| Nolan Thiessen | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 6, 1980 |
Curling career  | |
| Brier appearances | 5 (2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016) |
| World Championship appearances | 3 (2010, 2014, 2015) |
| Top CTRS ranking | 2nd (2013–14) |
| Grand Slam victories | 2 (Masters, 2012; Canadian Open: 2013) |
Medal record | |
Nolan Thiessen (born November 6, 1980, in Pilot Mound, Manitoba) is a Canadian retired curler and sports executive. He is currently the CEO of Curling Canada.
Thiessen, in his debut at Canadian Juniors, lost the final of the 2001 Canadian Junior Curling Championships playing lead for Mike McEwen. Thiessen was a member of the 2003 Winter Universiade championship team. He represented Brandon University, playing lead for Mike McEwen. After university, he played lead for Sean Grassie before moving to play in Alberta as Mark Johnson's lead in 2004. In 2006, he moved to play for Kevin Koe. Thiessen won the 2008 Canada Cup of Curling with the team, and qualified for his first Brier in 2010 as Team Alberta. The team won the Brier after beating Ontario's Glenn Howard 6-5 in the final. They went on to win at that year's world championship, securing the gold medal after a win over Norway, skipped by Torger Nergård. After Pat Simmons signed on with the team, they went to their second Brier in 2012, but lost to Ontario, skipped by Glenn Howard in the final. At the 2014 Brier the rink repeated as Canadian champions, defeating John Morris' B.C. rink 10-5 in the final. [1] The team would go on to finish in 4th place at the 2014 World Men's Curling Championship. After the season, Koe left the team and was replaced by John Morris. The team would represent Team Canada at the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier as defending champions. They would win the 2015 Brier and go on to win a bronze medal at the 2015 Ford World Men's Curling Championship. The team would represent Team Canada at the 2016 Tim Hortons Brier for the final time, finishing in 5th place. The team would go their separate ways after the season, and Thiessen would retire from competitive curling.
Thiessen was formally hired by Curling Canada in 2018, eventually becoming the Executive Director of Marketing and Fan Experience. He was appointed CEO of Curling Canada in January 2024. [2]
Thiessen enjoyed playing baseball growing up. He played for the Claiborne Christian High School in Louisiana [3] and played one year at Vernon College in Texas, which led to his participation in a regional tournament for the junior College World Series. He also played baseball at the 2001 Canada Summer Games for Team Manitoba. [4]
After playing baseball in Texas, Thiessen returned to Manitoba and finished his education at the University of Manitoba, and worked as a self-employed chartered accountant. As of 2016, he is married to Christine Sinclair (not the soccer player) and has three children [5] That year, he moved with his wife to McKinney, Texas, where she found work. [6] They sold their home in Texas in 2018. [7]
Kevin Martin, nicknamed "The Old Bear" and "K-Mart", is a Canadian retired curler originally from Lougheed, Alberta and residing in Edmonton. He is an Olympic, World and four-time Canadian champion and a member of the World Curling Hall of Fame. He is considered by many commentators and former and current curlers to be the greatest curler of all time. He is also known for his rivalries with Randy Ferbey/David Nedohin, the best Alberta provincial rivalry ever as the two teams were generally regarded the best in the world from 2002 to 2006; his rivalry with Jeff Stoughton, perhaps the most famous all prairies rivalry ever which spanned over 2 decades from 1991 to 2014; with Glenn Howard from 2007 to 2014, perhaps the best two team rivalry in Canadian curling history, and his rivalry with Sweden's Peja Lindholm from 1997 to 2006, perhaps the best ever men's Canada-Europe rivalry.
John C. Morris is a Canadian curler, and two-time Olympic gold medallist from Canmore, Alberta. Morris played third for the Kevin Martin team until April 24, 2013. Morris, author of the book Fit to Curl, is the son of Maureen and Earle Morris, inventor of the "Stabilizer" curling broom. Morris grew up in Gloucester, Ontario and at the age of five began curling at the Navy Curling Club.
Brent George Laing is a Canadian curler from Horseshoe Valley, Ontario. He grew up in Meaford, Ontario.
Ryan Bennett Fry is a retired Canadian curler currently living in Pickering, Ontario. He most recently played third on the Mike McEwen team and coached the Rachel Homan team. He currently coaches the Joël Retornaz rink. He previously played third for Team Brad Jacobs, and the team represented Canada and won the gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics. The team also won the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier. Fry won a silver medal at the 2013 World Men's Curling Championship.
