Monthly Archives: December 2025

LAWES TOP SEED FOR RME WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP; CAMERON #2

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Three teams who represented Manitoba in the 2026 Olympic qualifying process are the top
three seeds in CurlManitoba’s RME Women of the Rings Championship presented by Case IH.

The three are all ranked in Canada’s top 12 on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS).

The top seeded team in the event which takes place at the Riverview Community Centre in
Rivers, beginning December 30, is skipped by Kaitlyn Lawes-Heather. The five-time Manitoba Women’s champion is supported by Selena Njegovan, Jocelyn Peterman, Kristin Gordon and Coach Marcel Roque.

The Lawes team qualified for the championship based on their 2024-25 CTRS ranking. They
started this season strong, winning an early season Edmonton event, they have qualified in two other events since and are ranked #6 on CTRS.

The second seed, as determined by the competing teams, is the defending champion Kate
Cameron-Ste. Adolphe team. Cameron returns with Brianne Harris added to the line-up along with returning Taylor McDonald and Mackenzie Elias. They are coached by Derek Samagalski.

Team Cameron has qualified in five events this season with two finalist finishes. They are the11 th ranked CTRS team.

The top two seeds both competed in the Canadian Curling Trials while the third seed was a Pre-Trials competitor team.

The third seed is last year’s finalist Beth Peterson-Assiniboine Memorial returning with the same line-up (Kelsey Calvert, Katherine Remillard, Melissa Gordon-Kurz). A year ago, Team Peterson lost the RME Women’s final 7-6, tied coming home with Team Cameron. The year previous, Team Peterson had lost 9-8 to Kaitlyn Lawes in the final.

Team Peterson won a CurlManitoba Bonspiel Berth to qualify for this year’s championship and are currently ranked #12 on CTRS. They have a championship, a finalist finish and a semi- finalist finish on their records this year.

The next two seeds are #4 Lisa McLeod – Pembina (Christine MacKay, Emily Cerwinski, Jolene Callum, Coach Lyall Hudson), winners of an MCT Berth and #5 Kristy Watling – East St. Paul (Laura Burtnyk, Emily Deschenes, Sarah Pyke), winners of a CurlManitoba Bonspiel Berth.

McLeod’s team is ranked #20 and Watling is #21 on the CTRS.

Hailey McFarlane’s Rivers team will be the home-town favourite in the Riverview Community
Centre Arena while rural teams from Carberry (Alyssa Calvert) and Manitou (Cheyenne Ehnes) will also attract Westman curling fans.

Along with the teams from Pembina and Assiniboine Memorial, there is a single entry from
Winnipeg’s Granite Club (Lane Prokopowich). With Watling from East St. Paul is the Rachel
Kaatz entry. With Lawes from the Heather are the Sarah Jane Sass and Darcy Robertson
teams.

Robertson will be competing in her record 29th Manitoba Women’s Championship. The three-time champion (2009, 2003, 1986) and 6-time finalist (most recently in 2018) has played more provincial championship games (211) and won more games (136) than any other Manitoba Women’s competitor.

<><><><>Ticket information<><><><>
Event Pass – $125 Early Bird until December 20, 2025 ($150 after December 20)
Day Pass – $40
Last Draw of the day – $20
Children 12 and under are free
Contact riversmbcurlingclub@gmail.com

2025-26 BOB PICKEN JUNIOR LEGACY GRANTS ANNOUNCED

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Six Manitoba Curling Clubs, one in Winnipeg and five in rural Manitoba clubs, will be receiving Bob Picken Junior Legacy grants in the near future. The Picken Open Masters Bonspiel Committee has reviewed this year’s applications and has announced that this year’s awards will go to support the junior programs at Brandon’s Riverview club along with the clubs in Stonewall, Steinbach, Teulon and both East and West St. Paul.

This year’s six $500 grants, made with the support of Access Credit Union and CurlManitoba, brings the total to $12,000 in Bob Picken Junior Legacy grants since the program began seven years ago.

“We continue to be impressed with the quality of the grant applications and the imagination that junior coordinators are putting into making their programs interesting to the junior curlers – a key to a successful program,” says committee co-chair Bob Minaker.

“We are also pleased to see programs continuing. It is a tribute to the hard work of the junior coordinators, but also a tribute to the memory of Bob Picken who was such a dedicated servant of our sport, when we see their junior programs succeeding,” Minaker says.

Craig Strand, on behalf of the West St. Paul Junior Program, receives a 2025 Bob Picken Junior Legacy Grant plaque from committee member Resby Coutts.

Back in 2019, Brandon’s Riverview club was one of the first three recipients of a Bob Picken Junior Legacy grant. Two others of this year’s recipients, Teulon and East St. Paul are also past recipients, Stonewall was part of Interlake Junior League group which received a grant in 2021.

