Pål Trulsen is the Secretary General for the Norwegian Curling Federation – Norges curlingforbund. There are 28 clubs in Norway – just under half of them use hockey ice, the 14 others have their own dedicated curling facility.
In this interview, Trulsen talks about the state of curling in Norway, how climate change is making a difference to curling, and how the dedicated clubs are moving toward reusable sheets instead of ice paint or painting the concrete.
“Maybe we’re lazy!” Trulsen exclaims. “But it’s much faster and easier to put down when you’re starting the season.”
Norway’s first experience with reusable sheets was for the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Lillehammer. Since then, other clubs have come on board, including the Haugesund Curling Club, a 3-year old club chosen to host the 2022-23 Mixed Doubles Event. By next season, five of Norways 14 dedicated indoor curling facilities will be using the reusable sheets supplied by Hack To Hack Solution Inc. from Canada.
“We can see we don’t have any difference at all with the ice,” Trulsen insists. “Maybe it’s because they’ve got more time to work with the ice. The ice conditions are improving every year.”