Kevin Koe is a Canadian curler. Koe is a two-time World champion and four-time Canadian champion. He was the skip of the Canadian men's team at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
Benjamin "Ben" Hebert is a Canadian curler, a Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic gold medallist, 2008 World Champion and four time Brier Champion from Chestermere, Alberta. He currently plays lead on Team Brad Jacobs.
Jamie Koe is a Canadian curler. He has played in 14 Briers, representing the Northwest Territories/Yukon team and three Briers representing just the Northwest Territories. At the 2012 Brier, he became the first skip from Canada's north to make the playoffs at the Brier since the addition of the playoffs in 1980.
Michael McEwen is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba, who grew up in Brandon, Manitoba. McEwen won six Grand Slams in his career before his team qualified for their first Brier, Canada's national championship in 2016. He is noted as one of the top curlers using the Manitoba tuck delivery today.
Brendan Michael Bottcher is a Canadian curler from Spruce Grove, Alberta. Bottcher is a three-time provincial men's champion, and was the skip of the 2021 Canadian men's championship team, having led Alberta to victory at the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier.
Brendan "B. J." Neufeld is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Neufeld plays third for the Matt Dunstone rink. He started curling around the age of ten and, like older brother Denni Neufeld, cites the achievements of his father as leading his interest into the game of curling. His father is Chris Neufeld who was a three-time Manitoba curling champion and one time Labatt Brier champion in 1992 as part of the Vic Peters team.
Matt Wozniak is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Wozniak is the former second for the Mike McEwen team which curled out of the Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club in Winnipeg.
Reid Carruthers is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Carruthers was the 2011 world champion—winning gold as a second on Jeff Stoughton's team—as well as an eight-time provincial champion, the 2003 junior provincial champion, and the 2008 Manitoba provincial mixed champion. He coaches the Kerri Einarson women's team.
Geoff Walker is a Canadian curler, currently living in Edmonton, Alberta. He currently plays lead for the Brad Gushue rink. He was the Men's World Champion in 2017 and won silver the following year in 2018. A six-time national champion, he won the Brier in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Walker was a two-time World Junior Champion when he won gold in 2006 and 2007.
The 2015 Tim Hortons Brier was held from February 28 to March 8 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The 2016 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 5–13, 2016 at TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario.
Darren Moulding is a Canadian curler from Lacombe, Alberta and curls out of the Saville Sports Centre and the Lacombe Curling Club. He is a former Canadian Junior Silver Medallist, a Canadian Mixed Champion, and represented Alberta in the 2017, 2018, 2020 and Team Wild Card in the 2019 Brier Canadian men's championship.
Bradley Thiessen is a Canadian curler. He was a long-time member of the Brendan Bottcher rink, throwing second stones for the team until 2022. With Bottcher, he won the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier and represented Canada at the 2021 World Men's Curling Championship.
Karrick Martin is a Canadian curler. He currently plays lead on Team Kevin Koe. He is the son of 2010 Olympic champion skip Kevin Martin.
The 2022 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 4 to 13 at the ENMAX Centre in Lethbridge, Alberta. In the final, the defending Olympic bronze medallist Brad Gushue Wild Card #1 team, which also include Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker from Newfoundland and Labrador defeated Alberta, skipped by Kevin Koe. It was Gushue's fourth career Brier title, and the team did it shorthanded, as Nichols missed the playoffs due to testing positive for COVID-19. According to Curling Canada, it was the first time a three-player team won a Brier final. Gushue's four Brier wins ties the record with Ernie Richardson, Randy Ferbey, Kevin Martin and Koe for most Brier championships as a skip, and his rink tied the "Ferbey Four" for most Brier championships as a foursome with four titles. Gushue played as a Wild Card team as they missed the Newfoundland and Labrador provincials due to their participation in the Olympics, and were the first team to ever play at the Brier and the Olympics in the same year. They were also the first Wild Card team to win the Brier. The Gushue rink represented Canada at the 2022 World Men's Curling Championship at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, United States, where they won the silver medal.
The 2023 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 3 to 12 at the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario. The defending champion Team Canada rink, skipped by Brad Gushue won the event, and would go on to represent Canada at the 2023 World Men's Curling Championship on home soil at TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario, where they won a silver medal. It was a record fifth Brier title as a skip for Gushue.
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