Four more wins on the final day of round robin play means that the three Manitoba teams have an accumulated rpound-robin record of 23 wins and only one loss. The two undefeated teams, Kaitlyn Lawes-Heather and the Beth Peterson/Kelsey Calvert Assiniboine Memorial team finaish on top of the wo pools.
Kerri Einarson’s Team Canada, with a 7W-1L record, is second behind Lawes and will play Peteron/Calvert in the first playoff round.
Lawes plays second place Christina Black (Nova Scotia) in the first playoff round.
The Lawes-Black loser drops to play third place Taylour Stevens (Nova Scotia) while the Paterson-Einarson loser plays Selena Sturmay (Alberta) in the first elimination round.
The Lawes-Black and Peterson-Einarson winners will meet in the Page 1-2 game with a direct path to the Sunday final.
Kaitlyn Lawes, Selena Njegovan, Laura Walker, Kristin Gordon Photo: Curling Canada-Andrew Klaver
(Wednesday, January 28)A REMARKABLE MANITOBA SCOTTIES RUN: Manitoba’s three teams at the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Mississauga have had a remarkable run. With one day left in the round robin, it is assured that all three will advance to the playoff round. In fact Kaitlyn Lawes and her Heather team are assured of first place in their pool
Team Canada (l-r) Krysten Karwacki, Shannon Birchard, Kerri Einarson, Val Sweeting, Karlee Burgess Photo: Curling Canada-Andrew Klaver
More impressives however, is the collective win-loss record accumulated by Team Canada-Gimli’s Kerri Einarson, Team Manitoba-Assiniboine Memorial’s Calvert/Peterson Team, and Team Manitoba 2-Heather’s Kaitlyn Lawes.
Lawes played Einarson earlier this week – so there was a certainty of one Manitoba loss. (Lawes beat Einarson thanks mainly to a wonderful angle raise double takeout for three on the second end). However, it is remarkable that going into the final day, that was the only loss by the three teams.
Team Lawes is at 7W-0L and Team Peterson is at 6W-0L along withTeam Einarson at 6W-1L. That’s 19 wins against a single loss so far in the event…. a remarkable run!
(January 28: MCHoF&M Release) The Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame has announced its 2026 slate of inductees. The announcement was made today at the new Manitoba Curling Museum location at 4000 Grant Avenue (upstairs – Charleswood Curling Club).
Joining the elite group of curlers, builders and teams who are already enshrined in Manitoba’s Curling Hall of Fame are five teams plus two multi-time Manitoba champions in the individual Curler category.
The formal induction will take place at the annual Induction and Fund-Raising Dinner on Saturday May 2, 2026 at Winnipeg’s Victoria Inn.
In attendance at the Manitoba Curling Museum venue at 4000 Greant Avenue (Charleswood Curling Club) for the announcement of the 2026 inductees were (l-r) Rob Meakin, Scott Grant, Sarah Pyke (Wazney) , and Kyle Doering Photo: Heather Coulter
The announcement event at the museum included the formal dedication of the museum space to the memory of Heather Helston, the organization’s long-time volunteer curator who passed away suddenly in early January.
The 2026 team inductees include the 2009 Canadian Mixed champion team of Sean Grassie, the 2013 & 2016 Canadian Junior Men’s champion teams of Matt Dunstone, the 2008 & 2009 Canadian Junior Women’s champion teams of Kaitlyn Lawes; and long-time teammates Reid Carruthers and Derek Samagalski.
<><> 2008 & 2009 Team Lawes <><>
2008: Kaitlyn Lawes, Jenna Loder, Liz Peters, Sarah Wazney, Coach Alex Mowat
2008 Manitoba & Canadian Junior Women’s Champion, World Bronze Medallist
Win-loss record of 27W-7L in the three championships including an undefeated 9W-0L Manitoba championship
2017 Canadian Mixed Doubles champion, World Silver Medallist
Coach Team Einarson – Canadian Women’s champion & World Bronze Medal 2022, 2023
Lawes (2015 & 2019), Carruthers (2020), Derksen (2006), Mowat (2017) and Rob Meakin (2019) have previously been inducted into the Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame.
