael turned his attention to another key element in Calgary’s success: their key partnership with local agency Tourism Calgary.

He said, “Well, first and foremost, they’re the ones who secured the event. So, without them, the event doesn’t happen. After that, it’s just their leadership and support when we need it. There’s a lot of parties involved in putting this on — World Curling, Curling Canada, and other agencies and sponsors. We’re fortunate that Tourism Calgary has good relationships with most of those bodies.”

Tourism Calgary are an important partner of the event © World Curling / Stephen Fisher

Clearly, for the nine days of competition, the BKT World Women’s is the centre of global attention in the curling world, but the championship had a major impact in the local community too.

Britney confirmed that, saying, “I think it’s huge, just knowing that we are a community organisation from the ground up, especially through our volunteers.”

Michael added, “It’s that feeling of going to a curling club within the Calgary area and they all knew about the worlds, or they had someone directly involved.”

The championship is playing a broader role for the Calgary community too, as Britney explained, “Calgary is growing capacity as an event host city. We have the opportunity of hosting a lot of different events. We’ve had the Special Olympics come through, and we’ve had a lot of curling events, but it goes into other sports too.”

Fans cheer on from the stands © World Curling / Anil Mungal

Inspiring the next curling generation

In hard cash terms, the economic benefits that accrue from major events can be huge and more than justify the investment put in. But there is also a major community dividend too.

The championship has also benefitted from coming hard on the heels of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

“Yes, we’ve reached over 1500 people interested in curling. It’s very simple to say, well, you saw the Olympics on TV, now try curling here,” said Britney.

The Calgary committee also organised visits to the championship by over 700 local schoolchildren, giving them great exposure to the sport.

Michael said, “I think that — in combination with Curling Canada’s Future Stars programme — is fantastic. These kids get an opportunity to see it at international level.”

So, how will Britney and Michael measure personal success?

Britney said, “It’s just being here and enjoying my day coming in every single day and being happy and being proud of what this is. I want to yell it from the rooftop and say, ‘this is what we’ve accomplished’ — I’ll keep that memory forever.”

Michael added, “Now the event has started, I spend time talking to customers who are coming through the door, and volunteers. The feedback I get from them is fantastic. So, for me, that’s the gauge for the level of success of the event, based on the interactions.”