Tahli Gill & Dean Hewitt Post-Beijing 2022 Interview
We're pumped to bring you today's interview as we welcome back two of our favourite guests in Aussie curlers Tahli Gill & Dean Hewitt to talk about their experiences in Beijing and everything else in between! We find out their journey of emotion from qualifying for the Olympics right through to all the issues around positive and negative COVID tests during the Olympics. We also find out the moment they both felt like they were Olympians and just how it was knowing that curling had taken Australia by storm. Added to this we talk about a certain Swedish rival of theirs and also discover their love of all things Bing Dwen Dwen and burritos. It's an amazing chat that you simply won't want to miss!
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Please note this is an automated transcript that may contain errors.
BEN WATERWORTH: It is Off The Podium, An Olympics Podcast coming to you today for another interview episode. And what an interview we have today. We are bringing back two of our favourite guests on this show, Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt. Curlers from Australia represented Australia in the mixed doubles curling in Beijing. We had them on last year, not long after the Tokyo Olympics, where of course, at that point, they hadn't qualified for the Olympics. So it was a little bit more about their history in the sport, how they got into it and their hopes for Beijing. Obviously since then, qualified, went to the Olympics, curling took Australia by storm. So this is a great chat with both Tahli and Dean, very open and honest about their time, sort of what was going through their minds or all those kerfuffle moments with the COVID testing. And were they going to compete? Were they not? They were getting sent home, then they weren't. Everything else, how it was being Olympians, the moments they thought they were Olympians and everything else along those lines. And I've also got a bone to pick with Dean and Tahli. So we'll find out just exactly what that is. And I'll say the highlight of this interview, the two highlights of this interview is we talk about Oscar Erickson. And you know how much we like Oscar Erickson. And Bing Dwen Dwen is a big talking point in this interview. Get excited for the Bing Dwen Dwen. Here is our chat with Australian Olympic curlers, Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt.
BEN WATERWORTH: So excited to be able to welcome our next guest back to the show. We had them on several months ago in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics. Since then, qualified for the Olympics, went to the Olympics, did well at the Olympics, and now they're back from the Olympics. They made history as Australia's first ever curlers, finished tenth at the Olympics in mixed doubles curling. But not only that, they set the entire country on fire for the sport of curling. Ever since then, everybody in Australia has literally been curling. No one has stopped. It's just been curling, curling, curling. It's been incredible. And we're here to talk about their experiences at the Olympics and everything else in between. It's a pleasure to welcome back Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt. Guys, first of all, welcome back to the show. It's a pleasure to see both your faces again.
DEAN HEWITT: Thanks for having us again.
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, it's good to be back.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's just exciting to be a curling fan in Australia. Did you ever imagine that when you guys started this sport and this journey to the Olympics that we'd be sitting here post Olympics and everybody is just obsessed with curling? This is what you wanted, right? Australia is a curling nation all of a sudden.
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, I mean, it's definitely, it's nice to see the impact that we've had from being at the Olympics and how much excitement is around curling now. I mean, it's definitely a big goal of ours is to just get exposure and grow it for the sport in Australia. So it's good to see that it's slowly having that impact and hopefully that just keeps getting more and more each year.
BEN WATERWORTH: Dean, you've been doing it ever since you got back. I've been seeing your social medias. You just can't get away from the ice house. Like everybody just wants a part of you, left, right and centre. I think, Tahli, at least I saw you had a bit of R and R, whereas Dean, you're just straight back to it. You're straight back to curling still.
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah, I was straight back into it. But it's funny because every time I've been in the ice house, I've been teaching people how to curl and I've been killing myself. So I've just been there, probably throw two rocks and sweep out two metres of the ice for the whole session. So, but it's good. It's good teaching that kind of new generation, all those people that are keen to play. And yeah, it is nice to kind of take a step back and not have to throw every single day for the next few months.
BEN WATERWORTH: I have to just quickly touch on before we talk about the Olympics, because there's a whole range of things to talk about there. But obviously we talked to you, you qualified Olympics, simple journey. There was nothing else in between that. That qualifying tournament, I want to say, I stayed up, I think two, three in the morning, I think it was here in Australia. But I was laying in bed on my phone, staring at this screen. The first time I think in my life, I've stayed up to two in the morning watching Curling. But it was fantastic. And I think you obviously had a lot of people back home watching it, friends and family and everything along those lines. Just, I'll start with you, Dean, for this one. The moment of qualifying, but then was it more of seeing that reaction from the friends and family and everybody who had obviously supported you along that way that kind of was able to share in that moment with you in virtual world, but just that really made it, I guess, hit home that this was obviously a big deal to qualify for the Olympics.
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah, in the moment, it was actually quite surreal. I don't know how to describe how I felt when it happened. And I couldn't quite get my head around it actually, but it was pretty cool. It was an amazing reaction we had from the coaches too, and they're all stoked. And yeah, the amount of people back home were just incredible that stayed up to all hours of that night to watch that game. And yeah, it's just incredible, the response that we got from so many people and the media attention we had too. And yeah, it's so great. We have so many curlers that are kind of coming out of the woodwork, but also the new curlers which have never tried it before and who want to try it now. So the supportive base is growing, and I think it's fantastic for the sport too.
BEN WATERWORTH: Tahli, I want to mention that when we talk about the stuff to the Olympics that, I mean, Dean as well, but both of you just so cool, calm, under pressure with everything that happens in every single one of your matches. I think the most emotion I saw from you at all, through everything that I watched over the last few months was obviously when you qualified, Tahli. I mean, emotional experience for both of you, but I mean, how were your emotions going through at that point? And then as similar to Dean with all the reaction and feedback you got afterwards.
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, I mean, like Dean said, it was just such a surreal moment. And it's kind of like, oh my gosh, we did it. And it's like, I don't know how to feel. It's just so many different emotions. And I think after we got back and we actually went back to Canada after the Olympic qualification event. So, you know, we were Skyping with family and FaceTiming, but there was a reaction video, which I think was on a few different social media platforms of my family in their pyjamas. And yeah, just seeing their reaction and all the different, there were so many different types of reactions and it made me like really cry. And I was like, I watched it literally every day leading up to the Olympics, just because it felt like they were there with me. And yeah, it was good to see that. So, and it felt like they've been on the journey too. So it was nice to have that reaction. And yeah, so many, so many supporting people from Australia and also other countries that know our journey from the Curling community.
BEN WATERWORTH: We're just going to ask that based on what you're just saying there, Tahli. So given that you've no doubt a tight-knit community, particularly in the mixed doubles world, what was the reaction like? I mean, through some of these other countries to see that you've qualified through your journey and created this history for Australia to go to the Olympics.
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, so after we qualified, we got back to the hotel in the Netherlands. And just the welcome that we got from the other teams that we literally just competed against, they were just so, so proud. And you just felt the love from them, even though it was their dream too. It was just so nice to have that reception. And, you know, they're just so, so happy for us that we were able to do that. So, I mean, as we've said before, the curling community is so special in that way where everyone's your friend and they're there to wish you the best. And we definitely got that and it felt it was awesome.
BEN WATERWORTH: At what point do you then each have to sit down and with all the hoopla of qualifying celebration and just go, okay, we've done what we need to do. We got the business done. Now we're gonna focus on that little tournament in February in China. I mean, do you sort of take a little bit to soak in the celebration before having that conversation or is it literally straight back to work? Okay, we've now got two months to prepare for the Olympics, essentially. Maybe I'll start, Dean, with you for that one.
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah, we've got some small, almost micro breaks after that period, kind of around Christmas and right after we finished. But as soon as we finished, it was banged straight onto media calls and TV stations and all that stuff. So we kind of had to start thinking about the process then and things like, oh, what's our uniform size? What do we have to do for uniforms? And all these little things which come up and forms you have to sign. And a lot of things you had to do pretty quickly after that event. But yeah, we did kind of take a bit of time off the ice, which was nice, just to soak it all in. And we'd been training for three months flat out on ice. So we thought, well, it's probably time to have a bit of a break. And I was pretty sore after that event. And yeah, so that was kind of good to get away from the on ice. But yeah, the off ice still kind of went chugging along. But yeah, I think in terms of planning and actually having to focus on training for that next Olympics, you know, we did take a little bit of a break, but you don't get a whole lot of break between December and February. Like, there's not much time there. So we had to kind of keep the foot down a little bit.
BEN WATERWORTH: I think it's one of those rare moments where you qualified, I want to say, even though you're saying it's obviously such a close little period to February, compared to some of the other winter Olympians, that was quite a far away from, I think you were basically the first officially confirmed Australian Olympians for Beijing, because then it obviously flowed in pretty quickly. But the one thing that I think I could imagine it would help in a weird way with that attention that it brought, is does that help train you then for February, when even more people want to talk to you? Because I can't imagine you're probably both that used to getting a lot of attention, particularly in Australia. I know we talked a lot about that last time when it came to the World Championships the other year, but Tahli, maybe I'll start with you with this one. Did that help, I guess, the practice of the fact that you've got a few more eyes on you now at a tournament like this than what you're used to back home?
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, I think we definitely got a lot of practice with media and stuff like that. So I think we sort of, and it does help when a lot of the questions are kind of similar, so you can tweak it here and there and sort of add in different things and decide when you wanna ramble on a bit more. So yeah, we definitely got a lot of practice and it's just nice. I think we just really enjoyed sharing our story and our journey with all the media that we got in Australia. I think it's a very unique sort of journey. But I guess a lot of other winter sports in Australia, it's always nice to know what they went through because there's always so many different pathways to get to that level. So it was nice to share that with Australia. And I think definitely all the media helped when we got over there. It was very, very crazy. I didn't realise how many eyes were on you. So it was very good practice for the thing what we had to go through at the Olympics.
BEN WATERWORTH: Dean obviously feel similar to what Tahli saying there.
