Underdog curling nations take unlikely paths to championships

The Pan Continental Curling Championships, which concludeSaturday in Kelowna, B.C., arehosting some of the top curlers in the world, including Canada's own Brad Gushue and Kerri Einarson.

The event has also welcomed athletes from countriessuch as Guyana, India, and Kenyawhere curling is a burgeoning sportexperiencing its fair share of growing pains.

As a young child growing up in Brampton, Ont., RayadHusain watched the ScottiesTournament of Hearts.

"I would use tennis balls on our parquet floors at home and pretend I was curling," Husain told CBC News.

He took up the sport, and started representing Guyana in 2016.

The South American countrytoiled in the B division but climbed to the A divisionthanks to the team's performance at last year's championship in Calgary. The team includeda player who had never curled before,according to the World Curling Federation.

After a player dropped out ahead of the competition, Husain searched through the federation's Instagram followers in the hopes of finding someone. He reached out to Khemraj Goberdhan, a fan who had no curling experience, and asked if he wanted to join.

"People just reach out and find theirway onto the team somehow," Husain said.

In Kelowna, Guyanafaced top-flight competition in round-robin play,including a Canada side led by Gushue. Guyanafinished with a 0-7 recordand face relegation back to the B division.

Still, Husain says his team enjoyed its time in the A division, no matter how fleeting.

"It's bright lights and all the attention and stuff like that," he said. "It's fun."

Coached by YouTube

Among the countries that were hoping to make the leap to the A division was Kenya.

Kenyan team member Keegan Taylor saidthe sport caught hisattention thanks to a "random video on YouTube."

With little in the way of coaching and curling know-how, he and his teammates went back onlinefor instruction.

"We were interested and we started learning from YouTube actually," Taylorsaid.

The team trains at an ice rink at a hotel in Nairobi. Like Guyana, Kenya finished round-robin playwithout a win.

Curling makes you 'feel at home,' says Indian lead

Indialead Vinay Goenka says he first got into the sport by watching the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.

"It was pretty much love at first sight," said Goenka. "I had no clue what they were doing on the ice, but it felt amazing. It took me three years to try it out but the game never left my head."

Other team members, who like Goenka are based in the U.S., were introduced to the sport by friends and colleagues.

The team was formedthrough Facebook with three of them first meeting in 2016 and competing at a bonspiel in New York.

Goenka says he reached out to skipR.N. Raju, who had a curling-related Facebook page and designedT-shirts. Goenka says he asked him about getting a T-shirt and eventually ended up on the national team.

"Can I get this T-shirt? That's all I asked him for," Goenkarecalls.

Athletes from Kenya and India expressed disappointment that B division games weren't televised.

Still, they found the tournament to be a positive experience, a chance to learn from the world's best and meet people who share their passion for the sport.

"This is a sport where the community is bigger than the game itself,"Goenka said. "What we do onthe ice is a very small part of the game. You can walk into any curling club in the world and feel at home. That'swhat is special about curling."

The world championship qualifier continues through Saturday at the Kelowna Curling Club.

Canada has already secured berths in the world championships later this season.