Thomas Ulsrud was a Norwegian curler from Oslo. He won a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics, one World Curling Championship, two European Curling Championships, and fourteen Norwegian titles. He was also known for being the skip of the team that competed while wearing colourful harlequin trousers at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Team Ulsrud's combined showmanship and sportsmanship became iconic and contributed to reviving worldwide interest in curling since then. In 2024, he was posthumousely inducted into the World Curling Hall of Fame.

The 2009 World Men's Curling Championship was held in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada from April 4–12, 2009, at the Moncton Coliseum. The event, which formally celebrated 50 years of World Men's Curling (1959-2009) plus the 225th anniversary of the host province of New Brunswick, kicked off with a three-hour extravaganza combining the Opening Ceremonies and Opening Banquet, an unprecedented start to the World Men's Curling Championship.