After winning a bronze medal at this year’s Winter Olympics, curling superstars Rachel Homan and Emma Miskew are set to achieve another career milestone later this spring — when they are inducted into the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame.
Until last year, the hall’s eligibility policy meant athletes often had to wait until retirement to be nominated for induction. They are now eligible if they’ve achieved major success at a national or international level, a triumph that Homan and Miskew know all too well.
The Ottawa-born curlers are three-time world champions and five-time winners of the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts. In 2024, they were part of the first team to go through the tournament undefeated, repeating the feat in 2025 to claim consecutive world titles.
Later that year, Homan and Miskew also broke the record for most Grand Slam of Curling victories (19) in either the men’s or women’s divisions.
Dave Best, the chairperson of the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame, said their success on the world stage played a key role in enacting the policy change.
“They’ve made a major milestone. We think based on that alone, they will get into the Hall at some point. Why wait?” he said.
Best added that professional athletes in curling often have longer careers, which can push induction back.
Miskew, who seconds for Team Homan, welcomed the policy change.
“It’s nice to be able to celebrate our achievements that we’ve worked so hard for prior to retirement from the sport,” Miskew said in an email.
“As athletes we’re not seeking out the recognition,” she added. “We just want to pave the way for the younger generation of women to have less barriers in all aspects of sport.”
Michelle Donnelly, an associate professor who studies gender equality in sport at Brock University, said that while there are more opportunities for women and girls to play sports, “huge disparities” in decision-making linger.
“What we’ve seen, even where progress has been made, is that it’s not linear, and it’s not guaranteed,” Donnelly added.
“When people are really focused, when they’re making conscious, intentional decisions to improve gender equality in sport, we see progress happen,” Donnelly said. “But the moment that attention shifts to something else, it’s so easy for that progress to be undone.”
Donnelly said that one of these intentional changes is the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame’s new eligibility rule. While she said the updated policy is a step in the right direction, she said there are still drawbacks to its structure. Many women’s sports and events were only recently added to international competition, so the criterion are still imperfect, she said.
“Not everybody’s having the same experience of the sports system,” Donnelly said.
“We make a lot of noise about representation and the importance of being able to see people doing things in order to even imagine yourself doing them. Making sure that that exists for girls and women as they’re developing athletes is really critical.”
Miskew said opportunities during the early years are key for long-term sport participation — she and Homan have been teammates since age 12, when they trained out of the Ottawa Curling Club.
“We have been through everything together, and she has motivated me to push myself and believe in myself. I couldn’t imagine doing this alongside anyone else,” she said, adding she hopes their induction into the Sport Hall of Fame will inspire the next generation of athletes.
“I hope that young girls see that not only could you achieve everything you dreamed of but also find a best friend in the process,” she said. “While at a young age, it might seem so far away to achieve amazing things, we hope they realize that dreaming big can, in fact, turn into reality.”
The Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame’s induction ceremony is set for May 27 at Lansdowne Park’s Horticultural Building.
Miskew added she wants to leave a “legacy that hard work, determination and sticking together can, in fact, make your dreams come true.”
“I hope that young girls see that anything is possible and to never give up.”
Featured image by Anil Mungul/The Curling Group
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