(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.

“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

Event tickets for the 2026 Bunge Championship in Selkirk are available for online purchase at https://selkirk.curling.io/en/programs