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah, yeah, definitely. It was kind of crazy that first night where we qualified and then bam, we're up and down into hotel rooms to get to do a video, then come back down and celebrate and then go back up. Literally every 10 minutes, we're heading up to do another interview. So it was a crazy night, but it was good to kind of get in that rhythm and sharing our stories, Tahli said. But I think, yeah, once we got to the Olympics and we did the big media thing at the start and we're going outside and we go try and find Channel 7 to chat to them. Oh, it might be just Channel 7, Channel 10, have a chat with them. And we go find them and we see this massive group of people, like, oh, all those reporters there for someone else. So we go and find Channel 7 and they're standing there and they're like, okay, ready to go. We're about to be stationed. And he's like, see all those cameras over there. We're going over there. So there's about 20 cameras all ready to go to hear about the story and all the things that had been going on for the first couple of days of when we arrived. And yeah, that was like, yeah, a big wake up call to, you know, it's not just Australia, which is interesting too. It's like multiple countries interested in your story. And yeah, the questions came thinking fast. And yeah, it really, it really got us going, but it was good. I mean, it's a great way to kind of get straight into the media side of things and having, you know, help with media too was great over there because we'd never really had someone to help us with media before.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which it sounds like at one point there, you just got so used to it. You're like, oh, NBC wants to talk. No, like, can we push them back to three? Like I was going to get something from the village at the moment. I'm hungry. Like they can wait, you know, Jimmy Fallon, nah, it's Thursday, Thursday at two.
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, I think we definitely, we were like, all right, who's next? It's just kind of like, yep, next. But it was fun. I actually enjoyed it at the end. I was like, oh, this is really cool. Yeah, so I, yeah, Dean, I totally forgot about that. I felt really rude because there was the cameras and they're like, oh, can you guys like walk again? We want to capture that. And I was, we were like, oh, we've got to do something else first, sorry. It was with them, like, oh, this is like, oh my gosh, that's for us. So yeah, that was funny. I forgot about that.
BEN WATERWORTH: What are the questions? Just, you know, asking for a friend that you get asked too many times that you're sick of. I know I asked a bunch of them to you, obviously when we had you on last year, the standard welcome to curling. Hey, we've got Australian curling questions, but are there ones since then that if maybe you get one more person ask you one of those questions, you're going to be like, no, no more, I'm done. See you later, bye-bye.
TAHLI GILL: I always get muddled up on how to explain curling, just because the simplest way is to relate it to lawn bowls, but we're really trying to get away from that. And then when I explained it in a different way, in like a total roundabout way, that doesn't make any sense. They're like, oh, so it's like lawn bowls. And I'm like, well, the scoring is, but nothing else, I guess, it's really, so I always, you know, if I get asked about how to play curling, I'll probably, you know, I really need to find another way how to explain it, because it's definitely a question we get asked a lot and will be asked a lot again in the future.
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah, and definitely questions around like, how did you get into the sport? I mean, that's pretty, that's an obvious question, being such a niche sport. You don't really expect people to get into the sport. So that's really a common one. What else do you get?
BEN WATERWORTH: Do you both get, like, this is a, because when you Google you, one of the first things that comes up with is, Dean Hewitt, Tahli Gill, relationship. So is that like a question that people are always asking? Are you two to get, like, because I can imagine that's just people's curiosity, right?
TAHLI GILL: We actually haven't been asked that.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow, really?
DEAN HEWITT: Really?
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, you guys aren't, we're confirming this right now. Like, you're not, so, I mean, simple.
TAHLI GILL: We're not, no.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, exactly. Like, get it over and done with. We're not. Stop Googling it. Like, it's one of those weird things.
DEAN HEWITT: It's usually not in media that they ask that. It's usually in, like, the chat before.
BEN WATERWORTH: The shitty podcast like this.
DEAN HEWITT: No, no, no, no. No, it's obviously not even that either. It's often just the chat before you begin the interview. It's like, so you're together because they want to get the background so they don't ask something awkward during the interview. So they never actually ask it during the interview.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which is one of those funny things. Somebody shared a meme during the Olympics about figure skating where it was like, it's the media's job to tell us in the pairs figure skating whether these two are together, like best friends or like a future divorce couple or something like that. So I think the same thing should be done for curling, but we've cleared that up. And also an exclusive answer on Off The Podium. So I'm actually glad that I asked that question because I assumed that was something everyone would ask you, but cool. Exclusive on Off The Podium. People can stop Googling that right now. But it's actually funny too, because when we had you guys on, it was sort of one of these things where you'd obviously done interviews, but it sort of hadn't really been something that you had done a lot of. So I found it interesting in watching a lot of the media and as you were both saying, sort of getting asked those similar questions along the way. But it's also, it was really great to see, particularly a lot of other podcasts, I know that you did sort of getting on board and I guess learning more about you. Cause I guess it's these type of interviews where you might not be getting the attention that you're getting say on Channel 7 or the project or something like that, but you can go more in depth into your careers and things like that. And Dean, I think the one I just watched on the project of sweeping girls off their feet, shitty project questions that we don't ask on this show. We just ask if you're together, that's more important. So I mean, it's kind of- The real gosh. You know, the freaking Daily Mail are going to have that on their front page. news.com.au is going to, the headline tomorrow is going to be like burning question about Dean Hewitt and Tahli Gill finally answered. So you can have that for free, news.com.au. But I don't even know what the question is in this, apparently. I'm just rambling. But podcast, more fun, talking, Dean, Tahli, answer it. I've lost the point.
DEAN HEWITT: It's true, though, because you look at a lot of the TV stations or radio things, and they could literally be like two or three questions. And between us, you might even answer one question between each. So overall, it's not a whole lot of information you kind of share. And it's sometimes just some questions which you can find answered anywhere else on any other interview. So you are right about the podcast. You get into more detail and learn about a few different things about us.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which also I can guarantee to both of you, you are getting asked these questions. Even I'm asking you these questions right now. That if you were curlers in Canada, you're not getting asked those questions. I don't think that John and Rachel are getting at, are you guys together? Like they're getting the serious like super curling questions like, oh, on the fourth end, why didn't you curl down the left point to get to the house? Like, so I mean, that's a unique aspect of being Australian curlers. You get the unique questions.
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, yeah, well, I think also these kind of interviews, you really get to know the person, like the person behind the athlete kind of thing. So I think it's cool. And I remember last time we did like rapid fire questions with you, and I like totally blanked on all of them. So I'm like prepared if we have to do that again.
DEAN HEWITT: Okay, Ben is not prepared.
BEN WATERWORTH: Shit, I'm not. You two have just been to an Olympics, you've got all this media training, the world's on you. Well, I'm just still sitting in my bedroom in my pyjamas asking you questions. Nothing's changed for me. Wow, I've got to be prepared and ready to go. One thing that I always like to ask our guests who have gone to the Olympics, it's those moments of when do you feel that you are an Olympian? So for both of you, was it that moment you qualified? Dean you were mentioning about things like uniform sizing, was it when you got the uniform, when you showed up to Beijing? I mean, to both of you, I mean, it might be different for both of you. I don't know. When did you both maybe feel that, okay, I'm an Olympian?
TAHLI GILL: Did you want to go first, Dean?
DEAN HEWITT: You can think about yours. There's probably two moments. I think number one, where you go into the ice for the first time and there's Olympic rings on the rocks, Olympic rings in the ice, Olympic rings along every friggin wall that's there, like it's everywhere. But I think the other time, sorry, Tahli, but was that the opening ceremony? Walking out there and like, you literally just turn the corner, there's big bright lights and yeah, just the massive rings that you walk underneath, like it was just the most surreal feeling you can have. It just shivers down the spine even thinking about it. Yeah, that was pretty special. And I think just to hang out and see all the other athletes with you, who you see it all the time and all these other events online, but you never actually get to see in person because you're kind of in your curling bubble, you never get to go to the ski and snowboard bubble or anything like that. So yeah, it was kind of cool to catch up with all those other people too.
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, I think for me, it was a couple, like we got our on ice uniforms when we were in Beijing. And so opening them up and like we'd seen the design online and I'm so excited because it had like the Aboriginal artwork and I love the story behind that. So and being able to represent that was really, really awesome. And just seeing that in person was really cool and putting it on, I was like, oh, this is happening. And then the time where it kind of really sunk in was when we had just done the big press conference and we went to the venue and checked it all out. And we were walking on to the ice level and the Scottish like intro to like when you're walking around for the first time, the Scottish intro was playing and it just felt so real and Dean's right, like everywhere you look, there's Olympic rings everywhere. It's like we are definitely here and we're definitely playing. So that was really, really cool. And yeah, it's kind of like all the time for me, I was like, is it real? Is it, you know, it's happening. So that was really, really, really cool. And yeah, just putting on the uniform and walking out and seeing the venue and being like, yeah, this is where we're gonna play tomorrow.
BEN WATERWORTH: The Australian uniform, I think, was great at the Olympics, but I think you guys had the best one. Like, I mean, no disrespect to some of our skiers and snowboarders and they were great uniforms. But I think that just yours just really popped and really stood out. And as you're saying, Tahli, that was the sort of the Aboriginal artwork on it was fantastic, but even just, you know, the green or the gold, and I loved every single match I was watching. Oh, they were in the green today, they were in the gold. And then I don't know if you guys are superstitious, but I'm like, oh, I haven't done too well on the gold so far. So hopefully the green will bring some luck. So like things like that. So, I mean, just on that, I'll start with you, Dean, with that, was it a case of you got to choose every single day what one you were using, or was it more of a, like, this will clash with the Swedes today. So we can't wear the gold, so we have to wear the green, something like that.
DEAN HEWITT: No, so it's all based on the rock colour you're going to be throwing. So if we throw red rocks, we have to throw, we have to wear a dark colour. So that's the green uniform. And then if we have the other rocks, we have to wear a light colour, which is either white or yellow. So yeah, it's all dictated by that. So yeah, then you literally don't clash with the opposition anyway. It's actually down to the timers more than anything, because if you wear the same colour, the timers up the top can't really pick out who's who, and they can't work out where you're standing in when they start and stop the clock. Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: So, and was that then, were you superstitious about that? Were you thinking to yourself, like particularly in those early matches, there was like, oh shit, you know, we need to get out of this colour, cause you know, or does that not play into either of your minds?
