U.S. skip John Shuster said Ogden and the large crowd of supporters have been amazing.

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“We’ve been in town. We’ve had people talking to us and being, ‘Oh my gosh, you guys are Team USA,'” he said. “Fans in the stands, they were incredible.”

Shuster also noted the support of his family, which has been traveling to world championships wherever they are. While being serious on the ice, he said his family helps remind him that it’s ultimately a game.

Teammate Christopher Plys also sang Ogden’s praises, singling out Rosa’s Mexican Cafe on Washington Boulevard for great food and making them feel like family.

Grace Watters, Standard-Examiner

“I think the organizing committee here did a fantastic job,” Plys said. “The city, everywhere we went, was super welcoming and, you know, just a beautiful place.”

Plys added that he’s getting ads on his phone for the Ogden Twilight concert series and said he might need to sneak back to Utah to check out a show.

Norwegian vice skip Wilhelm Naess said the facility and everyone involved has been top-notch.

“It’s a really, really nice city, even though we haven’t had that much time to go around because the schedule’s been tight,” he said.

Scottish skip Ross Whyte was impressed with the crowd turnout, particularly when the U.S. was playing a game. He said he wouldn’t mind seeing the world championships make a return stop to the city.

“Ogden’s been amazing,” he said. “The crowds — we weren’t sure what to expect going into the week but between all the fans, it’s been amazing.”

During the medal ceremony, World Curling Board member and 2014 Olympic gold medalist Jill Officer of Canada told the crowd that she hoped everyone created some long-lasting memories in Ogden.

“It’s been incredibly special for curling to return to the Weber County Ice Sheet, as I know that some of our 2002 Olympic champions got to experience wonderful memories of that time as they returned to this fantastic venue,” Officer said.

She praised the local organizers, including Weber County and Visit Ogden, saying they made everyone feel welcome while hosting a fantastic week of curling.

Visit Ogden President Sara Toliver thanked World Curling and the production team for entrusting the region to host the event. She also praised the spectators, including teams’ family and friends, as well as newer and older curling fans.

“Thank you for bringing so much energy back into the Ice Sheet over the last nine days,” Toliver said. “Every day you showed up and made it so much fun to be here.”

Both Officer and Toliver saluted the dozens of volunteers who worked tirelessly before and during the event.

2002 gold medalist honored

The curling world’s return to Ogden saw many participants from the 2002 Salt Lake Games come back to Utah, including women’s gold medalist Rhona Howie of Great Britain, men’s silver medalist Kevin Martin of Canada and Shuster, who was a spectator at the Utah-hosted Olympics.

There was one more homecoming during the gold-medal game as Norway’s Pal Trulsen, skip of the gold-medal men’s team in 2002, was inducted into the World Curling Hall of Fame during the fifth-end break. This is World Curling’s highest non-playing honor.

During the ceremony, Officer recounted Trulsen’s accomplishments for curling, including acting as coach and event organizer after his playing career ended. Under his leadership at the Norwegian Curling Association, Norway has opened nine dedicated curling facilities since 2010, helping foster the next generation of athletes.

“His legacy is one of excellence, leadership and unwavering dedication,” Officer said.

Trulsen accepted the honor with humility, joking that he “wasn’t sure what they were thinking.” He also put the spotlight on his team.

“While I’m honored to receive this, I think my whole team deserve this — it was all achieved through us being together,” Trulsen said, in a World Curling article. “Curling teaches you that you have to work with others and I think that’s really important.”

He said he was also honored to be in the same induction class as the late Norwegian skip Thomas Ulsrud, who was known in part for wearing loudly colored curling pants at the Olympics.

Norwegian receives sportsmanship award

During the medal presentation, Naess received the Collie Campbell Award. Competitors at the event voted on who among them best embodied the spirit of the game, including skill, honesty, fair play, friendship and sportsmanship.

Naess told the Standard-Examiner that the award was a great honor because it means you’re appreciated. He said it was always fun to play against competitors he’s known for a long time.

“If I get a great shot against men, I appreciate all the shots and all of the players,” Naess said.

Norway had a difficult week at worlds, finishing without a win despite pushing teams like Canada and the United States to an extra end. Naess said the record doesn’t affect his effort to be nice and appreciate everything.

“It’s harder to appreciate everything when things are going sideways, but just try to enjoy the moment no matter what,” he said.

Ryan Olson is lead designer for the Daily Herald and Standard-Examiner. He is also a part-time curling instructor for event organizers, the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, but was not involved in the event aside from teaching schoolchildren. Ryan can be reached at rolson@standard.net or on Bluesky at bsky.app/profile/quesoguapo.com.