Kerri Einarson and Val Sweeting with their almost new team (Karlee Burgess, Krysten Karwacki & alternate Lauren Lenetine) were “the best of the rest” last week at the national Scotties but no match (this time) for Rachel Homan and her defending Team Canada champions. Some random thoughts –

<> With those missing (Shannon Birchard and Breanne Harris) and the five who were the official roster in Thunder Bay, there are decisions ahead about what the future line-up looks like. Pending those decisions, this line-up improved game by game. It will be interesting to watch the rest of their season.

<> Reid Carruthers is in the interesting position of being able to win a medal at both the national Women’s and Men’s championships this season. I wonder if that has ever happened before?

<> Carruthers has better chance of winning the Brier than would have been projected a month ago. BJ Neufeld, at third, was a great addition to the line-up – from a purely performance perspective.

<> Who would have guessed a year or two ago that we’d ever see Jennifer Jones in a Scotties champion picture of a Rachel Homan team. No criticism here – it’s just a surprising look!

<> I have no real issue with the way the pools are created at the Scotties and Brier based on CTRS rankings – but as a curling fan, it seems unfortunate for three Manitoba teams (Einarson, Lawes, Cameron) and two Alberta teams (Skrlik, Sturmay) to end up in the same pools. With Skrlik at CTRS #3 & Lawes at #5 AND Cameron at #7 and Sturmay at #11, either of those pairs could have been flipped without seriously disrupting the strength of the pools. On the other hand, it can easily be argued that three in a pool or two in a pool improve the odds of a province having a team advance. I guess mostly I am looking for a more geographically representative pooling of teams. This year, one pool had no one from west of Manitoba while the other had four from BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. So the flip would have helped this year – but who knows what it will look like next year.

<> My own argument falls apart in regard to the Brier pools – although I could extend it to suggest that one of the Manitoba teams (Dunstone, Carruthers) could be flipped for one of the Saskatchewan teams (McEwen, Kleiter) without disrupting the balance of the pools. But even I am looking forward to the game between Carruthers and Dunstone – or more specifically BJ Neufeld and Dunstone. I suspect Saskatchewan fans are equally looking forward to the game between McEwen and Kleiter – a re-match of the 2024 Saskatchewan final … and the big reward this time around is a chance to be Team Canada at the Worlds in Moose Jaw.

Stolen points told the tale Sunday in the medal games of the Manitoba Stick Curling Association’s Sun Life Open Championship presented by Jim Anton.

The final game at Stonewall’s Access Credit Union Curling Club saw the hometown team of Ralph Nespor and Rob Lacombe steal singles on the third, fourth and fifth ends to lead Darlene Maywood & Kathie Allardyce 4-1 coming home.

It was the second finalist finish in two weeks for Maywood & Allardyce who lost the final of the MSCA’s Women’s Championship to Lynn Rehbein and Gwen Smith.

In the semi-finals, Nespor & Lacombe had defeated Laurie Hogg & David Green (Stonewall) while Maywood & Allardyce were winners over Britta & Fred Spiring (St. Vital).

Hogg & Green played played Spiring & Spiring in the Bronze Medal game. A stolen single in the third wend after a blanked second proved to be the difference in the game. It gave Hogg & Green a 2-point lead after three ends – and the same two-point lead coming home in a 3-1 victory.

The quarterfinalists, eliminated in the first round of play on Sunday, were last year’s finalist team Darren McMillan & Terry Proctor (Warren), Norm Magnusson & Resby Coutts (Fort Rouge), Don Fischer & Grant Nicolson (St. Vital), and Rick Willets & Larry Weatherburn (Eriksdale).

Gwen Smith & Lynne Rehbein (St. Vital) needed extra end wins in the semi-final and the final Sunday afternoon to win the Manitoba Stick Curling Association’s Women’s Championship today at East St. Paul.

Smith/Rehbein were the only team to run undefeated through the four-game round robin and three playoff rounds. Their final game opponents Darlene Maywood & Kathie Allardyce (also St. Vital), were also unbeaten going into the final.

The champions survived a three-stone measure , one of theirs vs two of the opponents, giving up a single point and a tie to force an extra end. Smith/Rehbein won 6-5, scoring one on the extra without throwing their final stone.

To reach the final, Smith/Rehbein also needed an extra end to be Britta Spiring/Terry Beaudoin) St. Vital/Ft Rouge) in the semifinal. Allardyce/Maywood defeated Debbis Palson/Marian Versluis (East St. Paul) in their semifinal.

The other four qualifiers, eliminated in quarterfinals, were Janice White/Shelly Stupnisky (Morris), Lorna Marr/Val Kolson (Springfield), Alison King/Irene Runolfson (Warren), and Sherry Gruhle/Fern McConnell (Victoria Beach).

