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Full-time athletes: The unseen grind of Team GB curlers
Great Britain's curling teams follow a grueling 12-month training schedule, blending ice sessions, gym work, and tactical preparation to stay ahead in the sport's global arms race. Despite their Olympic success, most still balance financial pressures outside the rink.
The Olympic spark and lingering stereotypes
Twenty-four years after Rhona Martin's iconic "Stone of Destiny" secured Britain's first Winter Olympic gold in 18 years, curling remains a sport shrouded in misconceptions. The 2002 victory-dismissed at the time as a fluke by "Scottish housewives"-briefly captivated the UK every four years but left little public awareness of the athletes' year-round dedication.
A 44-week-a-year commitment
From July to April, Team GB's curlers report to the National Curling Academy in Stirling by 08:00 daily, logging two two-hour ice sessions and a gym workout. Strength training-including Olympic lifts like cleans, snatches, and squats-dominates three weekly sessions, while conditioning (ski machines, rowers, assault bikes) fills the other two. Most athletes add weekend workouts to maintain peak form.
"The numbers we put up, I don't think people would expect them,"
Bobby Lammie, Team GB men's lead
Lammie and teammate Hammy McMillan are credited with redefining the physical demands of sweeping, a role now requiring elite athleticism. Women's skip Rebecca Morrison highlights the sport's hidden challenges: "You need a lot of core strength just to stay upright on the ice."
Beyond the ice: A mental and tactical marathon
Training extends to strategy sessions, sports psychology, nutrition planning, and physiotherapy. Even during the "off-season" in May and June, athletes maintain morning strength routines, squeezing in a two-week holiday before resuming full-time preparation. Olympic gold medalist Vicky Wright, now a BBC pundit, notes the relentless pace: "You're curling 44 weeks a year-there's no real break."
The financial reality of elite curling
UK Sport funds curlers through tiered Athlete Performance Awards (APAs), but earnings remain modest. Wright, during her Beijing Olympic cycle, worked part-time as a nurse to afford a mortgage. While current athletes avoid side jobs, some supplement incomes through coaching, family businesses, or sponsorships. Prize money from events like the Grand Slam Tour caps at £40,000 per team, and commercial deals are rare.
Bruce Mouat's men's team-a silver medalist in 2022 and reigning world champion-stands as an exception. Their success has attracted corporate partners and speaking engagements, from LGBTQ+ advocacy to STEM education. Yet even they "aren't making a fortune," according to a team insider.
Cortina 2026: A rare spotlight
The Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina (6-22 February) offer Team GB's 10 Scottish curlers a fleeting moment in the public eye. For three weeks, their sport will dominate headlines before fading into the background-until the next Games force a reckoning with curling's dual identity: a part-time curiosity for fans, a full-time obsession for its athletes.
