Kevin Ray Martin (born July 31, 1966), nicknamed "The Old Bear" and "K-Mart",[1] is a Canadian retired curler originally from Lougheed, Alberta[2] and residing in Edmonton.

[12] In 2019, Martin was named the greatest Canadian male skip in history in a TSN poll of broadcasters, reporters and top curlers.

The rink (a group of players) finished the round robin in second place, with a win–loss record of 7–4, behind Prince Edward Island's Kent Scales.

[20] Martin knocked off British Columbia in the semifinal, and then beat Saskatchewan (skipped by Randy Woytowich) with a score of 8–4 in the final.

[21] After beating Norway's Eigil Ramsfjell in the semifinal, Martin's team lost in the final, losing to Scotland's David Smith with a score of 2–7.

In the meantime, he had made some line-up changes in his team, and by the 1995 Labatt Brier, he had settled on James Pahl as his second, retaining Park and Bartlett as his third and lead, respectively.

Martin knocked off Ontario's Ed Werenich in the page playoffs 3 vs. 4 match,[25] but lost to Kerry Burtnyk's Manitoba rink in the semifinal with a score of 9–3.

At the 1997 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, Martin's rink finished with a 6–3 win–loss record, tied in second place with Ed Werenich.

In 1999, Martin dropped Ramcharan, who was embroiled by a scandal where he botched organizing a bonspiel, and replaced him with Carter Rycroft, an upstart junior curler.

In the semifinal, Martin knocked off Sweden's Peja Lindholm by a score of 6–4, breaking a long losing streak to his main nemesis.

Early on Martin fell behind 3–0 with Trulsen's team taking steals of 1 and 2, forcing Kevin into extremely difficult final shots due to their dominant and aggressive front end play.

[39] As a result, Norway clinched the gold medal, and Martin, representing Canada, won his third international silver.

The team had disappointed at the 2005 Trials, had not won a single Grand Slam title in the 2005–06 season, and topped it off by finishing fourth at the Brier.

Martin replaced Walchuk, Rycroft and Bartlett with World Junior Champion skip John Morris at third, Marc Kennedy at second and Ben Hebert at lead.

After finishing the round robin with a 10–1 win–loss record, he lost to Scotland, skipped by David Murdoch, in the 1 vs. 2 game, only to beat them in a rematch in the final 6–3.

[53] A week later, at the 2009 Canada Cup of Curling, Martin won his third title, defeating fellow Edmonton rink Randy Ferbey in the final.

Murdoch made his shot, leaving Martin with a short-raise double, which he missed, losing the championship to Scotland, 7–6.

Martin made his eleventh appearance at the Brier playing for Alberta, after defeating Kevin Koe in the final of the provincials.

After a close win over Glenn Howard in the round robin, Martin dropped a 4–5 decision to Howard after he missed a crucial shot in the 3 vs. 4 game of the playoffs,[68] and he lost the bronze medal game to Brad Gushue 10–5,[69] playing without second Marc Kennedy, because Kennedy and his wife were expecting a child.

At the World Cup of Curling, Martin finished the round robin with a 4–1 win–loss record, but missed a chance to win another Grand Slam title after he was edged past by John Epping, 3–4.

He then played Howard in the final, and managed to defeat him with a score of 7–4, winning his record 4th Canada Cup title as skip.

Martin participated at the Whites Drug Store Classic, but lost to Randy Bryden in the quarterfinals in an extra end.

Martin then competed in the Masters Grand Slam of Curling, where he lost in the semifinals after a close loss to Koe in an extra end.

Martin then participated in the Canada Cup of Curling, but was unable to match strong play from his opponents, and finished the event with a 1–5 win–loss record, out of the playoffs.

He defeated Aaron Sluchinski in the page playoff, and edged Koe in an extra end in the final to claim his twelfth provincial title.

In the round robin, he and his team played consistently and posted a 6–1 win–loss record, with their only loss coming to eventual champion Brad Jacobs.

[85] On April 18, 2014, amidst rumours of his front end, Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert, joining provincial rival Kevin Koe in the next season, Martin announced his retirement from curling following the conclusion of the 2014 Players' Championship.

He edged John Epping and Mike McEwen en route to the final, where he recorded a 4–3 win over Brad Jacobs while curling at 98%.

[95] Martin is the owner and operator of Kevin's Rocks-n-Racquets, a curling supply shop located at the Saville Sports Centre.

[98] Martin has also created a mobile app with purchasable content, which includes drills and tips aimed at helping curlers improve their game.