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
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.
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).
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.
I’m not a gambler – but I understand there are two kinds of gamblers: the amateurs who go on their emotions and instincts AND the pros who go on facts.
Pre-Trials winner Jordon McDonald, Jacques Gauthier, Elias Huminicki, Cam Olafson, Coach Bryan Miki (Photo: Curling Canada/Peter Oleskevich)
Those looking for facts as a basis of their bet on the outcome of the “new” best-of-three final series at the Canadian Curling Trials will be hard-pressed to find a reference point in curling. Of course, there are historical records galore to look at this week – to make your bet before the games start.
But is there any set of facts anywhere that can help guide you after the first game has been played in that best-of-three final has been decided. What are the odds the Game #1 winner – will win the trip to the Olympics? Will they do it in two games or three?
Most curling fans will say there is no real reference point – no relevant example in the sport of curling.
NOT SO!! the Manitoba Men’s Championship British Consols final was a best-of-three playoff for 14 years between 1963 and 1976. So the question becomes – do patterns and results from that long ago have any relevance now. I won’t say they do or don’t – but I will say they are facts, perhaps the only example in the sport of curling.
Here are the facts: EIGHT finals were won in two games while SIX finals required three games.
Of the SIX finals which went three games: FIVE were won in three games with the Game ONE winner losing #2 and winning #3 Only ONE was won in three with the Game ONE winner losing both games #2 & #3
It is a pretty small sample size, but I don’t know of any other example of a best-of-three playoff in our sport.
The British Consols Trophy, one of the grand trophies from Maniotoba’s curling history, was presented 14 times to the winner of a best-of-three final series. The trophy will be on permanent display when the Manitoba Curling Museum opens at Charelswood Curling Club later this month (Photo: Manitoba Curling Museum)
Here are the results of those 14 British Consols finals. 1963 – Hersh Lerner beat Bob Picken in two games 1964 – Bruce Hudson beat Gary Ross in three games (Hudson won #1) 1965 – Terry Braunstein beat Bruce Hudson in two games 1966 – Hersh Lerner beat Bruce Hudson in two games 1967 – Bruce Hudson beat Gary Ross in two games 1968 – Burke Parker beat Ralph Wilson in two games 1969 – Bobby Robinson beat Paul Devlin in three games (Robinson won #1) 1970 – Don Duguid beat Bob Friesen in three games (Duguid won #1) 1971 – Don Duguid beat Larry Taylor in two games 1972 – Orest Meleschuk beat Gary Ross in two games 1973 – Danny Fink beat Clare DeBlonde in three games (DeBlonde won #1) 1974 – Don Barr beat Gary Ross in three games (Barr won #1) 1975 – Rod Hunter beat Barry Fry in three games (Hunter won #1) 1976 – Clare DeBlonde beat Terry Braunstein in two games
As for trying to predict who would be in the best-of-three final, history tells us that most of the teams in that list were beginning their great careers and no doubt most would have been picked to be among the favourites in that particular year. However, there are just enough names in the list to tell you “when they start even, anyone can win”. 1968, of course,is the best example of that when Parker and Wilson, two Dauphin area teams, played the final in Brandon while the high profile teams all watched.
What about picking the winner between the final two. Parker-Wilson was a coin-toss! Gary Ross may not have been highly regarded in 1964 but three more in the next ten years was no surprise. Picken was well regarded in ’63 so that year was probably a coin-toss final as well. In fact most were, although there were some clear favourites. Robinson over Devlin in 1969, Duguid over Friesen in 1970, and Duguid over Taylor in 1971 was probably the three year period in those 14, when most would have bet the winner in advance.
As for a long-shot bet to win, at the start of the 1968 event, both Parker and Wilson would have been called that. However, Barr over Ross in ’74 might best fit that description once the final two teams were decided.
With two games to play today in the first round, Manitoba’s teams face an uphill challenge at the Canadian Clubs Championships at Granite
On the men’s side, Manitoba’s Anderson team has split the first four games after yesterday’s 5-1 win over Quebec and 8-7 extra end loss to PEI. Their 2W-2L record has them tied with Nova Scotia and Northern Ontario. They trail British Columbia and PEI, both with 4W-1L records. A pair of wins Friday would probably assure them of advancing to the double knockout round. Those games are against BC and Nova Scotia.