TAHLI GILL: I'm really not a superstitious person. Yeah, I've never really had a superstition. And the colour, it's more just a really very basic person, but the colour, I'm like, this looks really good. I'm like, you know, I feel like the yellow one really popped on, on the TV and with photos, like I was looking through the photos the other day, I was like, damn, that yellow one really popped and it looks amazing. But yeah, and I think the, the artwork stood out so much more on the yellow uniform. So it was really, yeah, I love the uniforms. And just, I look at them all the time in my cupboard. I'm like, ah, I love them.
DEAN HEWITT: And it's interesting, because so many athletes from other sports were coming up to us like, we love your uniforms. We wish we had something like that. And they were like asking people from the ANC, why aren't we getting uniforms that look like that? So yeah, we're pretty lucky with those. And yeah, I got a lot of competency from the other curlers that were there.
BEN WATERWORTH: Fantastic, because yeah, you get like multiple suitcases, and even the suitcase is a branded too, right? It's not like you just get your standard Kmart suitcase. You've got your AOC carbon sport suitcase that you're coming home with and everything like that. How many suitcases you end up coming home with and now they're all just filled with your uniforms?
TAHLI GILL: So when we went home, we had the two suitcases, but we're getting two more shipped to us.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow.
TAHLI GILL: So we have four all together that we've got coming home with us. And basically, yeah, it's mostly uniforms because we packed the bare minimum in Canada. It was a lot of curling stuff originally because we've been overseas for five months. So yeah, basically I packed all of the Olympic stuff in the bags that I was bringing home and all of my regular stuff in the ones that are coming back in the freight. So yeah, full bags. And I'm not a happy person if I have to unpack. I don't really enjoy that. So gotta do it four times, unfortunately.
DEAN HEWITT: So Tahli's just going around wrapping all the Australian gear right now because she has no normal clothes.
TAHLI GILL: It's an excuse to go shopping.
BEN WATERWORTH: But that helps you both. I can't imagine that, Tahli, you walk down to the local shopping centre and look at me in my Australian Olympic uniform and just say, hey, you're that curler. Oh, and here you have some free milk. I mean, it kind of probably helps you at the moment, right?
TAHLI GILL: Oh, I don't wear it in public. I'm not that kind of person.
BEN WATERWORTH: Now that you get free milk, now that I've put that idea in your head now, you're welcome.
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, I haven't thought about that. So that's actually given me an idea. Get some free milk out of my trips to Coles or Willys.
BEN WATERWORTH: Always want that free milk, right?
DEAN HEWITT: Willys, Willys, AOC's Willys.
BEN WATERWORTH: Official sponsor of the Australian Olympic team. There you go.
TAHLI GILL: Willys, always Willys.
DEAN HEWITT: I've been out like three times with the gear on because one, when I came home from the airport and people noticed you, because I thought, oh, I'll just go to the bakery and get my favourite sandwich. Like, need to get favourite sandwich. And I walked in and I'm like, oh crap, I'm wearing my full gear of the media stuff before it. And you do get recognised. People actually come up to you now and say hello. And I was at the ice rink the other day and was just walking through the little shopping precinct that's next to it. And someone yells out my name and says, congrats. And you're like, it's just so foreign. I don't know if I like it, but it's just very, very weird having people recognise you on the street. So it's just a true indicator that don't wear your uniform on the street because people recognise you.
BEN WATERWORTH: But has it happened when you're not in your uniform, Dean? Like, has somebody recognised you out of it, not yet?
DEAN HEWITT: No.
BEN WATERWORTH: Right.
DEAN HEWITT: Not in public. At the ice rink, yeah, but not in public.
BEN WATERWORTH: I wanna try that out. Maybe I need to get my hands on some of the uniform and just see if people think I'm you. I mean, we're very similar looking, of course, Dean, but I just, I mean, maybe it's just a thing where, oh, you're in an Olympic uniform. Oh, you're an Olympian. Boom, I loved you in the luge. You were great. I watched every minute of it or something like that.
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah, yeah, I think you should give it a go. I don't think it's a bad idea at all.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, you know, if that, I'd wear an Off The Podium t-shirt, but people are like, oh, that show is shit. I don't listen to that. You know, that's terrible. The thing actually, talking about uniforms, the one thing that I always loved during the Olympics, particularly with you, Dean, was that I knew shit was getting real when you removed the jacket. Like, I swear you started every single match with the jacket on, and then by like the third end, the jacket was off. Like, and I'm like thinking, right, Dean's into this, Dean's getting involved right now. Like, were there just times where you thought to yourself, maybe I shouldn't wear the jacket because I am getting myself worked up a little bit? Or was that strategy? Let's show the other team, all right, the jacket's off. The muscles are out now. We're getting deep into this.
DEAN HEWITT: It's more so just sweating something fierce. It was so warm in there, but I just had to take the jacket off. I found that most games, I really could have started without the jacket overall, but I just wore it for the little presentation to start off the game. And I just always forgot to take it off before that first end. So sometimes it was literally Tahli's first throw and I'd sweep it the whole way. And I'm like, yep, I'm good.
BEN WATERWORTH: Jacket's hot. Jacket time.
DEAN HEWITT: I've always thought as well, because you get all the snow gear as well. You get this big snow jacket, ski pants, everything like that. I was like, if I went to the snow and wore that and went skiing, imagine what people would think. This guy that's going down the slope, stacking every like 20 metres. How is this guy an Olympian? I think, yeah, I should give it a go one day just for a bit of a laugh.
BEN WATERWORTH: Do it.
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: That works. Yeah. And then that way you can also claim free shit. Yeah, I'm totally an Australian Olympic skier. And then, you know, they don't have to know what sport you're from. You went to the Olympics, kind of all blends together. Look at us, like half an hour into this interview, I've barely even touched on anything. We're talking about clothes, we're talking about getting free milk. I'm trying to break all these, oh, the bloody questions we get all the time. This is why we're going off the podium to get these type of questions. I will talk about now the Olympics, and particularly the beginning, arriving in Beijing. A bit of complications. How can you even begin to describe that for both? Vitaly, I'll start with you, because obviously, you test positive, you kind of have to get isolated. I mean, I can't imagine after everything that you've gone through to get to the Olympics, to qualify for the Olympics, and then you arrive and then there's this chance that it might get taken away from you straight away. I mean, just can you describe how that whole period felt, particularly when you're in isolation and everything that came from that?
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, so after I heard the result, I was kind of in shock. It's like, oh, you know, what the heck? And then, yeah, just kind of like throughout the day. And obviously, I had to isolate, so I was kind of like in my own head. For most of it, I think I stayed pretty positive, but then it sort of hit me, and I was like, this could be over before we even begin. And I just like, I really broke down, to be honest. Like I just was in my room and just like crying, and I was looking at all the gear, and I hadn't even unpacked it, because I was just like, I can't even like look at the gear. And I just, yeah, I just felt like, oh, you know, it's just all over, and we might not even begin, but I was like, you know what, no, we're gonna be playing like against the US, we're gonna, you know, have a good game. And so I just was like, I call my family and I was like unpacking my stuff with them and like really enjoying that sort of experience, because that's sort of like something that you want to enjoy as well when you get there. And so I was like, you know, this is not gonna, this is not gonna get to me, this is not gonna define my experience or the campaign and I think also, I really have to thank the team. I spoke with quite a lot of people that day about, you know, just trying to understand the process and understand, you know, all the different outcomes and talk that through and the doctors were amazing and just, you know, providing information, but also just helping me sort of calm down about the whole situation and just be that voice to be like, you know, it's all gonna be okay. And obviously I was on the phone a lot with Dean and just sort of going through it, because we were both going through it, but I guess in a different sort of way. So, you know, I wasn't, after I had a bit of a mental breakdown, I really wasn't that concerned. I knew it would all work out just because I had so much reassurance and I just felt like I clicked a switch and was like, no, this is not it. You know, we're gonna be out there competing. So, and you know, it all worked out after that for a little bit.
BEN WATERWORTH: Dean, were you isolated as well kind of and what was your kind of take on how everything was going in your feelings throughout that period?
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah, so we had to isolate as well until we kind of received more information about what our status would be. And yeah, so we were isolating for that, most of that day, I think, at least. So yeah, I think the hardest thing for us is we couldn't go in and give Tahli a hug. I mean, like we couldn't actually go see her or do anything like that. And so everything was over the call. And yeah, it was just a lot of calls to different people working out what the situation would be for Tahli and the whole team. But yeah, we're pretty confident, you know, Tahli tested negative so many times before leaving for China anyway, that we knew that it would just be shedding. And yeah, we just had to, you know, wait it out and just hopefully the following tests would come back negative, which they did and we were able to play. So it was a lot of just trying to bring yourself back to we're playing and focusing on performance rather than thinking the worst. I think, oh, I'm preparing myself for what if I can't play because really that doesn't help anything. It's not gonna change the situation as it is. But if we can go out there and be ready for that first game regardless of what the situation is, then at least we are happy with whatever the result will be in that first game and the first few games that matter.
BEN WATERWORTH: Did that ultimately, that whole period, do you feel that affected you in the first game against the US or was that sort of so quickly out of your mind by the time you hit the ice that that was in the back of your mind and it didn't even play a part into that match?
