CORTINA D’AMPEZZO – A veteran of six Olympic Games, Canadian men’s curling team coach Paul Webster went the extra mile to try to make his players feel at home while ‘glamping’ in the Cortina athletes’ village at the Winter Olympics.
He ordered special blankets for the beds and provided some Canadiana-inspired touches for the rooms.
“Honestly it looks like a 10-year-old boy’s room,” Webster said Wednesday with a laugh. “But the boys are like, ‘This is amazing.’”
Team Brad Jacobs is representing Canada in men’s team play while Team Rachel Homan is wearing the Maple Leaf in the women’s team event.
Athletes are staying in trailers just outside of Cortina. A red moose statue can be found outside the Canadian quarters.
The rooms are simple, with beds, a shower and toilet. Each trailer is divided into two rooms, with up to two people per room. The village has a fitness centre, recreational space, lounge, dining hall, massage rooms and a prayer room.
Some Canadian touches have also been added to the team’s locker room at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.
“There’s a whole bunch of Canadian stuff, but there’s also a whole bunch of Team Jacobs stuff,” Webster said. “This is our fourth year with this team and there’s been a few things that have worked in the past two years with the Brier and world championships and (Olympic) Trials.
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“We just try to carry that forward and we’ve got the benefit now of adding some Olympic spin to it.”
HEATED RIVALRY
Great Britain curler Bruce Mouat had to put his TV viewing plans – including the Canadian hit show “Heated Rivalry” – on hold now that he’s competing at the Milan Cortina Games.
His immediate goal is to return to the Olympic podium. But when he gets time next month, Mouat plans to pick up where he left off with the sultry gay hockey drama.
“I’ve seen the first three episodes I think,” he said. “I was basically watching it just before I came here and now I can’t watch it because I’m here.”
The Crave show stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie as hockey rivals turned lovers.
The 31-year-old Mouat, who came out several years ago, finished fourth in the mixed doubles competition with Jennifer Dodds. Mouat will skip the Team GB men’s side at the Games.
Mouat said “Heated Rivalry” has a beautiful story, adding it was nice that it “highlighted the struggle that some athletes go through.”
“It’s nice to see that on major networks there’s a story about gay men or even women just having a love story rather than like a tragedy,” he said. “I think it was amazing to see and I’m excited to see those last three episodes.
“I’m going to save it for March when I’ve got a bit more time.”
Crave has announced that the series has been renewed for a second season.
BREWS CLUES
Tom Brewster had a first-hand look 12 years ago at what Brad Jacobs could do on the Olympic stage.
The former Great Britain player is serving as the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium’s sports manager during the Games. He took silver at the 2014 Sochi Games in Russia, falling to Jacobs’ Canadian side in the final.
“They’re very much a kind of old-school Canadian team just with a more athletic edge now,” Brewster said in a recent interview. “I’d probably liken them with some of the teams back 10, 15 years ago. And they’ve got all the shots.
“So a good team, a great team.”
Jacobs won gold in Sochi with a team that included Ryan Fry, E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden. The skip’s current lineup includes Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2026.
— With files from The Associated Press
© 2026 The Canadian Press