The MSCA’s second championship, the Open Championship, will be played next weekend in Stonewall.

Reid Carruthers and his Granite team (BJ Neufeld, Catlin Schneider, Connor Njegovan, Coach Rob Meakin, Fifth Kyle Doering) have won the 2025 Viterra Championship, the 100th Manitoba Men’s curling championship.

The top seed in the championship, the Carruthers foursome had to win a semi-final and final game Sunday to earn Carruthers his ninth championship (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024), a fourth for Neufeld (2016, 2017, 2023), and third for Njegovan (2020, 2024). It is a first Manitoba title for Schneider, a Saskatchewan resident.

The final game against #3 seed Braden Calvert and his Fort Rouge team (Corey Chambers, Kyle Kurz, Brendan Bilawka) looked to be decided as early as the third end when Carruthers scored a four to go with a stolen two on the opening end and lead 6-1. There was no quit in the Calvert team – they fought back to trail 8-7 coming home and challenged Carruthers right to the end but the game did end without the winners having to throw their final stone.

The morning semi-final against Brett Walter – Assiniboine Memorial (JT Ryan, Graham McFarlane, Hugh McFarlane) was tied 5-5 coming home with Carruthers scoring a single with the hammer for victory.

No matter what happened Sunday afternoon in Portage la Prairie, the 2025 Viterra Champion was going to be a team with at least some Canadian championship experience.

Reid Caruthers skipped the most experienced team in the final three with two Canadian and world men’s champions: Carruthers (2011) and BJ Neufeld (2019 representing Alberta). As noted above, Carruthers has won eight previous provincial men’s titles. He also won a juniors (2003) and a Mixed (2008). Neufeld won three Manitoba Juniors (2004, 2005 & 2007) along with his three Manitoba Men’s titles (2016, 2017 & 2023); lead Connor Njegovan has a junior title (2010) and the two Men’s championships (2020 & 2024). Fifth Kyle Doering won Manitoba junior titles in 2012 and 2016 and the Canadian juniors in 2016. Coach Rob Meakin won a pair of Manitoba Men’s titles in 1995 and 2001 and in 1995 won both the Brier and World Championship. He also won a pair of Manitoba Mixed titles (1988, 1989) and a Canadian Mixed in 1988.

CurlManitoba has announced that the Viterra Championship will return to the Selkirk Recreation Complex for the 2026 Championship. It will be the sixth Manitoba Men’s championship in Selkirk’s arena and the seventh championship hosted by Selkirk.

The 2026 event will also be the tenth actual championship played under the Viterra sponsorship.

A Labatt Tankard (1993), two Safeway Selects (2001 & 2005), one Safeway Championship (2009), and two Viterra Championships (2016 & 2022) have been played previously in Selkirk.

“The Selkirk Recreation Complex is one of Manitoba’s best curling venues,” says CurlManitoba Executive Director Craig Baker. “That venue has provided great curling and great curling entertainment over about three decades. I am excited to see this current group of competitors playing there.”

“We are delighted to be bringing the Manitoba Men’s Championship back to Selkirk,” say Committee co-chairs Shayne Merritt and Scott Szydlik. “The greatest champions of the modern era won here in Selkirk and we are excited to again host Manitoba’s best. It will be interesting to watch this new generation of young stars play here trying to add their names to that list.”

The first five championships were all played in Selkirk’s arena while the sixth represented the first return to curling club ice in many years. In 2022, the Viterra Championship, due to Covid restrictions, was played as a closed event in the Selkirk Curling Club.

“We truly appreciated the Selkirk Curling Club stepping up to host in that no-spectators, and therefore no revenue, situation,” says Baker. “We have wanted to go back to Selkirk because it is a great venue but also to show our appreciation for their help that year.”

The honour roll of Manitoba champions who won in Selkirk includes:
1993 Vic Peters, Dan Carey, Chris Neufeld, Don Rudd (Granite)
2001 Kerry Burtnyk, Jeff Ryan, Rob Meakin, Keith Fenton (Assiniboine Memorial)
2005 Randy Dutiaume, Dave Elias, Greg Melnichuk, Shane Kilgallen (Valour Road)
2009 Jeff Stoughton, Kevin Park, Rob Fowler, Steve Gould (Charleswood)
2016 Mike McEwen, B. J. Neufeld, Matt Wozniak, Denni Neufeld (Fort Rouge)
2022 Mike McEwen, Reid Carruthers, Derek Samagalski, Colin Hodgson (West St. Paul)

Selkirk will be the first community to host three Viterra Championships. Portage, with this year’s event, has hosted two while Winkler, Virden, Neepawa, Stonewall, and Winnipeg (Charleswood) have each hosted one.

Three of the top five seeds have advanced to play Sunday for the 100^th Manitoba Men’s curling championship.