Two clubs, Steinbach and West St. Paul, are receiving a Bob Picken Junior Legacy Grant for the first time.

In the years since the first grants were awarded in 2019, 15 different Manitoba clubs have benefited directly from the program. In addition, support has been provided to four different Junior Development Leagues with indirect benefit to some 15-20 additional clubs.

The Bob Picken Open Masters Bonspiel Committee is very appreciative of the support of CurlManitoba which has made a Masters Championship berth available and of Access Credit Union who became the bonspiel’s presenting sponsor two years ago. Other sponsors such as Asham Curling Supplies and the curlers who have participated have also made a significant contribution to the Legacy Grant fund.

The Bob Picken Junior Legacy grant program will continue in the 2026-27 curling season. Details will be announced in the fall of 2026.

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Including 2025, Bob Picken Junior Legacy Grants have been presented to:
(2024) Altona CC Juniors
(2022) Carman CC Juniors
(2024) (2025) East St. Paul CC Juniors
(2023) Elmwood CC Juniors
2019) Oakville CC Juniors
(2023) Portage CC Juniors
(2019) (2025) Riverview CC Juniors
(2024) Ste. Anne CC Juniors
(2024) St. Vital CC Juniors
(2025) Steinbach
(2025) Stonewall
(2022) Swan River CC Juniors
(2024) (2025) Teulon CC Juniors
(2019) Thistle CC Juniors
(2025) West St Paul
(2023) Winkler CC Juniors
(2021) Bob Picken Inter-Club Youth League (Winnipeg clubs)
(2021) Interlake Junior Inter-club League (Interlake clubs)
(2024) Sliding Stars North junior program (based at Swan River Curling Club)
(2022) Westman Development League (based at Virden)

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West St. Paul’s Karys Buchalter team (Ainslee Card, Amy Buchalter, Eva Le Heiget,
Assistant Coach Bryan Buchalter) have been part of the West St. Paul Junior program which is receiving a 2025 Bob Picken Junior Legacy Grant.

BUCHALTER, BOUTET WIN ASHAM U-18 CHAMPIONSHIPS

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Despite the start of CurlManitoba’s Asham U-18 Championships being delayed by last week’s storm, the event concluded on schedule Monday at the Riverton Curling Club, thanks to the efforts of the Riverton host committee and volunteers as well as the competing teams.

The final games ended with the teams skipped by Karys Buchalter – West St. Paul and Evan Boutet – Fort Garry winning the championships and earning the right to represent Manitoba at the national championship February 8-14, 2026 in Trimmins, ON.

The Asham U-18 Women’s championship was a re-match of last year’s final between Karys Buchalter – West St. Paul and Caitlyn McPherson – Gimli. The two placed first in their respective round robin pools this year. Team Buchalter was the only unbeaten women’s team with a 5W-0L record while Team McPherson finished with four wins in their five games.

In the final game, the fifth end was decisive as the Buchalter team stole five to jump ahead 8-2 enroute to a 9-2 victory.

2025-26 U-18 Champions: Team Karys Buchalter (Ainslee Card, Amy Buchalter, Eva Le Heiget, Coach Kelsey Meger, Assistant Coach Bryan Buchalter)

Team Buchalter (Ainslee Card, Amy Buchalter, Eva Le Heiget, Coach Kelsey Meger, Assistant Coach Bryan Buchalter) had defeated defending champion Caitlyn McPherson – Gimli (Julie Magnusson, Jorja Buhr, Anais McCormick, Coach Shawn Magnusson) 6-4 in the Page 1-1 Playoff between the top teams in each pool.  Team McPherson bounced back with a 5-4 win in the semi-final over Ella Keough – Deer Lodge (Katie McDonald, Bailey Gunn, Skye Spulnick. Coach Rob Keough) to earn the final berth.

Team Keough, who had a 3W-2L record in round robin play, was second in the pool behind Buchalter. In the Page 2-2 Playoff, they defeated Joelle Plourde – Ste. Anne (Lu Abraham, Alyana Beaumont, Joséphine Jolicoeur, Coach Réal Jolicoeur) who had also finished the round robin with a 3W-2L record, in second place behind McPherson,

In the U-18 Men’s Championship game, the fifth end was also decisive. Evan Boutet’s Fort Garry team scored their second three of the game in the fifth to take a 6-4 lead over Tyler Graham’s Gimli team. Graham scored singles on the sixth and seventh ends to tie but Team Boutet won the game 7-6 with a single point coming home.