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, honestly, I didn't even think about it. I like by the time we got to the venue to warm up, I was like, enough, like it's all been normal. Just so weird because normally things sort of like that kind of like linger in my head, but I was really just like, okay, got the negative results. We got to do the media. What's next? What's next? What's next? Like park it, move on. So I really, without being like, I felt like we just handled it like such chance. And we were just like, great, you know, we're out here and we're gonna bring the fire. And I feel like we did. And we were right in it and had the shot for the win. And unfortunately didn't come off. But yeah, I felt like we really parked it and just came out firing and just, I mean, that was a fun game. They're such a fun team. And it was a little bit of a playoff against the girls because we were just like, Vicky was on fire. And I felt really good out there. And you know, the guys are playing amazing runbacks. And yeah, it was just a great game and really fun and a great way to start, especially after all the drama.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which I got to say probably the highest rated curling match in Australian history, let's be honest. I mean, Channel 7 aired Eddie the Eagle before that came on. So everybody was tuning in to watch Hugh. And then obviously pop on comes you guys for curling. But it was such a great match. And this is coming from someone who probably has not watched as many curling matches as some other people in his life. But I honestly, I was like, yep, five, three, you guys have got this in the bag. Absolutely, no way you can lose this. This is gonna be great, perfect start. Here we go, Australian curling. And then obviously it came down to basically the last throw. Dean, obviously I'd messaged you. I'd let you know I'd met your dad working at Channel 7. I'd spoken to your great guy, Steve, we'll talk about him. But one of the conversations I had with him, he mentioned to me that there always seems to be something with you two against the US, that it's kind of almost like a team that you come up against and it never seems to happen. What is it about USA that you come against in these tournaments that it just always seems to happen?
DEAN HEWITT: I don't know what it is. I've played one with Mum and one with Tahli at World Championships. And both of those, we had the shot for the win, whether it was the last end or the extra end, and then coming up against them at the Olympics again, it was last end, having that shot for the win. Like there's something about it, I don't know what it is, but we always have such good battles against them and always in really good positions to beat them. So I think it's just a matter of time before we actually just go on the other side of things and can knock them off.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's what we want, right? You always got to beat America. But I mean, Tahli, you were mentioning obviously like sort of that battle with Vicky. I know we talked a lot in our interview last time about the strategy and kind of what you're both saying at either of those ends and how unique curling is that we can hear that. But when they call in the coach and you can, I don't know how much of it you can hear, obviously we're watching it on TV, we can hear a lot more of it, but are you both kind of thinking to yourself like, oh shit, this isn't good? Or, oh no, Vicky, don't do that. That's bullshit. You're not gonna pull that off. Or like, how does that work when it comes to knowing what they're doing? Because it's not like a game of soccer where you can counter what they're doing. You've kind of just in the laps of the guard at that point and hoping that what they're saying isn't gonna come together and that she's gonna fuck it up or something like that.
TAHLI GILL: No, I think I have the mindset that every time they make a call on what shot they're gonna make, they're gonna make it and make it really good. Because we've spoken a lot about the sort of challenge mindset and I love the challenge of they just threw a good shot and like, okay, we're gonna throw it even better than what that team just threw. So I really like that sort of challenge mindset and you always hope that the other team's gonna make their shot so that you can one-up them. So yeah, like I think that's sort of how we think. And definitely, I think that's what I used to think when I was a bit younger players, like, oh, I hope they miss you. And especially back then, not as much experience in that kind of thing. So, but yeah, now Dean and I have such a awesome challenge mindset and really just wanna outplay our opponents all the time. So that's kind of where we're at now.
BEN WATERWORTH: Dean, similar to what Tahli's saying.
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah, exactly. I mean, what I don't like a sports like a few years back, say, you know, if you're given this shot to, you know, win a game to basically go to world championships, would you take it? Would you go out there right now and take it? And you say, absolutely, of course I would. And they said, well, why not when you get to the final game, you know, hope they make their last shots, you can actually go out there and make that killer blow and win the game and go to a world championships or win a game at the Olympics, whatever it might be, you know, you want to make that last shot. It's like, it's almost like the kick after the siren, you dream for that, you don't dream for the opposition missing a shot on goal to win a game, you know? So that's the whole mindset that we have into it. And hopefully they make all their shots and we just make ours a little bit better.
BEN WATERWORTH: We've got to ask the dumb standard Australian who hasn't watched a lot of curling question to you both. But when you're in a moment, say at the end of the sixth end in that first match, when you're five, three up, again, casual curling fan, I'm like, got it, this is in the bag. They're not going to lose it from here. But I can't imagine for both of you, you ever have that mindset. Cause even in a match when say you're seven, one up with two ends to go, anything can happen. So, I mean, I guess my long winded question, is there ever a moment in a game of curling where you can literally say to yourself, I think we've got this, or can you never let yourself lapse into that way? Cause again, anything can happen. I'll put that to both of you there.
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, just with mixed doubles, it's just so nerve wracking all the time. Even if you're like four up, going into the last end and you're like, we got it. Yeah, it's still a chance for the other team to like, you know, score four, go to an extra end kind of thing. And I think, you know, just I've learned that never thinking you're safe is probably, you know, as soon as you think you're safe, that's where you kind of like lose focus a little bit and you go like start to make small mistakes that will cost you a big end. So yeah, it's tough. And we've done a lot, we have done a lot of work off I sort of going through like where's an ideal position to be in and at what point do we wanna sort of have a two point lead or if we're down by two, what should we do from a strategical point of view? And there's definitely parts in the game that you wanna ideally be up and it increases your chances of coming out with the win, but you're never safe in mixed doubles and just cause there's so much in play and it's such a cluster in the centre, it's like you throw a big massive hit and everything goes and suddenly you were sitting two on the button that pretty locked, now they're sitting four and you've got one at the open and you're like, what the heck? So yeah, you're never safe in mixed doubles.
BEN WATERWORTH: Never safe, Dean, you can get that on, I think both of you can get that on a T-shirt, basically. Never safe in mixed doubles, you know? Felt fundraised towards Milan, right?
DEAN HEWITT: Probably a good idea. Yeah, no, you never feel safe, as Tahli said. I think the only time you do is if you've, if they've pretty much run out of rocks and they have to concede, like that's pretty much the only time you feel safe, or if you're five up going to last end with hammer. Like there's only a few situations where you truly feel safe. And it's tough. And that's what's so good about mixed doubles, you know, the men's and women's, you can kind of be three up in that last end, you're pretty much safe. But no, not in doubles, not even close.
BEN WATERWORTH: The thing that I learnt the most from watching you both at the Olympics, I think, is that how bloody calm you two are. I just think it's ridiculous. It's ridiculous, particularly that first match, where I think all of Australia were like, oh, we're heartbroken, how did they lose this? This is devastating. And you two were just like, yeah, good game, front and media, yeah, no, we'll back up for the next one. But even I think once, and I can't remember which match it was, I think I saw one slight facial expression from you, Tahli, of disappointment. But everything, even when all of a sudden the commentators are going like, oh yeah, no, that wasn't great, you're both like, oh well, let's move on to the next one. Is that part of just mixed doubles curling, or are you two just really good at being really calm? Because I'm telling you now, if that was me, I'd be throwing brooms, I'd be kicking stones. I'd be shitty if I fucked up. And you guys just, you never seemed to have anything bother you both.
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, it's really something that I think we've both developed. I used to get really affected by the outcome, like wins and losses, and I used to be like, oh yeah, it's a game we should have won. And obviously, you definitely feel that. I mean, after the US game, I was kind of like, oh, I've literally played that shot so many times and made it so many times, but just with the games and the Olympics and how back to back the schedule is, you really have to just park it and move on. And I'm surprised that I come across so calm because Dean, you know, I'm so like, I'm the worst poker face.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's news to Dean.
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, I'm the worst poker face. And I feel like in interviews, I'm just like constantly a million emotions at once. And my face, I, throughout school, I had these such bizarre facial expressions in class. So I'm surprised that you've said that. That's actually really good to hear.
BEN WATERWORTH: No, we all believed. We all believed, Tahli. Take our poker.
TAHLI GILL: Yeah. So yeah, I think it's definitely, what we said in the interviews is true. You really just have to park it and move on.
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah, I think. What were you saying?
BEN WATERWORTH: No, no, no. I was literally going to say, I'll be intrigued, Dean, to see if you fall into that, but no, take it.
DEAN HEWITT: I was chatting to someone the other day and they said, sometimes you don't actually see the outcome of the shot. On the coverage, that's just not what you got to see. They kind of cut it over to someone's expression or something else. And they said, but as soon as they cut Tahli's face, he knew Off was a good shot or a bad shot.
TAHLI GILL: Okay, so I do not have a poker face.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'm watching it differently. I'm creating my own narrative clearly.
DEAN HEWITT: Like I was giving nothing apparently, but yeah, and that comes down to Australian curling, to be honest. I grew up for three years, I think, in juniors, never winning a game, like not one game, and finishing dead last all the time. So you learn what losses feel like, and you just deal with it and have to move on to the next one. And I've always kind of thought about the game as a whole and thinking about, okay, you know, we've actually played a really good game here and you've missed one shot. It just happened to be the last shot. So if you miss that shot on the first end, you'd be like, oh, whatever, they scored one. But because it's the last shot, suddenly you have the emotions attached to it. So I don't know, for me, it's just like, it's one shot in the game. And if you miss all the shots in the game, well, that just wasn't a good game. But if you miss one shot out of many good shots, well, so be it. That's just how it goes sometimes. Sometimes you make those last shots, sometimes you don't, but at least we put ourselves in a position to win the game. And that's what we always want. If you don't have a shot to win the game, you played the wrong strategy, you haven't played the game correctly. So as long as you've got that last shot and you've got that chance to win the game, that's the most important thing.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which it obviously seems like a sport with just such a fine line, because you lose three of the first four by one point. And I mean, had they gone the other way around, you'd be, you know, three wins and one loss, different situation coming into those final two games. I mean, we could have easily been talking about you in the medal rounds. And I'm guessing that's quite common in mixed doubles curling that it's, you know, six of one half dozen of the other where it can go either way. I mean, we saw with Italy, I mean, I know in sort of my limited knowledge of curling, but looking at the rankings and doing the research, and I'm like, well, they're the second rank lowest team, never won a medal in curling. Don't know if Italy gonna do well, so we won't really pay attention to them, went on to go undefeated and win the gold medal. So is that generally what it is? And maybe Dean, I'll start with you in mixed doubles. This is a common thing that, you know, lots of close games and throw one way or the other, and we could be talking to you a lot differently rather than losing the first five, you could have won the first five.
