The Curling Club is a fun experience that will sweep you off your feet

Olympic gold medallist and Team GB Curling Brand Ambassador Eve Muirhead OBE talks to Sarah Dale about her excitement to help grow a surge in popularity for the sport she loves with a new pop-up curling venue, The Curling Club.

Eve Muirhead grew up watching her awardwinning father, Gordon Muirhead, compete in international curling competitions so it was, perhaps, inevitable that she and her brothers would also take up the sport.

From the age of nine, she regularly practised at her home rink in Perth, Scotland.

“My Dad got me into curling; he was a world class curler,” explains Eve.

“My Mum would take me and my brothers to watch him. If my Dad was playing a club game, I would always want a go afterwards.

“We were never pushed into the sport, it was my own decision, but I was always supported.

“It’s one of the sports you can’t start at a very young age as you need to be able to stay safe on the ice first.

“You also need to be still young and fearless enough to be confident on the ice.”

When Eve became a professional, the training ramped up and at the peak of her career, she would train twice a day five times a week as well as competing in competitions.

In 2007, she won a gold medal at the World Junior Curling Championships in Minnesota and has won several competitions since.

At the pinnacle of her career, Eve skippered Team GB at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 scooping a gold medal and a silver double for the women’s team.

“It’s very much a full-time sport at the peak of my profession,” says Eve, who is also a highly competent golfer.

“Winning the Olympics definitely was a highlight, but along the way there have been smaller highlights. I had always wanted to win the World Championships and I did it in 2013 in Riga. It gave me that first taste of success.

“And winning the gold medal at the 2020 Beijing Winter Olympics was definitely the highlight of my career.”

Due to Covid, Eve received both her MBE and OBE at the same time from the then Prince Charles.

“It was amazing receiving them,” she says. Eve retired in the summer of 2022 and does a lot of coaching and sports commentary –particularly curling and some golf too.

She was also the Chef de Mission for Team GB at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics and under her guidance, Great Britain won the gold medal in both curling events. She has been appointed the same role for the senior team at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

“Winning the Olympics definitely was a highlight, but along the way there have been smaller highlights. I had always wanted to win the World Championships and I did it in 2013 in Riga. It gave me that first taste of success."

A proud curling supporter, she is also Brand Ambassador for The Curling Club, a partnership she is passionate about.

“I love curling and I love competing,” says Eve, who is an avid sports supporter and stayed in Paris during the Olympics.

“It’s a team game and you’re always with your teammates which comes with its challenges but also means you can bounce off each other.

“I love the vibe of The Curling Club and the fact it is bringing the sport to more people.”

The Curling Club opened in the winter of 2021 and every October until the following February, the pop-up “winter wonderland” offers no-ice curling to the public.

Visitors can rent a lane, receive a brief on the rules and then have a go themselves. With an après-ski vibe, The Curling Club, based at the Southbank Centre, has live music, street food, cocktails and a bar. There are also television screens displaying Eve’s Olympic wins. It is the perfect venue for a party or unique date night.

“It has a fun party environment,” she says.

“I’m used to curling competitions being a serious environment and this is a great way to find out more and have a go in a fun venue. I have had a go myself with friends and it’s so much fun.

“Floor curling is really taking off and it’s good for family and friends or for corporate events.”

A new venue at Vinegar Yard, near London Bridge, opens on 1st November until 28th February and will offer the same “winter wonderland” vibe and fun curling experience.

The Curling Club is also launching a rent-to-curl service, where a portable sheet with targets and lanes printed on it can be taken to clients for parties and events.

“What is fantastic about it is that anyone can do it, it’s available to everyone,” adds Eve.

“We talk so much about getting young people into sport, this is the perfect opportunity to showcase the sport and for people to have a go.

“We are looking to expand The Curling Club in Scotland and other countries too; it will be amazing.”

Find out more at www.thecurlingclub.com