Gunther Hummelt Remembered

The World Curling Federation website reports the July 3 death of WCF Past-President Gunther Hummelt (http://www.worldcurling.org/death-of-wcf-honorary-president-gunther-hummelt), the man most directly responsible for curling being accepted into the Olympics. From a position as President of the Austrian Curling Association, Hummelt rose to the presidency of the WCF where his political skills were instrumental in the growth of the WCF to the numbers required for Olympic admission. Beyond the sport of curling, Hummelt's connections opened the doors of the decision-makers directly responsible for curling's return to the Games in Japan in 1998. 

Hummelt's 10 year run as President of the WCF, from 1990 to 2000, included a pair of World Curling Championship events in Manitoba - the 1991 Winnipeg Worlds and the 1995 Brandon Worlds.