Third-seeded Braden Calvert (Fort Rouge) made a last stone draw for a single point in an extra end on the late draw Saturday. The draw gave the Calvert foursome a 5-4 win over #5 seed Brett Walter (Assiniboine Memorial).

Calvert will play the provincial final game Sunday at 3PM. Walter drops into the Sunday morning semi-final where his team will play top-seeded Reid Carruthers (Granite). The Walter-Carruthers winner will meet Calvert in the championship game.

The Carruthers team defeated Sean Grassie (Deer Lodge) in eight ends Saturday evening in the Page Playoff bottom side elimination game.

Calvert’s team is the only unbeaten team left in the competition. Calvert and Walter were the two playoff round “A” winners Saturday morning with Calvert beating Grassie and Walter sending Carruthers to the “B” side.

On the afternoon draw, Grassie had eliminated #4 seed Jacques Gauthier (West St. Paul) and Carruthers ousted #2 Jordon McDonald (Assiniboine Memorial). The other two teams in the final eight, Steve Irwin (Brandon) and Jeff Stewart (Gladstone) had been eliminated on the morning draw.

(CurlManitoba Release) The first games were played in the eight-team playoff round Friday evening at the 2025 Viterra Championship in Portage la Prairie with top-seed Reid Carruthers (Granite), #3 Braden Calvert (Fort Rouge), # 5 Brett Walter (Assiniboine Memorial), and Sean Grassie (Deer Lodge) winning their opening playoff games.

The top five seeds had all qualified for the playoff round although #2 Jordon McDonald (Assiniboine Memorial) and #4 Jacques Gauthier (West St. Paul) had both lost “A” side qualifiers and had to qualify through the “B” side.

Among the evening draw match-ups, three games were tied coming home while #3 Calvert led #2 McDonald by a single point coming home. Calvert had last rock and used it to hit for a single and an 8-6 win.

Carruthers, tied 4-4 coming home, also had a hit for a single to win 5-4 over #4 Gauthier.

Walter, led Jeff Stewart (Gladstone) 6-3 after scoring a four on the seventh end but gave up a deuce and steal of one more to be tied coming home enroute to a 7-6 win.

Sean Grassie was also tied 4-4 coming home but didn’t have to throw his final stone in a 6-4 win over Steve Irwin (Brandon).

On the early draw Friday, #1 seed Reid Carruthers (Granite), #3 seed Braden Calvert (Fort Rouge), #5 seed Brett Walter (Assiniboine Memorial), and Steve Irwin’s Brandon foursome had all won their third consecutive games to qualify for the playoff round.

The other four teams, Gauthier, McDonald, Stewart, and Grassie, came through the “B” side to qualify for the playoff round.

On Saturday morning at 9AM, Calvert will play Grassie and Carruthers will play Walter with the winners advancing to the Page Playoff format championship round. Stewart will play Gauthier and Irwin will play McDonald in a rematch of the game that sent McDonald to the “B” side of the draw.

The 32-team field has been cut in half. Sixteen teams have survived the first two days of play in the 2025 Viterra Championship and the first four qualifiers to the second round of play, the playoff round, will be determined on the morning draw Friday.

The top five seeds and one of the next three seeds are so far unbeaten. They’ll play in the Friday morning qualifying game. Sixth seed Riley Smith (East St. Paul) was eliminated on the first day of play while #8 seed Jordan Peters (Fort Rouge) lost Thursday afternoon to Jeff Stewart (Gladstone) to drop to the “B” side of the opening round. On the late draw Thursday, the Peters team bounced back to stay alive with an 8-4 win over Ryan Ostrowsky (Granite).

The eight “A” side teams playing for those first four playoff round berths are top seed Reid Carruthers (Granite) who will play Stewart’s Gladstone team Friday morning; second-seeded Jordon McDonald (Assiniboine Memorial) who will take on the seventh seed, Steve Irwin (Brandon); third-seeded Braden Calvert (Fort Rouge) who will play the veteran Sean Grassie (Deer Lodge), a former provincial finalist; and fourth seed Jacques Gauthier (West St. Paul) who will play fifth seed Brett Walter (Assiniboine Memorial) in the fourth Friday morning game.

Gauthier, playing with a three-man team comprising Derek Samagalski and Tanner Lott, came closest to tasting defeat among the eight two-game winners, trailing Justin Richter (Beausejour) 9-6 after seven ends before scoring a three and two deuces for victory.

The eight surviving teams on the “B” side of the draw, after Thursday evening’s late draw are Ed Barr and Kelly Marnoch (Carberry), Jace Freeman (Virden), Justin Richter (Beausejour), Marcus Titchkosky (Morden), Jordan Peters (Fort Rouge), Devon Wiebe (Charleswood), and Daniel Birchard (Pembina).

These eight must win two games Friday to advance to the playoff round.