Curling

Curling may have a rabid fan base in Canada, but - let's be honest ­­- it isn't exactly the most glamorous of sports.

Its style quotient could get a major boost, however, when both the men's and women's national teams walk out onto the ice at the Vancouver Olympic Centre this month.

Designed by Mondetta Clothing of Winnipeg, the streamlined zip-front jackets and body-hugging cap-sleeve tops they'll be sporting are a far cry from the fusty uniforms of old.

Emblazoned with a stylized maple leaf and the word Canada in big, bold letters, the pieces boast chic colour combos of red, white and black and slimmer silhouettes than in the past.

Although the Olympics have yet to begin, sales of a replica line have been unusually brisk across the country, says Ash Modha, president and chief executive officer of Mondetta, a 24-year-old company that has been supplying uniforms to the Canada Curling Association since 2005.

He attributes its popularity to curling's new "geek chic" factor. "It's curling like we've never known it before - certainly better looking."

Contrary to the fusty heavy-knit sweaters that curlers typically wear, the lighter weight and sleeker outlines of the new uniforms are courtesy of high-performance techno-fabrics that provide warmth without bulk, Modha says.

"The clothes need to perform well on the ice," he notes. "They have to allow for freedom of movement as well as moisture wicking and durability. They are athletic uniforms first and foremost. They have to hold up under pressure."

To look as good as they function, Modha advised his team at Mondetta to rethink the idea of what a curling uniform could be.

To that end, his designers "threw out the handbook. They looked at soccer. They looked at Formula One racing uniforms. Basically, they looked at everything that curling isn't in order to come up with a fresh new approach."
Modha's ability to shake things up is probably the result of not having grown up with curling. Born in Africa, he and his family were expelled from Idi Amin's Uganda in 1973, when Modha was just a boy.

"When we arrived in Winnipeg, my parents sent us to school in rubber boots, thinking they would keep us warm. But we practically got frostbite! Anyway, it was my introduction to Canada and, well, look at me now, designing for curling, of all things."

Official 2010 Team Canada clothing is available through the Canadian Curling Association's online store at www.curling.ca.