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah, you look at mixed doubles, and I think every team that was there said, any team could win this. And we have no idea who it might be. And literally everyone agreed to that because you just have no idea. It's just the type of format that it is that anyone can beat anyone on their given day, which differs a lot from mixed doubles to men's and women's. Like you look at men's and women's, and I think most people could have predicted the top four teams. Not sure which order out of those top four, but you know who those top four teams were. But yeah, you look at mixed doubles and said like Italy, you wouldn't have expected them to win it, but you knew they could. And that's the difference. And I think that's what's so fantastic about the sport is a country like Australia can get up there and beat these top teams. And yeah, just looking forward to the next four years and potentially getting on that podium. That's what we want now.
BEN WATERWORTH: Tahli, anything to add on that?
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, I think too, the field for mixed doubles, it was so tight. Like I think, you know, I would never have said that like Dean said, a team would go undefeated. And they totally smashed it. And yeah, I mean, they were on fire. And that's the kind of thing is that if you're on fire and you're playing really well and playing really consistently, then you will get that result. But yeah, I mean, just the teams and the field was insane. And really cool to be a part of too, just to know that we're up there mixing it with the best and, you know, giving them some really good games. So yeah, we weren't just there making numbers. We were there, you know, there to win. And yeah, like you said, it's a game of millimetres. It's a game of, you know, fine, like just slight misses here and there. And it's a tough, tough pill to swallow at the time, but you know, that's the game. That's why we love it. That's why we play it. Cause sometimes you're on the right side of it. Sometimes, unfortunately, you're on the wrong side. So yeah, hopefully next time it's a different narrative.
BEN WATERWORTH: Literally millimetres when it came to, was it Canada originally won when basically they're not qualifying came down to wow. That was absolutely insane watching that. Two that I wanted to touch on quickly. The game against Sweden. Now, the reason I bring up Sweden is I was watching this game in the Channel 7 studio. We're obviously cheering for both of you, but everybody, including myself, we all fell in love with Oskar Eriksen. Is this man the most beautiful man on the planet? Like, seriously, we were absolutely enamoured. I mean, does this guy just glow radiance when you play? Are you both distracted with just how beautiful this man is? Seriously, I don't know. I don't swing that way, but I would for Oskar. Cause like, seriously, I am just enamoured by this. And on Off The Podium, we gave him our Athlete of the Day just because we're like, wow, this guy is amazing. So, I don't know. Like, I mean, is this something that you can describe in person how beautiful Mr. Eriksen is when you're... And that's why you lost, right? You were just distracted by how perfect he is.
TAHLI GILL: Obviously, you know, he's a very attractive person, but yeah, just he's a great player. Like really, he just throws some insane shots. And he's a really great person too. Like he came up to us after the whole like, we're in, we're out debacle on the last day. And he's like, I'm so glad that you guys are out here playing and finishing it off. And just, you know, like, he's, you know, so many people said that to us, but he's just such a nice person. And he's kind of been, you know, at every event sort of in terms of worlds, like he was there in 2019, we played against him and Anna, and he said had some really nice things to say to us about how cool it was that we're sort of doing this and being Australian and getting some results in curling. And yeah, he's just such a great person. So for me, his personality is like, that's what makes him good.
BEN WATERWORTH: All right, all right, come on. Yeah, thanks, Tahli. But Dean, come on, join me here. Come on, seriously, personality, personality, whatever.
DEAN HEWITT: No, no, he's a good looking stallion, that's for sure. He, I always refer to him as kind of like a Ken doll in how he's like groomed and everything, you know, so.
BEN WATERWORTH: We were selling him as potentially the next James Bond or Superman. We think he's got that look, you know?
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah, yeah, I think so. And I think the other reason why I was thankful that we were out there was we had to beat Canada in order for them to get into playoffs. So I think he was very thankful we were there. All right.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's why he was so nice. It was like, oh, God, I'm so glad you're there. And he's like, fuck it, Canada.
DEAN HEWITT: No, I think it was pretty genuine, but yeah, he's such a good guy and just an incredible player. I think a lot of people have rated him as one of the most influential players for that event. So yeah, really down to earth guy, but yeah, he's a good looker.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, he is definitely. And now he's a-
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Hey, look, you never know. But he's the most decorated curler now in Olympic history with four medals, of course now. So yeah, he's definitely not only got the looks, he's got the skills apparently there too. But I mean, just on the Canada match. Now, one thing I'm actually disappointed for the game against Canada is that it happened on a day where Australia won a gold and a bronze medal. Because seriously, I called this maybe the greatest sporting moment in Australian sporting history. Baga Australia winning the America's Cup, like qualifying for the World Cup back into- We beat Canada at the Olympics in curling. We should be having street parades. Scomo should be telling everybody who shows up to work tomorrow, if they get fired, they're a bum. This should be national holiday stuff, but, oh, Jakara had to go and win a gold. Thanks, Jakara. Tess Wannabre, oh, just take away from this massive moment. But in all seriousness, what is that like to beat Canada and to beat your coach? I mean, did you do well because you know how he's going to play? And also kind of help to eliminate them from the competition, as we're saying. Dean, I'll start with you, I'm rambling again, but that's a pretty epic moment, to beat Canada at the Olympics in curling.
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah, I suppose in just country v country, I think it was incredible that Australia can, you know, beat a country like Canada, which is such a huge curling nation. But on the other side of things, you know, before the game, we had a really good atmosphere with the Canadians, everything, and then it went full business for both teams. It was just like head down, focus on the game. And for me, I actually didn't know what the importance was of that game for Canada's playoffs hopes anyway. I think I looked at the standings once throughout that whole event, because I was like, yeah, that doesn't change anything. Just end up at the event, at the game, you know, same preparation as usual. So I didn't know that I actually potentially knocked them out, but I'm glad I didn't know that. But yeah, it was such a weird game and a weird feeling afterwards too, you know, on one sense, just the pure relief that, you know, if the event's over and we finished off with a couple of wins on the final day, being such a crazy whirlwind of a last day as well, like it was just mental and, you know, having a few people in the crowd as well from Australia, cheering us on, that was nice as well. But, you know, playing against your coach, it's, I don't know, I'm not a big fan of it, to be honest, because you're such good mates. Like for us, you know, he's our friend first and coach second, and to play someone like that with, you know, such a close bond with us as it was, yeah, I don't want to do that again. Ideally, we don't have to, but, you know, it's just a funny feeling after that game, you know, beating them, but, you know, just finishing off the event in a positive sense and, you know, knowing we can leave the Olympics with a head held high.
BEN WATERWORTH: Were you aware, Tahli, that what that meant for Canada and the fact of you beating them, could eliminate them at all? Were you aware at all?
TAHLI GILL: No, I'm the same as Dean. I do not look at standings at all during events. I think it gets in your head, and especially when you get down to the nitty-gritty, it's just like, what could happen here? And I just feel like for me, it's a distraction. But on that too, we didn't really have time to look at the standings. We'll get to that. Yeah, so like Dean, it was tough playing that game just from that coach-student relationship. And obviously, we're really good friends with John. And yeah, like he definitely treated us like family while we were in Canada. So I had no idea what that meant for them. And yeah, just, I mean, I just was so happy to just get out on the ice and play. And I mean, obviously, it's very rare that you get to play against your coach. So it was a little good of a little challenge in a way, but yeah, it was tough. And especially afterwards, you feel happy about the outcome, but at the same time, you're kind of like, oh, you know, that was different. It's a different feeling for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which is there any moments during that match where he's going to quickly go past you and maybe just because I wouldn't have thrown it that way, remember what I told you? I mean, or is it purely just business? Like he's just like at the other end, no, I'm not going to say anything to you.
TAHLI GILL: It was business for sure, but he was there as an athlete and we were there as athletes. So, yeah, but you know, like we had to get it, just kind of that, it was more of a friendship relationship at the games. And if we ran into him, it was, you know, how's it going? And that kind of thing. But yeah, athlete too, for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: And no longer your coach, I can imagine now. He doesn't want you, he's like, screw you guys, you're not going to the Olympics. I'm not helping you anymore. You're too good.
DEAN HEWITT: No, he's still working with us.
BEN WATERWORTH: All right, happy ending, happy ending with that. But just quickly on sort of what happened in that last day, when are you sort of told that all of a sudden, nah, guys, that whole COVID thing from a few days ago, yeah, it's back, gotta go home. Like, how does that even happen? I mean, Tahli, you're getting a phone call, knock on the door, like what the hell happened and how did that all begin?
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, it was a phone call in the morning. So basically I got a phone call and just, they just said, yeah, look, a couple of results, came back positive and you will not be playing today. Like, it's kinda like, it was kinda like, this is what's happened and it's over. And yeah, just like, you know, it's already kind of exhausting and I was in and out of isolation, the whole sort of game thing, the game period. So just that phone call and I was like, oh, just like, I didn't know how to feel. And I was like, like, this is not how I wanna end it. And then, you know, I knew that there was already a little bit of, there was a lot of media at the start and now this is how we're gonna end. I was like, it was frustration and anger and like upset and again, I was just in tears and I was on the phone with my family. I was like, my bags are packed. I'm coming home, so yeah. And then all of a sudden, it was like, you guys are playing, get your uniform on, get in the taxi and go. And I was like, I literally like screamed. I was like, yes. And my bag, I was like, fuck, my bag's open. I was throwing clothes everywhere and I found the uniform and I found my like makeup, my, I didn't have my hair brush and my hair was like a mess. And yeah, like not that that's important, but.
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, that's the important thing. I thought Dean was doing the same as well. He was getting his makeup and hair and everything done as well.
DEAN HEWITT: It's been a good couple hours to do that.
