Henderson made the comment in an update on the 2020-2021 curling season, which has been impacted by the global health crisis.

She outlined the governance changes that had been made to Curling Canada, with a newly-elected Board of Governors set to concentrate on business strategy and risk management, while member associations focus on the experience of curlers and spectators. 

Henderson attributed these changes to the success with which Curling Canada has dealt with the impact of the pandemic.

"COVID-19 highlighted that the changes to our programs and services cannot happen without a forward thinking Board and members associations," she wrote.

"Thanks to the future forward orientation of our community, we now find ourselves in a position of being able to act collaboratively and immediately in response to a crisis in our sport.  

"Similarly, COVID-19 has also been the litmus test for our new governance structure and it performed exactly as planned. 

"Our ability to mobilise quickly and respond to the needs of the community has been exemplified by delivery of our Return to Play policy, our assistance in accessing funding for clubs, Government lobbying and marketing support. 

"The evolving COVID-19 situation the emergency planning required has proven our mettle. 

"Put simply - as we find ourselves in the middle of a pandemic, things could look a lot worse. 

"We stand on the shoulders of those who planned ahead and afforded us these opportunities and we are grateful."

Henderson also revealed Curling Canada held bi-weekly video calls to discuss the ramifications of COVID-19 in curling.

Curling Canada had to cancel a number of events due to the pandemic, including the Canadian Wheelchair Championship.

The 2021 Canadian Senior Championships is still expected to take place, with dates and a host city to be announced at a later date.

Plans to host the World Men’s Curling Championships, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the Tim Hortons Brier, the Home Hardware Canada Cup and the Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship remain unchanged.

Henderson went on to discuss Curling Canada's commitment to overseeing a safe environment to practice the sport. 

"We are committed to being a national leader in the area of Safe Sport," she said.

"We’ve introduced concussion education, policies and protocols, advocated for helmet use with vulnerable people, have endorsed and delivered on the responsible coaching movement, have adopted the Universal Code of Conduct for the Maltreatment in Sport in all our policies, and our staff, board have all taken safe sport training and will do this on regular basis.  

"We now need to work together, in our system, to ensure that everyone who is involved with curling, at the local and regional level has access and adopts these critical practices."