Lawes with the 2014 Jones Gold Medal Olympic team and in recognition of the 2018 Mixed Double Gold Medal
Carruthers with the 2011 Stoughton World champion team
Derksen with the 2002 Hamblin World Junior champion team
Mowat as a Builder
Meakin as a Curler-Builder
Plans for the May 2, 2026 Induction Dinner are currently being finalized. Interested persons can send an email to mbcurlmuseum@gmail.com .
A Heather Helston Memorial Fund has been established for those who wish to pay tribute to her legacy of service to the sport of curling in Manitoba. For information, send an email to mbcurlmuseum@gmail.com .
(January 28: CurlManitoba Release) CurlManitoba and Bunge have announced the extension of Bunge’s sponsorship of the Manitoba Men’s Curling Championship for an additional three years.
“We are delighted to continue the very strong partnership we have enjoyed recently with Bunge, and previously with Viterra,” says CurlManitoba Executive Director Craig Baker. “Although there has been a name change on this most recent partnership, we have still only had four title sponsors in the now 101-year history of the event. That suggests this is one of the strongest curling event ‘properties’ in the world.”
“Bunge has a significant presence in rural communities across Western Canada, where curling is an important sport that brings people together,” said Kyle Jeworski, head of Bunge in Canada. “As a major employer and agricultural player in Manitoba, Bunge is focused on partnering with organizations that share our values and commitment to our communities. This makes our partnership with CurlManitoba an ideal fit for us, and we’re pleased to renew our commitment for three more years.”
The new partnership agreement will begin next season (2026-27) and continues through the 2028-29 curling season.
The current three-year agreement ends with the 2026 Bunge Championship in Selkirk, February 3-8, 2026.
The draw for the new format, 24-team, championship has been completed, with the final two teams having been added after the Manitoba Open Bonspiel. (The complete team list is attached)
At the same time as the Bunge partnership extension was announced, the top-five seeds, as selected by the competing teams, were also announced.
In attendance at the January 28 ‘seeds & draw’ announcement (l-r) Kyle Doering (Team Carruthers), Jordon McDonald, Brett Walter, Sean Flatt (Team Lott) Photo: Heather Coulter
“It is traditional that the defending champion is usually the top seed – but it doesn’t always happen – they have to earn it. This year the teams believe that defending champion Reid Carruthers has earned the top seed position,” Baker announced.
However, like curlers across the province, Baker is wondering how the seeding impacts the new triple knockout preliminary round. “It will be interesting to observe the patterns over time as our best teams compete in this new format,” he says.
The top five seeds are:
#1: Reid Carruthers (BJ Neufeld, Catlin Schneider, Connor Njegovan and Kyle Doering – Coach Rob Meakin) – Granite: Defending champion, currently #11 on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS), qualified four times in seven out-of-province events with one championship. Lineup unchanged from 2025….GAME 1: Wednesday 12:15PM VS winner of Todoruk & Wickman who play at 8:30AM
#2: Jordon McDonald (Jacques Gauthier, Elias Huminicki, Cam Olafson – Coach Bryan Miki) – Assiniboine Memorial: Lost to Carruthers in a final qualifying game a year ago, currently #12 on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS), won the Canadian Olympic pre-Trials event, qualified three times in 10 more out-of-province events with one championship and one finalist finish. One lineup changed (Gauthier) from 2025 ….GAME 1: Wednesday 8:15PM VS winner of D. Anderson vs C. Anderson who play at 12:15PM
#3: Braden Calvert (Corey Chambers, Kyle Kurz, Brendan Bilawka and Rob Gordon) – Heather: Lost Carruthers in the final a year ago, currently #13 on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS), finalist (lost to McDonald) in the Canadian Olympic pre-Trials, qualified in all five Manitoba events they played with three championships and one finalist finish. Lineup unchanged from 2025….GAME 1: Wednesday 4:00PM VS winner of Hyde & Gudmundson who play at 8:30AM
#4: Brett Walter (Julien Leduc, Graham McFarlane, Hugh McFarlane) – Assiniboine Memorial: Lost to Calvert in the Page 1-1 game and to Carruthers in the semi-final a year ago, currently #28 on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS), won the Bunge Berth Bonspiel, qualified four times with two finalist finishes in four Manitoba events. One lineup changed (Leduc) from 2025….GAME 1: Wednesday 4:00PM VS winner of Sundell & Dunbar who play at 8:30AM
#5: Tanner Lott (Riley Smith, Adam Flatt, Sean Flatt and Justin Twiss) – Fort Rouge: currently #23 on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS), qualified six times in seven Manitoba events with one finalist and one championship finish. Did not compete as a team a year ago ….GAME 1: Wednesday 4:00PM VS winner of Titchkosky & Kinnaird who play at 8:30AM
(January 4/26: CurlManitoba Release) After losing the last two Manitoba Women’s Championship final games, Assiniboine Memorial’s Team Beth Peterson has won the trip to the national Scotties as Team Manitoba.
