The New Zealand curling team, having nowhere else to go, settles into a retirement community in Canada.
While preparing for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Calgary, a group of four guys in their 20s and 30s struggled to locate housing until an unusual option was presented.
At the Chartwell Colonel Belcher retirement community in Calgary, Alberta, on Fridays at 2:00 p.m., something peculiar occurs. The youthful faces of New Zealand’s men’s curling team join the octogenarians as they drink beer and wine during happy hour. The men were granted an apartment at Belcher after arriving in Canada over 12,000 kilometers from home and finding nowhere to stay. Since then, they have been contentedly getting used to the rhythms of their strange new home.
The national team, which consists of Brett Sargon, 31, Ben Smith, 24, Hunter Walker, 21, and captain Anton Hood, 23, relocated to Canada in early September in order to improve their training and increase their chances of qualifying for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and the 2024 World Men’s Curling Championship in Switzerland. It’s a lofty objective given that New Zealand’s team hasn’t qualified for the Olympics since 2006.
However, they faced a bothersome issue when they got to Canada on their mostly self-funded trip: there weren’t many affordable rental options.
It’s been a long journey, according to Sargon. “We were having a lot of trouble finding lodging. Everyone we saw demanded a year’s worth of rent, and the cost was outrageously high.
The group made the decision to use their social media curling networks to try their luck at finding reasonably priced short-term lodging. After a post they published garnered hundreds of shares, the team received an unexpected invitation from the Chartwell Colonel Belcher retirement facility. They were asked to consider applying for an apartment.
“We were rescued by the very amazing Cassidy Murray at Chartwell,” Sargon remarks.
Sargon was the first of his teammates to move into a self-contained unit at the retirement home in early September, having arrived in Calgary a few days early. He was made aware of the weekly happy hour happening at the village tavern on a Friday.
Perfect, that sounds like a little bit of me, I thought as he went along, introducing himself to a couple of the residents.
“It was absolutely amazing how kind and welcoming they were to me.
“I completely understood their apprehension about younger guys moving in, but they were incredibly kind and curious about our story and New Zealand.”
In an attempt to become New Zealand’s national team, Sargon founded Team Hood a few years ago. The team is named for the skip, or skipper, as is customary for curling teams. However, the squad soon discovered that their abilities did not match the caliber of play exhibited by teams from nations like Scotland, Canada, Switzerland, and Sweden.
In curling, players slide stones across an ice sheet in the direction of a target composed of four concentric circles. By clearing the ice in front of the rock as it moves in the direction of its target, sweepers wielding brooms or brushes can affect the trajectory of the stone.
The idea was to go to Calgary, where there are resources unavailable in New Zealand, train as much as we could, and play against some very good opposition. Compared to what we get back home, the level of competitiveness here is ridiculous, claims Sargon.
“We basically describe curling as lawn bowls on ice, with rocks and sweeping,” the most of our talks about the sport with folks back home.
The retirement home residents’ numerous curling tales that they have shared with the crew are a testament to Canada’s passion for the game. Occasionally, the elderly people are willing to offer guidance.
Sargon chuckles, “One of them even offered his services for free.” “We’ll try to follow through on that, even if it’s just to bring him to the rink and involve him.”
Sargon chuckles, “One of them even volunteered to give his services for free. “We’ll try to follow through on that, even if it’s just to bring him to the rink and involve him.”
Some locals, however, don’t need much encouragement; on one of the team’s first weekends of curling at a club 30 minutes away by car, a bus full of fourteen new Team Hood supporters showed up to cheer them on without any notice. It was quite fascinating and odd to witness that. They had packed their lunches and brought their signs.
The cogenerational living arrangement is reminiscent of Sweden’s initiative to reduce loneliness and foster social cohesion by housing elders and students together. These kinds of models and other scenarios that bridge the gap between the younger and older generations have several established advantages.
I believe that being here is bridging the social divide because some of the residents have shared some incredibly heartbreaking stories about how their children have passed away and they don’t have a lot of relatives around,” Sargon says.
According to Cassandra Murray, the retirement living expert, Team Hood has brought a lively and pleasant element to the community.
“It’s exciting to talk about and anticipate having the team around,” she says. It’s a distinct type of relationship, particularly in the absence of family.
I believe that seniors frequently overlook how fascinating, novel, and unique life may be.
When the Guardian called, the inmates were playing a very crucial game of bingo. Murray did, however, subsequently relay a statement from the group, saying, “They said they really enjoy getting to know the team and hearing about how their time in Calgary has been and how their playing is going.
It has been a useful and pleasant addition, and if possible, many other locations ought to have a look at it. It has delighted us to have new faces.
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