Di Iorio, Lino

Year Inducted / Année Intronisé:

2023

Province / Province:

Ontario

Category / Catégorie:

Builder

Biography / Biographie:

Di Iorio, who passed away on Jan. 13, was an innovator who applied his inventor’s mind to the sport of curling when he took up the sport in his mid 40s.

His desire to design a better curling shoe that helped curlers slide easier and with more stability led to the creation of a slider in 1995 that would be the foundation for the creation in 1996 of BalancePlus Curling Equipment, one of the world’s leading curling manufacturers and retailers.

Working with his wife and partner Lynne as well as Scott Taylor, Di Iorio and BalancePlus would grow beyond sliders, and start looking at ways to improve the technical aspects of the sport related to delivery lines, deceleration and release points.

But ultimately, it always came down to Di Iorio’s goal to make curling easier and more enjoyable for everyone, and of course, himself.

Among his innovations to help himself (and many others over the years) improve were:

• A remote-controlled video recording system that enabled him to review his line of delivery on all areas of the sheet without the assistance of others. This led to better delivery techniques.
• Rock-matching equipment that could throw an entire set of stones at once to reduce the negative outcomes caused by mismatched rocks and also be used to compare sweeping techniques.
• Use of Doppler radar equipment to measure deceleration of curling equipment. Subsequent adjustments to equipment enabled members of a team to have similar slide speeds during their delivery.
• Automatic sensors that measured delivery speeds and initial rock speeds.

Di Iorio was also heavily involved with coaching and worked in various countries in Europe.

Today, the BalancePlus logo is found on clothing, broom handles, broom-heads, and of course, their shoes. And it all goes back to a new curler, Lino Di Iorio, looking for a better way to curl.