The Peterson team, skipped by Kelsey Calvert, won a pair of games Sunday at the RME Women of the Rings presented by Case IH to earn their Team Manitoba jackets.
In a rematch of the 2024 final game against Kaitlyn Lawes-Heather, Team Peterson (Kelsey Calvert, Beth Peterson, Katherine Remillard, Melissa Gordon-Kurz Coach Kyle Kurz) scored a single with a draw to the button facing three on the 9th end to take an 8-7 lead coming hoes
Lawes (Selena Njegovan, Jocelyn Peterman, Kristin Gordon, Coach Marcel Rocque) was possibly laying one when she threw her final stone of the 10th end. She tried to navigate a narrow port to bump Peterson’s second shot stone off the button but rubbed a guard, just enough to redirect and rub the Peterson stone into shot stone position. The final score was 9-7 Peterson/Calvert without throwing their final stone.
Earlier in the day, in the semi-final rematch of the 2025 final, Team Peterson had defeated Kate Cameron and her St. Adolphe team (Briane Harris, Taylor McDonald, Mackenzie Elias, Coach Derek Samagalski) in a high scoring 13-7 affair that saw 5-2’s, 2-3’s and a 4 point end.
(January 3/26: CurlManitoba Release) LAWES IN THE FINAL; CAMERON-PETERSON SEMI-FINAL: The Sunday morning (9:30AM) semi-final game in the RME Women of the Rings presented by Case IH will be a re-match of last year’s final between Team Kate Cameron – St. Adolphe and Team Beth Peterson – Assiniboine Memorial.
It is the third consecutive year for Team Peterson and Team Cameron to reach the final three.
The Sunday afternoon final game of the Manitoba Women’s Curling Championship in Rivers will be played at 2PM with Lawes playing the winner of Cameron vs Peterson.
Defending champion Cameron (Briane Harris, Taylor McDonald, Mackenzie Elias, Coach Derek Samagalski) was moved to the semi-final Saturday evening with a 7-4 loss in the Page 1-1 game at the hands of 2024 champion Kaitlyn Lawes – Heather (Selena Njegovan, Jocelyn Peterman, Kristin Gordon, Coach Marcel Rocque).
Lane Prokopowich and her Granite team (Mikaylah Lyburn, Caitlin Kostna, Stephanie Feeleus, Coach William Lyburn) did not make it to the final day but were still all smiles as they surpassed their pre-event expectations by advancing to the playoff round.
The Peterson team (Kelsey Calvert, Katherine Remillard, Melissa Gordon-Kurz Coach Kyle Kurz), skipped by Calvert, was a short-game winner in the Page 2-2 game over Lane Prokopowich – Granite (Mikaylah Lyburn, Caitlin Kostna, Stephanie Feeleus, Coach William Lyburn).
Earlier in the day Saturday, Lawes had defeated Peterson and Cameron had defeated Kristy Watling – East St. Paul (Laura Burtnyk, Emily Deschenes, Sarah Pyke) to advance to the Page 1-1 game.
Watling dropped in to a play-in game where her East St. Paul team was defeated by Prokopowich.
The loss to Lawes had dropped Peterson into the second play-in game where they defeated Lisa McLeod – Pembina (Christine McKay, Emily Cherwinski, Jolene Callum, Coach Lyall Hudson).
The 2026 playoffs exactly replicate 2024: the Kaitlyn Lawes team earned the spot in the final while Cameron played Peterson in the semi-final. A Peterson win put her team in the final against Lawes, with Lawes victorious.
