Having played a key role in bringing about the most successful period in the history of the sport in his native country, British Curling’s Olympic Head Coach David Murdoch is departing to join Curling Canada as its high performance director. 
The 44-year-old made the transition to coaching on his retirement from playing the sport six years ago and was appointed to his current post at the start of the last Olympic cycle, a period that brought an unprecedented medal haul for teams prepared at the National Curling Academy (NCA) in Stirling.
Prior to that, he enjoyed a fine career on the ice as the only Scot to skip two World Championship winning teams, while also claiming three European titles and leading his team to an Olympic final in 2014.
Murdoch consequently admitted that it had been the hardest decision of his career to leave the organisation with which he has been so closely identified over the past two decades.
“It’s probably been the toughest decision I have made in my life and I say that because British Curling has been a huge part of my life as an athlete,” he said.
“They shaped me as an athlete, through the transition into coaching which is very difficult, stepping away from everything you have known as an athlete to try to develop yourself as a coach and also through the further transition to Olympic Head Coach in developing the leadership skills required to do that.
“The help I have been given here and also the support from sportscotland and UK Sport who put me on a leadership training course has been phenomenal.” 
Following last year’s Olympic success, Murdoch picked up a string of honours including coach of the year at the sportscotland COV Awards and the prestigious Mussabini Medal from UK Coaching, before he visited Holyrood Palace just last month to receive an MBE for his services to his sport and he believes he is leaving British Curling in excellent health.
“British Curling is in a very good place,” he said.
“We have had great success and obviously we have had some retirements since the Olympics, but there is a new generation inspired by that Olympic success and as a result have already had some good success.
“There are some incredible teams here which are pushing each other hard and there has been continued success at the recent Europeans, so I like to think that the plan that has been put in place for the next three years is starting to take shape and the bar has been set and now everyone is trying to get ahead. There is a great plan in place and now it is just about keeping the hunger for more success.
“I am very proud of the legacy and what we have achieved together. When you look back more than four years ago we had a vision of how can we be the best and what does it take to be the best and that was about cultural change and getting all to buy in to that change and that is never easy.
“However, in gradual increments we got that, we got buy in from staff and buy in from athletes and stakeholders. 
“We wanted to do something different and out of that we hoped to achieve success. Ultimately we did and that has been a tremendous effort from everyone and by that I mean all athletes and staff, which gives me a lot of pleasure.
“It’s been difficult, though, as there are so many brilliant people, including Nancy my sister and my Sochi team mates and such a tight knit coaching group here and it has been great being part of their development too.
“I am going to miss the amazing athletes and colleagues that have created a world class support team working around the clock behind the scenes to get our curlers on the podium.”
As he switches competitive loyalties Murdoch can meanwhile be confident that he will continue to have strong family support since his wife Stephanie is Canadian and their children Grace, Madeleine and Matthew consequently have dual nationality.
“My wife Stephanie is Canadian, so my kids are half Canadian and we have a lot of family in Canada on my wife’s side,” he said.
“I have my family and friends here too, so there were a lot of difficult factors to think about but we thought long and hard about the opportunities that this job has and also the Canadian way of life that we saw as really appealing. 
“I will always be a proud Scotsman, which is important to remember, but I have a job to work hard for and I will do my best for Curling Canada.
“It is a huge responsibility and it is going to be a big challenge and I am very honoured to be offered the job and to be taking up this post. We know there is a lot of work to be done but equally we know there is a huge amount of talent in that country.”
Responding to Murdoch’s decision, British Curling’s Executive Performance Director Nigel Holl paid tribute to the work he has done with the programme, but observed that his recruitment by Curling Canada reflected the success of the organisation as a whole.
“Clearly we are disappointed to lose Dave’s services, given the success he has helped bring to the British and Scottish game, however we wish him well in his new challenge,” said Holl.
“His recruitment by what has historically been the most successful nation in the global game should also reinforce the confidence felt throughout our playing and coaching teams in the systems we have put in place since the establishment of the National Curling Academy in 2017.”
Murdoch also deserves credit for having, during his playing days, taken a leading role in the campaign to bring about the creation of the ground-breaking National Curling Academy which has been central to building the environment that has generated so much success and Holl said the entire organisation will remain fully committed to continuing that process.
“The high performance environment is all about constant, rapid change and innovation, which has become British Curling’s trademark in recent seasons,” he said. 
“Dave’s departure will consequently, in due course, provide British Curling with an opportunity to introduce fresh ideas and energy at this level of the sport, just as we did when we appointed him as our Olympic Head Coach in 2018.
“We intend to move quickly to advertise the position of Olympic Head Coach and expect to attract a strong pool of ambitious internal, domestic and overseas candidates who want to play a leading role in our world-leading elite curling programme.”
British Curling highlights during David Murdoch’s time as Olympic Head Coach: 
- Team GB’s only medals at last year’s Winter Olympics, with Team Muirhead winning women’s gold and Team Mouat claiming silver in the men’s event
- Back-to-back title wins at the last two World Mixed Doubles Championships
- Scotland wins in both the men’s and women’s events for the first time ever at the 2021 European Championships
- Three gold medal wins in three appearances at the European Championships by Team Mouat
- Three victories at successive events on the Canadian Grand Slam circuit by Team Mouat
- Gold medals for Scotland’s men at both last year’s World Junior Championships and this year’s World University Games.
Images: Team GB / David Pearce/WCF/Mike Burns, Celine Stucki, Richard Gray.
