(re)Pebbling: A Story of Blackness and Curling is a sharp, stylish, and soul-stirring glide through the unspoken rules of curling, a winter sport that is overwhelmingly white. Intimate reflections from the life of Richard Norman, brought to life by the art of Jon Olbey, set the stage for the chilly welcome racialized players face at the curling rink and the unnerving murmur of lounge talk. This graphic novel cracks open the culture of the sport to ask questions about its future and whether clubs are willing to do the work to make their spaces inclusive. (re)Pebbling is narrated through the eyes of racialized players questioning tradition and the future of Canadian-ness and Canadian sports. With equal parts insight and irreverence, the book reimagines curling as a site of cultural collision, a space where the house isn't always a home, and the ice holds stories most haven't dared to tell. In a visual journey through the world of sport you didn't know you needed, author Richard Norman honestly reflects on our past, boldly interrogates our present, and dares to imagine what real belonging in sport could look like.
Dr. Richard Norman is a strategist, researcher, and futurist working at the borderlands of sport and society. He works with organizations such as Curling Canada, Hockey Canada, via Sport BC, the Carnegie Initiative, and MLSE LaunchPad to ensure sport is a space to connect, compete, and belong at the highest levels.
Foreword -Kim Davis Prologue -Richard Norman & Jon Olbey (re)Pebbling -Richard Norman & Jon Olbey Epilogue -Richard Norman & Shelby Gagnon Stones and Skin: My Community, Our Story-A Converstation with Richard Norman, Janelle Joseph, Christopher Taylor, and Shireen Ahmed
"(re)Pebbling reveals hard truths about Canadian sports while allowing space for a true love of the game." -- Renee Hess, Founder of the Black Girl Hockey Club "(re)Pebbling is a work that is essential to where we want to go as a sport-to interrupt the traditions sport has embodied and normalized. It opens space to imagine sport differently, with a new sense of belonging at its center." -- Nolan Thiessen, CEO of Curling Canada "(re)Pebbling is a profound tour de poignancy that presses through the malaise of everyday racism. Richard Norman deftly reminds us that sports, including curling, are never just sports: they are shot through with history, race, power, class, nationalism. Sporting traditions may arrive freighted with the weight of history, but, as (re)Pebbling reminds us, they can also be refreshed when we collectively make space not only for the flicker of recognition but for the full flame of equity in all its resplendent complexity." -- Jules Boykoff "(re)Pebbling provokes reflection, educates, and provides hope for a future where curling truly represents multiculturalism in Canada." -- Joanne Courtney "As someone who has often been a first or only, I found belonging in this book as we can all relate to a scenario in life where we weren't welcomed with open arms. A must read no matter the amount of melanin in your skin." -- Donnovan Bennett
