GLOBAL INITIATIVE FOR DEI WORKS TO CREATE PROGRAMMATIC CHANGE
This year at the 2021 U.S. Mixed Doubles National Championship, Monica Walker and her teammate, Alex Leichter, played with “Black Curl Magic” brooms. The broom, produced by Goldline and designed by American curler Debra Martin is part of the #UnitedWeCurl initiative. Proceeds from the sale of the broom support a program that encourages BIPOC involvement in curling.
National Team Athlete Monica Walker has been utilizing her voice and expertise to create change in the curling community. An advocate for marginalized groups, Walker’s passion for creating dialogue, elevating voices, and changing the face of curling has inspired many across the globe.
“I made a connection with Sara Carlsson in Sweden and we started talking about how this is the time to make change,” said Walker. “We both know curling really well and thought our sport would be a great place start.”
It was from this meeting of the minds that the Global Initiative for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in Curling was born. The Initiative focuses on improving the sport by drawing upon resources and providing educational webinars to spark discussions and support programmatic change.
“So far, it’s been an amazing journey,” said Walker. “We have a couple webinars every month to try to raise awareness, create conversation and dialogue, and bring people together to create change in our sport.”
Though race has been a primary topic of the Initiative, the conversations include so much more.
“We just had a really successful LGBTQIA+ panel,” said Walker. “John Shuster was on that panel as an ally for the community and it was so great to have him come on and share his experiences from the past year and what he’s learned.”
Bringing people together under the umbrella of curling is at the heart of the Initiative. As outlined on the Initiative’s Facebook page, participants come from all over the world, including curling-developed countries to emerging curling nations and everywhere in between.
“People have reached out to us to get involved,” said Walker. “We want to talk about it, hear stories, and make change.”
The Global Initiative for DEI in Curling is a grassroots initiative that can be found on social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) and offers additional content and educational opportunities via their newsletter and YouTube Channel.
“This is something I’m very passionate about,” said Walker.
A passion that will continue to spark conversations, increase awareness, and provoke positive programmatic change in the sport of curling.
USA Curling is sponsored by Toyota, Goldline, Twin Cities Orthopedics, Training HAUS, Brakebush, ISS (Ice, Sports & Solar), and Sitrin, and is partnered with IHG, Rock Solid Productions Inc., 12th End Sports Network, Laurie Artiss Ltd. – The Pin People, and United Airlines.