TAHLI GILL: Yeah. And so we get on the ice and I was just like, we're here. Like, you know, this could, like we could have been on a plane and I could have been watching a movie on the plane home, like crying my eyes out and we're here. And we're finishing off our campaign and it was kind of funny. I had like a brief second to message our sports side, message my parents. I was like, we're fucking playing. So yeah, I was like, this is, this is on people. I messaged my boyfriend. I was like, turn your TV on, we're on the TV. And then yeah, it's just the conversation. I was like, oh, we're here. Let's enjoy it. Like Bing Dwen Dwen's out there.
BEN WATERWORTH: You know the party's happening when Bing Dwen Dwen's there. Come on.
TAHLI GILL: He's doing all the things on the screen. He's a very talented little panda. Yeah, I don't know who I like better.
BEN WATERWORTH: They're both just so amazing. But having said that, I didn't see Osk Erickson attempt to do a figure skating move and his leg fall off. So I'm giving it to Bing Dwen Dwen.
TAHLI GILL: I know, right? You can't go past Bing Dwen Dwen. So yeah, that was just like the craziest emotion. I, yeah, it was just like a total, literally a roller coaster. I was like angry, sad, happy, frustrated, happy, sad and happy again. I was like, what the heck? So by the time we got to it, I was like, that did not happen. We're on, we're playing. Let's enjoy it. And let's give these two teams hell. In the next as much as possible.
BEN WATERWORTH: It worked. I mean, your last day, you're up against the reigning gold medallist, the reigning silver medallist. You come out, let's be honest, you kick their asses. That's the Australian way. I mean, Dean, was this how, I mean, similar question I asked before, how were you dealing with this? And then we were saying on the show that getting COVID makes you better. Like we literally were suggesting that if Tahli had COVID, she should be going around kissing all the fellow Australian athletes so they can go out and win for the rest of the Olympics. So I don't know if you got on board with Jackie and gave her a bit of a peck on the cheek as she went on to win a silver. Good for her. Scotty James got the silver as well. So COVID was the key to Australia's success at the end there, I feel.
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah, I don't know about that. It was very, very tough. And I think we were very fatigued by the end of it. But yeah, I think that last day, that was just purely running on adrenaline. Like the excitement that we had to, you know, grab our stuff, get our bags packed within, you know, the 15 minutes we had to head to the taxi and literally just got on the ice, didn't do a warm up, just straight into it, not even a single lunch beforehand. And just the excitement that we had and we brought through that entire game, I think paid off. And yeah, we just wanted to finish off really strong and we were so excited and we're looking forward to those two games. And yeah, I think it just showed in like, in our character on the ice and how we played and we're just so motivated to make every shot really good. And maybe we should do it more often and just like not even warm up, just run out there and go.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, that helps.
DEAN HEWITT: I can tell you though that, yeah, the adrenaline was just running super high for both those games. And I think that kind of helped us a little bit, but yeah, I think the other games are definitely run on a bit of fatigue there, not a whole lot of sleep those nights. And just, I think the worry about, oh my God, are we not gonna be able to play again? And is this test gonna come back negative or positive? And yeah, just that kind of lingering thing in the back of your mind, not necessarily when you're on the ice, but just throughout the day and night. That was pretty tough, but yeah, that final day was pretty special, that's for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: And how important was that to both of you to leave with a couple of wins in your back pocket? Because obviously it had been a pretty tricky tournament without a win, but was that extra important so that you didn't leave the Olympics with, we would say, we talked a lot to Joe, and we knew how well you had been playing, but you didn't want to look back in 10 years time and just look at a statistic sheet, not knowing how well you'd played to see that you'd lost every game. So was that very important to come away with at least one, or as you ultimately did win both of those last two games?
TAHLI GILL: I think it's always nice to finish winning a couple of games, especially just because there were so many games where we were so close. So in my head, we were right in there with the chance to win on those ones. And unfortunately, when you look at the paper, it's hard to sort of get that because there is the result there. But I think regardless of the outcome for those two games, it was just like, for me, it was so important, especially because going into our campaign, it was a really big thing for history. And just like for Australia, we were there representing Australia and Curly for the first time. And that was kind of like the hype around our campaign. And then to finish off, and I really didn't want it to define our campaign and why we were there in the first place. Like, oh, we're out because of COVID and that sort of thing. So for me, that was the biggest thing. And I put up a thing on social media and I just said, this is not... Like, before I found out we were playing again, I was like, this is not going to define our campaign. It's gonna... And I meant every single word. It was not gonna be our story. And that's not what our campaign was about. So having the chance to play the last two games, regardless of the win loss, I was just like, this is it. This is how it'll be finishing off for us, not we go on a flight because a couple of results came back on the wrong side. So yeah, I mean, I was just glad that that didn't define our campaign in a roundabout way.
BEN WATERWORTH: Similar for you, Dean, with that as well?
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah, pretty much. I think, as Tahli said, we just didn't want to let it overhaul what we'd already done there. And we were so close on so many counts, for so many games there. And to actually finish off with winning some, knowing that we can inside beat them in those first few games, but actually doing in those last couple, it just shows that we can take it to all these teams and can beat all these teams that are there. So yeah, it just kind of gave us more motivation for the next four years and really try and push towards an actual medal in the next Olympics, because I'm pretty sure it's going to be a little bit easier in terms of circumstances the next Olympics. Who knows? It might not be. But hopefully, touch wood. That's the case, because it was a wild ride there. And yeah, I was just proud that we could actually play as well as what we did, and we actually could win some games, but also take it to all these teams that were there.
BEN WATERWORTH: Just a couple of things I want to touch on before we in the interview. Two-part question for you, Tahli. We're going to start with the sad and we're going to start with the good. The sad. Obviously, Dean sort of touched on it before. You weren't able to do the opening ceremony, which I can imagine was very difficult. What was the reasoning? Was it just because of the whole testing situation that you were sort of maybe deemed a risk? And do you fight that? You're like, no, fuck you, I'm walking out there. It's literally next door to where we're competing. Like, come on, I'm doing this opening ceremony.
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, so I was sort of in isolation from the start, just because it was just a caution thing, really, just to make sure there wouldn't be any... It was mainly like we were there to get on the ice, and that was sort of something that we just decided to do because we felt like it was the best way to go about, you know, minimising the risk and potentially, you know, putting us out of the event. So that was a decision that we made just to stay in isolation and that sort of thing. So, and obviously, I don't want to make any of the other athletes uncomfortable or anything, so, because their campaign was important too. So, you know, even though I wasn't infectious or anything like that, I said that so many times, but just, you know, just that decision to stay sort of in isolation and my job was there to compete at the end of the day. So anything, I was willing to do anything just to make sure that that happened. Yeah. But it was sad. Yeah. I mean, just because I just remember being a little girl and watching it on the TV and just going, oh my gosh, like that. I want to be that athlete one day and walking out and sort of not having that chance and being right there. It was like, it was heartbreaking. But 2026, are we walking?
BEN WATERWORTH: I'm calling it now, given that they sort of have this, the new thing where you have a male and a female athlete carrying the flag. You two are a shoe in for Milan to carry the flag. And just also, here on Off The Podium, we might not have a great track record for medallists post-interview, but we're getting better, I'm just saying. But flag bearers, all three flag bearers in Beijing had been on this show before for Australia. So, good track record for you guys possibly being flag bearers for Milan. So you're welcome, you can have that.
TAHLI GILL: Thank you.
DEAN HEWITT: I wonder if that's what the AOC looks for. It's like, oh, who's on Off The Podium? We need to choose it.
BEN WATERWORTH: The AOC often are looking at us. Absolutely, commonly.
TAHLI GILL: I think that's the criteria.
BEN WATERWORTH: Very much so, absolutely. The positive side though, Tahli, I wanted to ask, you mentioned Bing Dwen Dwen. Did you get a Bing Dwen Dwen? Because Bing Dwen Dwen was sold out everywhere in Beijing. So did you at least try and get one? Or did you both manage to get a Bing Dwen Dwen at all?
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, we got a little Christmas ornament of Bing Dwen Dwen. So very cherished. But yeah, I think we got a few other little curings and stuff with Bing Dwen Dwen that was gifted to us. So that was really cool. And just the memory of Bing Dwen Dwen there, at the curling venue, and him waving to us. That was really cool.
BEN WATERWORTH: Come on, Dean, you weren't thinking this interview was gonna turn into discussion about Bing bloody Dwen Dwen, did you? You're like, oh, I've been gonna ask about curling. Oh, Bing Dwen Dwen.
DEAN HEWITT: I actually feel really bad for the other mascot, which I can't remember what the name is. Shui Ron Ron.
BEN WATERWORTH: Shui Ron Ron. Yeah, Shui Ron Ron.
DEAN HEWITT: I didn't get a whole lot of coverage.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's time to shine at the Paralympics. Come on, he's up, he's ready to go.
DEAN HEWITT: No, not a big thing for me. I'll be quite honest.
BEN WATERWORTH: Did you get into the pins? Did you get into the pins at least? Like did either of you, if you're not into the Bing Dwen Dwen, the pins at all?
DEAN HEWITT: No, my plan was to actually do the pins kind of like the final couple of days we're going to be there. But because we left so quickly after the event, we didn't get a chance to, you know, swap uniforms or swap pins and things like that. So I've only got a couple of pins. You know, a lot of teams did trade them between games anyway, but yeah, just didn't get a chance this time. So next Olympics will make it all the more special, I reckon.
BEN WATERWORTH: All these reasons to qualify for another Olympics, right? It's fulfilling that way. One thing I wanted to clear up too with you, Dean, is clear this up for me, burritos. Is this something that, cause like I was watching one of the games, and I swear you said burrito, and everyone shut me down. They were like, no, no, no, he didn't say burrito. He said finito or something along those lines. But you said burrito, right? And what is burrito? Give me an explanation about what this is.
DEAN HEWITT: 100% it was a burrito.
BEN WATERWORTH: I knew I heard it.
