CurlingZone: McCusker Announces Broadcast Retirement

On Wednesday, Joan McCusker shared a statement with CurlingZone on her upcoming retirement from Sportsnet.

All good things must come to an end...

And this is the case with a 23-year broadcast career.

I will not be joining my Sportsnet broadcast team for the Grand Slam series, and that makes me a little teary. The job was not easy, but I sure had a lot of fun with the great people who bring you Curling on TV. They are a big, loud group of professionals, and I enjoyed being part of the fray.

Well, except for Rob Faulds stealing all the good snacks. Lol.

This career had a lot of twists and turns with work for CBC, Sportsnet, Olympics, Nationals, Grand Slams, and all levels of playdowns. Some of my highlights:

First broadcast weekend at 2001 Canadian Juniors: Suzanne Gaudet (PEI) defeated Stefanie Miller (Sask), and Brad Gushue (Nfld) defeated Mike McEwen. Pretty interesting start! I was thrilled to represent a non-skip perspective and tried hard to shine a light on the work and value of front-end players. Teamwork, dynamics, and communication were always top of mind in my commentary.

National, World, and Olympic coverage was a thrill as I could relive my own memories with each gold medal game. In particular, Canada's double gold at the 2014 Olympics - Brad Jacobs and Jennifer Jones. It was such a high for us all.

Getting a career extension twice: in 2012 when Sportsnet bought the rights to the Grand Slam Series, and in spring 2021 when the post-COVID curling bubble brought back my broadcast career. I was so very grateful to have this opportunity.

Interviewing players after Grand Slam wins and being part of their elation. The pure excitement I saw in those winning skip interviews was rewarding. In particular, the Matt Dunstone interview after his first Slam win will always stand out for me.

Working with my boys, my broadcast booth buddies, my friends, and colleagues. Those lulls in the broadcast were usually because we were laughing too hard to speak. In particular, Mike Harris has been and always will be like a brother. We have had so much fun! Mike, make sure you do my job of punching Rob and Kevin in the arm every once in a while - keep them humble!

Finally, I will miss the annual Sportsnet Crew Bonspiel – untapped talent everywhere!

I love the sport and will continue to curl, coach, and consult with high-performance teams. I have a special interest in encouraging more women to be involved in all aspects of curling and will continue to work in this area.

Here's hoping for more women in broadcasting in the future.

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