Two-time world champion Murdoch to head Curling Canada's High Performance program

David Murdoch is going from the home of curling to the game’s epicentre.

On Thursday, the two-time world champion and Olympic silver medallist from Stirling, Scotland, was named as the new director of Curling Canada’s High Performance program.

“It’s incredible to be in this position and I’m super honoured to have this opportunity,” said Murdoch. “There’s so much potential and Canada has had so much success over the years. I’m excited to speak with the athletes and engage with them and engage with the high-performance staff and start talking about what the future vision is.”

Since 2018, Murdoch has headed British Curling’s high performance program, leading its teams to tremendous results, notably at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. That included Team Eve Muirhead’s gold-medal women’s victory, a silver medal from Team Bruce Mouat and a fourth-place finish from the mixed doubles pairing of Jenn Dodds and Mouat.

Now he comes to Canada tasked with putting the Canadian program back on a route to success. At those same Olympics, Canadian teams managed just a single bronze medal over the men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles competitions.

“I think if look at where Canada was 20, 30 years ago, Canada was just so far ahead,” said Murdoch. “There were so many curlers, so much talent and everybody wanted to chase that down. With the Olympic Games, there’s been a lot of effort put in by programs who really see the opportunity of getting Olympic medals and just slowly over time, these countries have really caught up. It’s really, really hard to get an Olympic medal, way tougher than it’s ever been.”

Murdoch will finish the season with British Curling and then relocate to Canada. He knows that there may be some who will question the need to bring in a Scot to oversee Canadian curling, but he points out it’s not uncommon as curling expands globally.

“I think that’s just showing how big a sport curling is right now,” he said. “You see different people going to different countries, doing coaching jobs and high-performance jobs. I love Canada, I know lot of the athletes already. My wife is Canadian, our children are half-Canadian, so hopefully I’m accepted.”

His wife, Stephanie, is from Vancouver Island; the two met when Murdoch was in British Columbia training for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The appointment of Murdoch comes as Curling Canada is completing a full review of its high-performance program. He will play a pivotal role in the direction for the future and is anxious to get that underway.

“Certainly, it sounds like everyone is open to some change and sometimes change can be a really good thing,” he stated.

Murdoch takes over for Gerry Peckham, who is retiring from Curling Canada after 33 years. Peckham had nothing but praise for his replacement.

“We are so fortunate to have landed the most qualified high performance director on the planet,” he said. “His accomplishments as an athlete and as a coach are unparalleled. At this moment in time, I truly believe he is the best possible leader of our high performance program. It is an ideal opportunity for Canadian curlers to take advantage of the opportunity to learn from a world-leading performance expert.”

For his success in curling both on and off the ice, Murdoch was appointed a Member of the British Empire (MBE) by Princess Anne in January.