Hungarian-born reporter has big appetite for curling.
The game of curling has taken Dr Mariann Bardocz-Bencsik, PhD, from Budapest all over the world.
Over the past two months, the media officer with the World Curling Federation has been accumulating the air miles as of late.
Prior to arriving in Prince George for the world women’s curling championship, she spent six weeks in Beijing for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic games.
“After my stint in Beijing, I spent two nights at home in Budapest and then came here. Obviously, Beijing was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I hope the next Olympics (in 2026) is going to be more normal than what it was. But honestly, the International Olympic Committee and the local organizers did their best to provide a safe environment for everyone involved.”
“It’s been a grind.”
What makes her more unique is that she’s from Hungary – a country that has 100 registered players.
Bardocz-Bencsik has been working alongside the World Curling Federation media team since 2014.
While serving as a press officer for the Hungarian Curling Federation, she stumbled upon the WCF’s former Media Assistance Program.
This came off the heels of the Hungarian Mixed Doubles pair of Zsolt Kiss and Dorottya Palansca claiming the gold medal with a 10-1 record at the 2013 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.
Hungary defeated Sweden 8-7 in the final as the tournament was hosted in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
The tournament also featured other notable champion curlers including Bruce Mouat (Scotland) along with 2022 Olympic Mixed Doubles silver medalists Kristen Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten of Norway.
“Hungarian media just got really interested in that after they had won the gold medal so that is how I joined this program and the first couple of events were the Mixed Doubles and European World Championships where the Hungarians have been competing in the B division,” added Bardocz-Bencsik.
Hungary only has one dedicated curling facility, which was built in 2005, and is called the Kamaraerdei Curling Club, consisting of just two sheets of ice.
