Canadian officials will play major role at 2026 Olympics, Paralympics

By Dave Komosky

Brett Waldroff doesn’t own a time-travelling DeLorean automobile, like Marty McFly uses in the movies, but there is no doubt the longtime Canadian curling official is going Back To The Future.

Destination: Milano Cortina, Italy, site of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

It was back in 2010 that Waldroff experienced his first major European event when he worked as a game official at the World Men’s Curling Championship in Cortina, at the same Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium that will host events in 2026.

And, just as he was back then, he’s thrilled to be headed back for his first Olympics.

Waldroff, who lives just south of Calgary in Foothills County, Alta., will be headed to work in the northern Italian mountainous resort area along with four others Canadians after they were recently named as International Technical Officials (ITOs) and Ice Technicians assigned to the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

“A great thrill,” says Waldroff, Executive Chief Umpire for Curling Canada, after Eeva Roethlisberger, head of competitions for World Curling, made the announcement identifying the best-of-the-best curling officials earlier this year. “You never expect it. You hope you would go (to the Olympics), but it’s never a guarantee.”

Among the Canadian appointments announced, Waldroff was selected Chief Umpire, Patti Caldwell (New Westminster, B.C.) a Game Umpire, and Greg Ewasko (Oakbank, Man.) Deputy Chief Ice Technician for the Olympic Games.

Michele Gower (Thornhill, Ont.) was named Chief Umpire and Cheryl Minns (Athabasca, Alta.) a Game Umpire for the Paralympic Games.

The Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games will run from Feb. 6–22, while the Paralympic Winter Games will follow from March 6–15. 

There’s a saying in the officiating industry: Without sports officials, it’s just recess.

Nobody knows that better than Waldroff. He understands that, while officials are not the show and often overlooked at sporting events, they ensure fair and equitable playing conditions. There would be no event without the small army of officials to oversee the action.

“I always say to the curlers, ‘We keep you on the straight and narrow,’ ” says Waldroff. “We never want things to get out of control . . . or there to be any big stories coming out of the umpiring crew.”

Waldroff will have a big job on his hands during the Games, which will be held under an intense world spotlight. He must have, above all else, people skills, plus a sound knowledge of officiating procedures, record sheets, scoreboards, measuring devices, hog-line procedures, statistics and time clocks. These all play an important part in the smooth running of the competition.

But he loves the challenge of officiating and the opportunity to remain directly involved in the sport he loves.

That’s also the case for the other Canadians headed to the Games.

“We’re fortunate to have such a strong, strong officiating pool in Canada to draw from,” Waldroff says. 

Waldroff, who has worked dozens of Canadian and international events over the years, points out the Olympics will be his third visit to Cortina. He is ticketed to work the 2025 World Juniors in April, which also serves as a test event for the Games. 

Waldroff, who has worked world events in Italy, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Finland, the U.S. and Sweden, scoffs at those who consider them travel ‘perks’.

“We do hear that, ‘Oh, you get to go to all these countries.’ Well, we get to see the hotel, the arena and the drive in between the two. We arrive two days before the event and leave the day after, so there’s not much time to see anything.”

The ‘perks’ of his job, says Waldroff, are getting ringside seats at great events.

The Olympics may be the Holy Grail for the curlers, but for Waldroff it will always be the Montana’s Brier. He maintains the 2017 Brier in St. John’s, N.L., where he was Chief Umpire, was his most memorable.

‘The Brier is the big show,” he says. “Just the dynamics of it . . . the crowds, the television, the players, the volunteers, the excitement of each draw. St. John’s had it all. The atmosphere was electric from the start of the event to the finish. I loved it.”

This will be Gower’s third Paralympics assignment, but first as Chief Umpire. She previously worked the 2014 Sochi (Russia) and 2018 Pyeongchang (South Korea) Games. She also was on hand for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing (China) as Deputy Chief Umpire.

“Well, I’m thrilled, of course,” says Gower. “It’s certainly an honour to be invited but with a little bit of nerves. The previous Paralympics I was a Game Umpire so this is a lot more responsibility and a lot more expectations put on me.

‘But I’m very much looking forward to it.”

Gower says she’s been able to handle more national and international events after she was structured out of a job pre-pandemic.

“I didn’t look for anything during the pandemic,” she says, “and realized I could manage and have more flexibility in my schedule.”

She highly recommends people who love the sport to get into officiating.

“If you are good and have confidence in your ability, the sky’s the limit. There are so many opportunities.”

Ewasko says it was a bittersweet day when he found out he was going to the Olympics. The announcement came around the same time he lost his wife Monique to cancer.

“Something of a tear-jerker,” said Ewasko. “We didn’t really get a chance to celebrate it.

“But as it gets closer and closer I’m getting more excited about it.”

Those close to him and curlers who play on his ice will tell you his appointment is richly deserved. He works meticulously at his craft as Curling Canada’s Chief Ice Technician, has a passion for what he does, and cares about the curlers and the game deeply.

It’s a job he has loved since he first got a chance to be a paid “rink rat” in Selkirk, Man., as a teenager in 1994. He slowly climbed the ladder from there, and today is one of the top icemakers in the world.

“My dream job always was to make ice in Winnipeg,” said Ewasko. “Lo and behold, I guess I proved myself and it’s been a stepping stone every time.”

Ewasko doesn’t expect any major hiccups in Italy. Organizers are upgrading the ventilation system and ice plant at the curling facility, which are key components to making good ice. He’ll get a first-hand look at things during the junior test event.

Ewasko should be well equipped to handle the pressure at the Olympics. He worked the Calgary Hub City Bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic where fingers were crossed every day that everybody would be healthy and OK.

“I spent two month in the bubble,” says Ewasko. “It nearly finished me but I got over that, so this should be fun.”