(January 2/26: CurlManitoba Release)TOP TWO SEEDS UNDEFEATED; PLAYOFFS SET…… Top seeded Kaitlyn Lawes and her Heather team and defending champion & second seed Kate Cameron’s St Adolphe team have run through the round-robin at the RME Women of the Rings presented by Case IH with perfect 5W-0L records. The two teams finish first in their respective pools.
In the playoffs of the Manitoba Women’s Curling Championship in Rivers, Lawes will play the second place team from the Asham UltraForce pool, Team Beth Peterson (AMCC). Cameron plays the second place team in the Asham pool, the Kristy Watling team from East St. Paul.
Lawes’ first place standing was definite starting her final round robin game but Cameron had to earn first place with a last round win over Team Peterson in a late draw re-match of last year’s final.
Watling’s second place finish came through the tie-breaker last-stone draw process.
A final round Watling win over Sarah Jane Sass (Heather) and a Lawes win over Lisa McLeod (Pembina), left a three-way Sass/McLeod/Watling tie with identical 3W-2L records. The tie-breaker LSD tally eliminated Sass and placed Watling second with McLeod third.
Lane Prokopwich and her young Granite team went on the ice for the late draw Friday knowing they already had third place and a playoff berth. Even with a loss, which did occur in their game with Hailey McFarlane (Rivers), they would be tied with the winner of the Darcy Robertson (Heather) vs Alyssa Calvert (Carberry) game. The game was won by Calvert, giving them both a 2W-3L record but Prokopowich had beaten Calvert earlier in the day and that head-to-head result was the tiebreaker in their pool.
The first round of playoffs, the Lawes vs Peterson and Cameron vs Watling games, will go at 10AM Saturday. The winners advance while the losers drop to elimination games against Prokopowich and McLeod. That second playoff draw is set for 2:30PM Saturday.
(January 1/26: CurlManitoba Release) TOP THREE SEEDS ALL UNBEATEN ………The top three seeds in the RME Women of the Rings presented by Case IH have all won their first three games in the Manitoba provincial women’s championship underway in Rivers.
Top seed Kaitlyn Lawes and her Heather team posted their third win on the afternoon draw Thursday. This seeded Team Beth Peterson (skipped by Kelsey Calvert), the finalist each of the last two years, had already posted their third win Thursday evening when #2 seed Kate Cameron (St. Adolphe) went into a dramatic extra end on the late draw.
Carberry’s Alyssa Calvert team scored a single with an outstanding draw to the four foot to tie Cameron 6-6 after ten ends. The extra end was a classic. The guards were placed perfectly when Calvert second Pam Robins threw a remarkable draw to the button, perfectly angled between two Cameron stones in the four foot circle. Five guards were removed and replaced – leaving Cameron nothing but an angle rise takeout with a stone off the rings. Again perfection as the defending champion removed the counter and also improved to three wins in three starts.
With two games to be played on Friday by all 12 teams, almost every game played will have an impact on playoff positions for the three teams from each pool who advance to the playoff round on the weekend.
In the Asham UltraForce pool, Cameron and Peterson share the lead with 3W-0L records. They play each other in the final round Friday with that game determining first place in the pool. Three teams with 1W-2lrecords can all still qualify for the playoffs. Lane Prokopowich – Granite upset veteran Darcy Robertson – Heather Friday, giving both a 1W-2L record. Calvert is also at 1W-2L after three games.
In the Asham pool, top seed Kaitlyn Lawes is in the driver’s seat with an unbeaten record. Behind here three teams; Sara-Jane Sass-Heather, Lisa McLeod-Pembina, and Kristy Watling-East St. Paul all share 2W-1L records. Of the four, Team McLeod has the toughest Friday draw as they will face Watling on the early draw and Lawes on the late afternoon draw.
Draws Friday at the Riverdale Community Centre in Rivers are scheduled for 8:30am, 12:15pm, 4:00pm, and 7:45pm. The centre sheet game on every draw is available on the CurlManitoba Youtube channel – look for a link on the CurlManitoba website (curlmanitoba.org)
(December 20: CurlManitoba Release) LAWES TOP SEED FOR RME WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP; CAMERON #2 ……. 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
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