47 Briers and counting: Calgary curling fan keeps pin-trading hobby alive in 2017

Curly Walz of Calgary has been collecting and trading curling pins for nearly 40 years, and made the trek to St. John's this week for to watch his 47th Brier competition.

Curly Walz and wife Shirley still embracing pin-trading despite noticeable decline in recent years

Geoff Bartlett · CBC News · Posted: Mar 08, 2017 6:30 AM EST | Last Updated: March 8, 2017

Curly and Shirley Walz of Calgary, seen here at Mile One Centre in St. John's, have been collecting and trading curling pins for decades. (Geoff Bartlett/CBC)

There is no shortage of unusual traditions that go along with the sport of curling and its premier Canadian tournament — the Tim Hortons Brier.

From fans who dress up in costumes every day of the event, to a 79-year-old man pretending to be a dancing bear — quirky rituals run strong through the game of rocks and brooms.

Curly Walz of Calgary has been collecting and trading curling pins for nearly 40 years, and made the trek to St. John's this week to watch his 47th Brier competition. It's believed he has one of the largest collections of curling pins in the world.

Walz's pins mostly represent provincial curling clubs, with some specifically designed for national and international tournaments over the years. (Geoff Bartlett/CBC)

Sitting at a table at Mile One Centre during the ninth draw on Tuesday afternoon, Walz and his wife Shirley proudly displayed hundreds of the pins they've collected over the years.

The designs are mostly of curling club crests from different provincial teams through the sport's history, some specifically designed for past Briers or world tournaments.

Declining interest

Pin trading has given Walz a great way to get excited about the game and meet people at events all across the country. However, he said there's just not as much interest in the hobby as there was years ago and he's only aware of a few traders in the older generations who still take it as seriously as he does.

"The younger ones don't seem to be picking it up," he said. "A lot of the old timers that were really into it have passed away and a lot of them have quit."

"But it's been pretty good this year, usually there's three or four [pin traders] around, but they're getting scarce."

Just some of the tens of thousands of pins that Curly and Shirley Walz have collected over the years. Curly says he leaves his most valuable pins at home in Calgary. (Geoff Bartlett/CBC)

Walz's collection is worth tens of thousands of dollars by now, and while he brought hundreds of the metal pins to Newfoundland this week, he opted to leave the most valuable and cherished ones at home.

Despite this being his 47th Brier — and having travelled to Newfoundland several times before — Walz regrets not making it to the last Brier in St. John's, back in 1972.

"I missed that one," he said. "I was a working boy then."