by Alan Hudes, National Post Staff
After 25 years as a golf professional, Mike Harris could not resist his passion for curling.
The 1998 Olympian has served at the Donalda Club in Toronto as a CPGA professional for nearly six years, and it is where he began his golfing career in 1987. But when a grass-roots opportunity to develop curling overseas came up, Harris realized it was time for a change.
Harris officially resigned from the Donalda Club this week, and will be moving to Champery, Switzerland, where he will become the head of the first European high-performance training centre for curling.
“For me, it was one of those tipping points,” Harris said. “Either I stick with this course for the rest of my career, or I can try a new path.
“From a career standpoint, I’ve never really worked in the curling world.”
Harris, though, is no stranger to the sport. He skipped Canada to a silver medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, where his team lost only one round-robin game en route to the final. Since then, he has moved into the broadcast booth as a curling commentator, while also continuing to curl competitively during the winter season.
Harris will bring that experience to Switzerland, where he will focus on attracting and strengthening some of Europe’s non-elite curling programs.