DEAN HEWITT: No, I was just trying to lighten the mood up there. And I think Pete came down and we kind of called a time out. And Tahli and I were chatting. We'd already made a decision about what we wanted to do. And we kind of had a tight turnaround with games and stuff. So we kind of were heading off as Pete was coming down. I felt bad. So I thought I'd better include him in a bit of a conversation. And we'd been making burritos and these little quesadillas and stuff like that. And our village manager, Alicia, she kept making these really good quesadillas. And so I was really feeling one at the time. So I said, Pete, can you organise a burrito for us, please? When we got back. So it was a bit of a shout out to both Pete and Alicia, because they didn't get to say anything. So I said, well, hopefully get to say something in the timeout and get a bit of TV time.
BEN WATERWORTH: And you did, it worked. Burritos, boom. I see, I thought I was going crazy and everyone shut me down like, there's no way they'd be saying burritos at the Olympics, Ben. This is the Olympics. And he said burritos, clear as day. We're talking about these questions you never get asked before. There's another one for the list, like getting asked about burritos and Bing Dwen Dwen. I mentioned before, Dean, about your dad, obviously doing commentary for Channel 7. Did you get much feedback about your dad's commentary? And then kind of, since you've been back, have you watched it and kind of listened to some of the stuff? One thing I'll say, he did a fantastic job with Andy. I like to explain them as kind of, Andy Ma was the voice of Australia in the fact that he literally was all of Australia. Like, what's going on here, Steve? Why are they doing this? What's going on? I have no idea what's going on, but please tell us. And then your dad would come in and just like explain everything perfectly. So, I mean, did you sort of get much feedback and yeah, check out much of his commentary?
DEAN HEWITT: I heard really good things from both dad and Andy. Andy was, as I said, the kind of like the hype man. I think that's what you need. You know, we're listening to some other games with other commentators and so many people have said, no, like Andy and dad were the best commentators there. So that was pretty special for him and he loves the experience. And they're already talking about Milano and Cortina to go over there. So that'd be pretty cool if they could, you know, commentate for us over there as well. But yeah, a lot of people are saying that Andy kept saying assaulting the button. That was just kind of his line and saying different things that didn't quite make sense. But it's all the hype and excitement. That's what you want. You need to have these good commentators there to really bring the game up for what it is. And yeah, just can't say enough for the commentators. And the funny thing was like every game, I'd actually try and give a little shout out to dad, like a little comment in the hack or something like that. And they'd be like, hey dad, what do you reckon of this one here? It was like, he can't talk back to me. I've got no clue about what he's saying at the time, but I think only about half of those actually got through the broadcast, either they were chatting at the time or our mic friends were off at the time. So hopefully it kind of came through the broadcast a little bit.
BEN WATERWORTH: One of my best experiences when I was working with Channel 7 is that I sort of finished my shift in studio. And literally as I was walking out, your dad was walking out of the commentary booth. So I can't remember what your matchup was, one of the ones you'd lost. And I sort of said, oh, like, how are you feeling? Like it was a close one, I remember. And he was just chilled. He was just like, yeah, no, we could have done this, could have done that. Could have done this. And the thing that like fascinated me was he was like, yeah, I could tell that they weren't throwing very well at the end because it's their grip. It's all about their grip on the stone. I always say it's about squeezing toothpaste and it was too tight. It was too tight on the stone. And I'm like, that was fascinating. I didn't understand that. So it was kind of that little insight. Your dad, I mean, God, I can see why you guys are so calm, particularly Dean, because like he's just chill himself. He's just like, yeah, you know, if they can do this, they can do that. But no, it was kind of really fascinating to be able to have that insight.
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah, yeah, I think it was really cool having him there. And having an Aussie, like both Aussie accents and people, you know, having dad that had played the game, I think they really complimented each other really well. And because you can get like other commentators who come from other countries and let's say they're Canadian commentators, they wouldn't explain any of that or what the general public is actually thinking. So I think it was really smart how Channel 7 did that.
BEN WATERWORTH: Tahli, they showed a lot of footage. I think it was particularly in the first game or two, sort of your family having sort of watch parties and everything along those lines, which was pretty cool to be able to see that as well. I mean, did you sort of get much feedback from people watching at home going like, oh, I saw your mum, so you did do that? Or like, did you get a chance to kind of see just all the watch party footage and everything about the support you were getting back home?
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, I saw a bit of it on Instagram. So that was really cool. And they, my friends all made T-shirts and that was really cool too. So, yeah, it was really nice to see the support and yeah, just like having that excitement from home. It's really special. And yeah, the watch party looked fun. I was like, damn, I wish I was there. Yeah, a little bit of FOMO, but obviously they were watching us.
BEN WATERWORTH: Possibly.
TAHLI GILL: I just love having a good time. But yeah, no, it was really cool to see that. And yeah, like just so much positive stuff on social media and so much positive things from different people and people I've never met and people who are saying, this is the first time I've watched curling and thank you so much for introducing it to us. And it's so great to see an Aussie team there. It's really, really nice and supportive from so many different people.
BEN WATERWORTH: Loved it. Did you get many of your friends from high school messaging you saying like, oh, sorry for calling you that curling girl in high school. Like now you're an Olympian, so this is kind of something that we can backtrack on after all these years.
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, there's a few people from high school being like, oh, I remember you talking about curling and now you're there. It's really cool. And we had this like Facebook page for our cohort. And I didn't know, cause I deleted Facebook, like just the app while I was there, just because I thought, you know, it's one less distraction. And one of my friends, WhatsApp me, she's like, they've put up a whole post about you being at the Olympics. And there's messages saying like, congrats from people I have not spoken to for six years. So yeah, it was just nice to know that we were quite a close cohort in the way that, you know, you didn't necessarily know everyone or close with everyone, but just everyone was always, you know, fairly nice to each other. So to have that support so many years later from people I've not really kept in touch with, it was really nice.
BEN WATERWORTH: Fantastic. Dean, did you get anything similar at all?
DEAN HEWITT: Nothing.
BEN WATERWORTH: Nothing gives a shit about Dean. High school was back in the black and white days. What are you talking about?
DEAN HEWITT: I'm old. No, I got quite a few messages and even students that are there at the moment who've never met me, obviously, and said, oh, that's really cool. And they want to come and try it. And a lot of teachers as well who flicked me a message and want me to do a chat now. So that's going to be pretty cool going down there and chatting to all the other students there and hopefully getting a few recruits out. We need some more juniors, that's for sure. But yeah, it was cool. Like all the messages you get from people that you haven't spoken to in years. And like even my family, they were getting messages from people they haven't spoken to in 30, 40 years back home. So it's pretty special. All the people that kind of tuned in and have actually watched a lot of games, like even going to work and people like, oh my God, I watch every single one of your games. And I'm like, I don't even know what your name is. No, but most of them know their names.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's amazing. That's so cool. Which I guess moving forward now, I guess the three main things at this point, obviously at the time of recording this year, about a month and a half or so away from World Champs. And we've got obviously the next Olympics to look forward to in 2026. But the one key thing that has come from this, of course, is the potential to get a dedicated curling rink in Australia. Now, we talked a little bit about that last year, but is this something now that you think can actually get this traction? And I mean, have you guys had any whispers or rumours? Again, the rink in Hobart's deal for sale, you're welcome to buy that. Because I think we need to get the Hewitt and Gill curling centre up and running, because we know it's going to be named after you both. Let's see if it has to be, like, come on, it's a rule. But I mean, yeah, either of you want to chime in here if there's been any sort of traction or movement on the potential of this?
DEAN HEWITT: There's a lot more talk now about rinks. So, you know, there's even an ice facility in Canberra being built. So hopefully we can get, like, a curling rink attached onto that, maybe. So there's a few different things popping up and potential rinks kind of inquiring about it. So yeah, I really do hope we get some dedicated ice over, you know, in Australia, because that's one of our biggest goals from actually getting to Olympics in the first place was to get a dedicated rink, because that's what we need. We need, not for just ourselves, but for all of the Australian curlers and all the people who have never even tried curling before. We need that curling rink there to be that stepping stone. And, you know, hopefully we can get some big events there too. Like if we can get a big corporate company to help out, you know, fund that or some investors to fund it and get, you know, big events down here, get a world championships or, you know, any kind of event down here, tour events. I know a lot of people from Europe and North America and Asia who would love to come down here, play a tour event in Australia, then go down to New Zealand and play one there. Like, it doesn't make so much sense now if you can kind of work together with New Zealand as well to get big top teams down here. And yeah, really excited that we're getting closer in terms of a rink, but, you know, hopefully it's not just one rink. Hopefully it's a rink in all the big capital cities too.
BEN WATERWORTH: Don't work too closely with them, Dean, just because they've won more gold medals than us at the Olympics now, so we don't want to help them out. Tahli, I can imagine, though, that once this centre gets built, as I said, it's going to be called the Hewitt-Gill Centre. Then you can really sort of message those friends in high school and be like, hey, curling girl who's got her own bloody curling centre named after her now, so like, come on.
TAHLI GILL: Yeah, I think that that would be huge and like epic for the curlers that are, like Dean said, I was pretty much going to go over the same thing Dean was, but I think just for the growth of the sport. And I know that when Dean and I were juniors, it was hard to stay so motivated and dedicated when you're playing on hockey ice. And you just want to get out there and train on good ice. And you'd go over once a year as a junior and play against such amazing teams on such amazing ice. And then you go back and you're on hockey ice and you have to scratch in the rings for them just to play. And you just, you just were like, oh, I just really want our own dedicated curling rinks somewhere in Australia. And like Dean said, not just one, like one in every capital city would be amazing and really awesome. So yeah, I think over the next few years, really pushing for that and just keep growing it. I think as soon as we get that curling rink in Australia, it would just grow the sport so much and people will be able to come and do it socially. And then yeah, like Dean said, get those big events over. And people from North American Europe are so keen to come to Down Under and play it both Australia and New Zealand. So yeah, that really would be huge. And I think just amazing. And I don't know if it'll be named after us. It doesn't matter.