Evan Boutet’s Heather team (Luc Cormier, Bryce Buchel, Quinn Lagace, Coach Blaine Malo) are the 2025-26 Asham U-18 Men’s Champions

The Graham team (Jake Kowalchuk, Alex Newcombe, Johannes Magnusson, Coach Sheldon Kowalchuk) reached the final undefeated with a 4W-0L round robin record and a 7-1 win over Liam Burton – Heather in the Page 1-1 Playoff. Their final game opponent, Boutet’s Fort Garry team (Luc Cormier, Bryce Buchel, Quinn Lagace, Coach Blaine Malo) had earlier won the Page 2-2 playoff and the semi-final.

The semi-final was a Boutet 4-2 win over Team Burton (Tiernan Bertrand-Meadows, Myles Lagadi, Callum Smith, Coach Shelley Bertrand-Meadows). The semi-final was a re-match of the final round robin game which had been won by Team Burton to give them first place in the pool. It was the second consecutive semi-final loss for the Burton team in the U-18 provincial final.

Team Boutet had ended the round robin with a 3W-1L record and was Page 2-2 winner over Kaiden Andersen – Heather (Matt Le Heiget, Conner Kent, Maksym Russo, Coach Gerry Sande) who were also 3W-1L in the round robin.

A total of 22 teams, 10 U-18 Men and 12 U-18 Women, took part in the championship event in Riverton. This was up from 2024-25 when there were 18 teams (10M & 8W) and 2022-23 when there were 17 teams (7M & 10W). The 2023-24 entry was identical to this year (10M & 12W).

RIVERTON SET TO HOST ASHAM U18 CHAMPIONSHIPS

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The Riverton Curling Club will host the season’s first Manitoba curling championship events when the Asham U18 Men’s and Women’s Championships this weekend – although today’s start has been delayed by the first winter storm of the season. Today’s planned 4:30 start has moved to Friday morning. The event will continue through the weekend to playoffs on Monday in Riverton.

Caitlyn McPherson and her Gimli team return to defend their title – but with one line-up change from last year.

One draw, at 9am Saturday, will be played in Gimli.

Thirteen different Manitoba clubs are represented in the fields of 10 young men’s teams and 12 young women’s teams. Four clubs; East St. Paul, West St. Paul, Morden, and Gimli are represented in both competitions.

Last year’s championships were won by the Nash Sugden-Morden team and the Caitlyn McPherson-Gimli team.

In the U18 Women’s competition, both of last year’s finalists return, with only one line-up change. Gimli’s Caitlyn McPherson returns with two of her teammates from a year ago (Julie Magnusson and Jorja Buhr) and newcomer Anais McCormick. They are coached by Shawn Magnusson. They finished last year’s championship with an 8W-1L record and the championship.

In 2024, the McPherson team defeated Karys Buchalter (West St. Paul) in the final. Buchalter returns with the same line-up (Ainslee Card, Amy Buchalter, Eva Le Heiget, Coach Kelsey Meger and Assistant Coach Bryan Buchalter) which accumulated a 6W-2L record a year ago.

The story is different in the U18 Men’s competition. The Sugden team has aged out of U18 competition and only one member of the 2025 finalist team is returning. Hudson Strand who played lead a year ago, gaining experience with the finalist Logan Zacharias team, returns as skip of his own team.

Strand’s West St. Paul team comprises Luke Jonasson, Evan Traczuk, Cooper Eagles and Coach Craig Strand. They face strong competition including the skips of the other two playoff teams from a year ago.

Kieran Callewaert (St. Vital) lost the Page 2-2 game a year ago and finished with a 3W-3L record. His new team this year includes Cooper Steele, Brady Wiens, Parker Schwab and Coach Ryan Schwab. The winner of that 2-2 game, with a 4W-2L record was Heather’s Liam Burton whose team returns intact. He is supported by Tiernan Bertrand-Meadows, Myles Lagadi, Callum Smith and Coach Shelley Bertrand-Meadows.

Entries in the U18 Women’s championship come from East St. Paul and Swan River, two each, with singles from Charleswood, Deer Lodge, Gimli, Gladstone, Morden, Ste. Anne, Virden, and West St. Paul.

Entries in the U18 Men’s event include three from the Heather, two from Morden, and single entries from Assiniboine Memorial, East St. Paul, Gimli, St. Vital, and West St. Paul.

Since the U18 Championship began in 2013, teams from eleven different clubs have won the championship. Only St. Vital has won it twice, when Jordon McDonald’s teams won back-to-back in 2019 and 2020.

Teams from eight different clubs have won the U18 Women’s event. Altona leads the way with four, including the three consecutive won by Mackenzie Zacharias teams from 2014 to 2016 and the one by the Dayna Wahl team in 2023.

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