Dutch and Canadian? The Dutch curling association needs you

The Dutch sports body NOC*NCF is looking to recruit dual Dutch Canadian nationals who might want to join the national curling team and take part in the next winter Olympics.

‘Curling is alive and kicking in the Netherlands yet there are only 150 people who play,’ says Maurits Hendriks, technical director of TeamNL at the Dutch Olympic committee in a video on website Holland’s Next Gold Medal.

With the Dutch men’s curling team now one of the 12 best in the world, the sport has been embraced by the NOC*NCF and given extra funding to create champions, he says.

‘Are you a Dutch Canadian boy, girl, man or woman with a double passport?’ the website states. ‘Are you talented in curling and do you have the ambition to represent the Netherlands in the (near) future? Then sign-up, so we can get to know you better!’

Why Canadians? The next curling World Cup is being held in Canada, says Hendriks.  And according to the Canadian curling association, over 350,000 Canadians go curling at least ten times a year.

In addition, he says, Canada has around one million residents with Dutch roots and tens of thousands residents own a Dutch passport, some of whom could be potential champions.