BEN WATERWORTH: It will be, come on, it will be.
TAHLI GILL: I don't know, but yeah, just being, just having that would be epic and really important for the sport.
BEN WATERWORTH: I keep pushing things for Brisbane 2032, given that again, it will technically be a Winter Olympics being held in July. So we could have curling at Brisbane 2032, and then they would have to bring, build a facility there. So very much a homerink then for you though, Tahli. So I mean, you know, simple. You're still young, 10 more years in you, easy. Two things to close out the interview with. Now I feel we're all friends here. You know, this is the second interview. We're chilled, you know, we're talking about Bing Dwen Dwen and all these kind of fun things. So I've got a bit of a bone to pick with you both, but then I've got a big praise to end this interview with. Friends quotes, guys, what the fuck happened? Come on, I was sitting there every single time. I'm waiting, I'm going. I'm like, come on here, it's coming, it's coming, it's coming. Nothing, I'm disappointed, disappointed.
DEAN HEWITT: I'm sure we did.
TAHLI GILL: I'm sure there's a couple that we did.
DEAN HEWITT: We were saying unagi.
BEN WATERWORTH: When the microphone was off potentially.
TAHLI GILL: It must have been because, no seriously, because I would swear my head off, like I was throwing egg bombs, left right and centre while I was mic'd up, and then everyone back was like, oh, you guys never swore once. It was grand.
BEN WATERWORTH: I never heard you swearing. That's one thing I would have loved to hear. That would have been great.
DEAN HEWITT: So I blame it on Tahli then for muting a lot of microphones because you're swearing too much.
BEN WATERWORTH: Every time Tahli's going, fuck, fuck, fuck, Dean's going like, unagi, unagi. It's like, Tahli, come on, this is what we're meant to be doing off the podium. What are you talking about?
TAHLI GILL: We do. That was like halfway through. We're so sorry. I mean, to be fair, without making excuses, we did go through a lot.
BEN WATERWORTH: No, nothing.
DEAN HEWITT: I didn't want to drop it at the start, because I figured if I drop it at the start, then you're not going to watch the rest of the game. You go, oh, job done, we're fine. So I had to leave it a little bit later so you could actually, like, keep listening out, you see. It was tactical.
BEN WATERWORTH: No, you've got you've got four more years to work on that. Four more years to work on that. But the praise. All right. I tried curling while I was in Melbourne. That shit's hard. I said to you guys, I think when I first had you on that, I'm disappointed you're going to take my spot as the first ever Australian Olympic curler. Yeah, I've got no chance. Sweeping, I'll say. Sweeping, didn't really have much of a problem with having said that, not very fit. Dean, I saw how hard you were working shooting Olympics, not going to go there. I could not for the life of me push off. You ask anyone at the ice house how embarrassing I was, like I got the stone like just past the first bit and I'd fall over and that. So props to you and any curlers because that shit's hard, not easy. So well done.
TAHLI GILL: Thank you.
DEAN HEWITT: Thanks, yeah, it's kind of good when you hear that because a lot of people think the curling is really easy.
BEN WATERWORTH: So it's definitely not. But it's also on that though, I think the night that I went, they were mentioning that they hadn't had that many people show up for a Come and Try night before. Clearly they all listened Off The Podium, that's why they were there. But I mean, it's obviously great to hear things like that, that it's not just obviously in Melbourne, I think there's been some other Come and Try nights across the country as well. But I mean, on the page of getting a dedicated rink, in the meantime, you're seeing people interested in it. So are you both hearing sort of feedback and getting invited? I know Dean, you're about to do a sort of, attend one of the Come and Try nights, but are you both sort of seeing that pick up in the meantime as well?
TAHLI GILL: Definitely, I think just on social media, like seeing, I know what's going on in Brisbane and there's definitely been, I think the other night we had 32 people and I actually went to one of the Come and Trys like the day after I got back. So yeah, it was really cool to see so many people and actually some people who hadn't seen it on the Olympics, just their friend had and they said, come with me, let's try it. And it's just such a unique sport. So yeah, and I think just having that, we saw it on the Olympics and it looked really cool and not necessarily the mixed doubles or us, but other teams like for the men's and women's and just hearing that and having such a great turnout. And then for me seeing it, all the people coming and trying in WA and Melbourne and just hearing what's going on in Melbourne from Dean, it's really, really cool to see that. Obviously after the Olympics, we do have such a huge growth in interest and then it sort of dies down and picks up again. But I think this has been, from my memory and my time being around curling, it's been the biggest interest, like spark of interest since the Olympics. So that's really, really cool. Right?
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah. Like I've been through a few Olympic cycles in terms of come and try and those sorts of things. Yes, Tahli, I'm old again. And yeah, you kind of see, there's a natural spike after the Olympics, but this has been the biggest one for sure. Like without a doubt, there's a lot more people coming out to try. We've had to add on another beginner's league, which has been fantastic because that's one of the hurdles, I suppose, for those people coming out and trying is they come out once and they're like, oh, I don't want to join a league because those people look good. But having this beginner league is that stepping stone in between, and we kind of learn curl programs, and then you can actually get into league if you'd like. And I think it's good in terms of the leagues we have at the moment, it's very social, and the best players play with beginners too. Like we don't actually have just the best teams playing against the weakest teams. They're all kind of mingling amongst each other and kind of combined to form a team anyway. So I think it's fantastic for the sport. And even like I got a message from someone in New Zealand saying they're come and try numbers are through the roof now and they're talking about these Aussies that were there and they're like, oh, we need a Kiwi team there now. Cause they haven't had much.
BEN WATERWORTH: They had a team like 16 years ago, why weren't they doing it back then?
DEAN HEWITT: Yeah. So yeah, I think it's just great. And it's fantastic seeing so many people out there and giving it a go, but no doubt if we can actually get a dedicated rink, we can actually run these things at regular times rather than late at night or some awkward weekday sessions. It just makes such a difference to get schools in there. Now, I was listening to them and they were saying they're getting a bunch of schools through to come and try. And I know that a few years ago, before COVID, there was like one year where they had nearly three and a half thousand corporate people through. That's staggering how many people they can get through in a year. And you just imagine if you've got unlimited ice time, at a dedicated rink, like how many of those people actually transition from just coming out to try to actually in a league and try and actually enjoy themselves playing the game. And yeah, and even trying to go to that elite stage if they want to as well.
BEN WATERWORTH: Fantastic, yeah, it's good to see that. And I'm pretty sure that by the time we do have the Gill and Hewitt Ice Centre going up, that we'll be training everybody up there to go. And I will say if there's a tier below the beginner league, like maybe the really, really shit league, I'll join it. But having said that, the one game I did play, my team won. I didn't really contribute, but technically undefeated in curling. So even you two can't say that. So hey, look at me. I'm officially better than Dean and Tahli. So I'll retire, 100%. Yeah, just call me Mr. 100%. Yep, exactly, done. Guys, best of luck for the world champs. Obviously the time we're recording this, it's a little bit away. When do you head off? Like sort of what's the plan? And where are the world championships?
TAHLI GILL: So they're in Geneva this time round, and we're probably heading off around the 10th of April to get a little bit of extra training in and rehash some of the things that we've been practising over the last five months. And yeah, just get back into the group of things again. And then yeah, competing and hopefully, and the goal is to be on the podium. So, but you know, like obviously making sure we're in top 16 still, but yeah, we're just so, so motivated going forward. And just for every single event, you know, we want to be up there and giving it a, you know, we're just gonna see what we can do from here on. And I think I feel really positive about all the things that we're hopefully gonna achieve. So, so motivated of so many different things to do with curling and the growth of it and our development and you know, really pushing for lots of things now. So it's really cool to be a part of this exciting times and it's really fun. The next four years will be great.
BEN WATERWORTH: Too many times on Off The Podium. So being on the podium would work a treat. That worked? That worked? That did very, very well there. Guys, always, always a pleasure to have you on the show. We wish you all the luck in the World Champs and no doubt get you on in the lead up to Milan and cheer you on all the way through there. As Australia goes a little bit curling crazy, but guys, thank you so much. And please say hi to Oscar for me next. Just send a little hello from Off The Podium. You can do it.
TAHLI GILL: We'll do.
DEAN HEWITT: Sure thing. Sure thing.
TAHLI GILL: I'll say that.
BEN WATERWORTH: And a massive, massive thanks to both Dean and Tahli there. Such a pleasure to have them on the show. And if you missed our first chat with Dean and Tahli, as I said, back in 2021, we did that chat not long after Tokyo, so you can check that out. And if you wanna see the video version of this interview, of course, YouTube, find Off The Podium on there, subscribe to our channel, and you'll see all our great video interviews there. But lots, lots to take in on that chat. As I said at the top, Bing Dwen Dwen, always a good talking point. And yeah, I am not going to be a curler anytime soon. Let's just point it out. And also burritos confirmed. Thank you to all those who doubted me that Dean talked about burritos. He did. So I always like to be proven that I'm right every now and then. Thanks to Dean and Tahli for their time. We've got some more great interviews coming up in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to our social media to really see who we do have coming on the show. And of course, if you are on our social media, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, it's how you can stay up to date with us. Search for Off The Podium. You can like, you can follow on either of those platforms, or all three of those platforms, I should say. And while you're online, if you never want to miss an episode, subscribe, all good podcast platforms. Search for Off The Podium. We love to hear what you think of the show. You can leave some feedback, send us some questions, whatever you like to do on there. And we definitely appreciate the support. We thank you for sticking with us in a post-Olympics world, as we obviously now have a couple of years away until we get to the next Olympics, but plenty to keep you occupied. Interviews, other major sporting events, as always, we've got the Commonwealth Games, and we've got the World Cup coming up this year, which we'll do a couple of special episodes on. So stay tuned for that. Big thanks again to Dean and Tahli. As always, a shout out to Jason Momoa. Until we next speak again, my name is Ben. Put a sock in a mountain, and remember, go left.
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