On the women’s side, Manitoba’s Strand team has a 1W-3L record following a split Thursday. They beat Northwest Territories 11-1 but lost 6-5 to Quebec. They will need to win two Friday to have a chance to advance.They will play New Brunswick (2W-2L) and Nfld/Labrador (3W-2L) in their Friday games.
The Curling Canada draw site shows four teams advancing from each pool to a double knockout round qualifying into a final-four medal round.
Ontario (4W-0L) and BC (4W-1L) lead the way on the women’s side. Alberta (4W-0L) and BC & PEIC (both 4W-1L) lead the way on the men’s side.
(November 18/25) CANADIAN CLUBS CHAMPIONSHIP UNDERWAY AT GRANITE: Twenty-eight teams, 14 men – 14 women have assembled at Winnipeg’s Granite Curling Club to contest the 2025 Canadian Curling Clubs Championships.
Manitoba’s men’s champions, from Gimli Curling Club (Derrick Anderson, Justin Hoplock, Mitch Einarson, Chris Sigurdson) are making a second run at the title which has bnever yet bee won by a Manitoba team.
The Manitoba women are skipped by Carlene Strand (who throws lead stones).The team includes Lindsay Warkentin, Sasan Baleja, Tricia McLeod, Ashleigh Gusberti and Coach Craig Strand. Manitoba women have won on four previous occasions. In 2011, Meghan Armit’s Granite team won for Manitoba’s first. Tracey Andries and her Fort Rouge team won it in 2017. Stacey Fordyce and her Brandon team are two-time champions, winners in 2013 and 2017
The MJCT Heather Junior Bonspiel will hence forward be named the Albert Bazinet Open.
The memory of Albert Bazinet, a dedictated Manitoba junior curling organizer and coach, was honoured at a Manitoba Junior Curling Tour event Friday evening at Heather Curling Club. Heather has renamed its MJCT Bonspiel the Albert Bazinet Open and CurlManitoba presented Albert’s wife Shirley, and the family with an Honourary membership for Albert. CurlManitoba was in the decision-making process to include Albert Bazinet as a recipient of a CurlManitoba Honorary Membership this season. Regretfully, the decision was too late to be able to make the presentation to Albert. While these awards are rarely made posthumously, it is appropriate in this case.
Albert Bazinet’s name first appears in the CurlManitoba historical records as coach of the Tyler Drews team which won a Junior Men’s bonspiel event in 2006. In the 20 year span since, his name is in the records a remarkable 30 more times.
Elaine Owen, CurlManitoba Event & Development Manager, presents the Honourary Life Membership scroll and pin to Shirley Bazinet (Photos: Lynn Coleman)
He is in there twice as a competitor – as skip of a provincial berth winner in the Club Championship in 2012 AND as a Manitoba Open bonspiel event winner in 2018. That means his name is in the CurlManitoba records 29 times as a coach.
He enjoyed playing the game – but he truly loved coaching and he coached at all levels. He coached four different times at the Viterra Men’s championship and once at a Senior Women’s. But his greatest involvement as a coach was with U-18 and Junior teams. At provincial championships, he coached three U-18 women’s teams, 2 U-18 men’s teams and two U-18 Mixed Doubles teams.
At the Junior level at provincials, he coached five Junior men’s teams and eleven junior women’s teams and he coached one Junior Women’s team at the Canada Games.
Two of those 29 teams reached provincial finals and took home silver medals. It is not reasonable to suggest Albert didn’t care that he never won a provincial title with one of his teams – of course, he cared – but he cared more because of disappointment for his curlers than for any personal disappointment.
He cared about his teams – perhaps more importantly he really cared that teams have an opportunity to play the game and to compete. He responded to direct requests from teams to be their coach …. but he also responded often to requests from CurlManitoba that he take on the task of accompanying a team and coaching them at provincials when they had qualified with a parent coach or some other coach who did not have complete credentials for provincials. Albert rarely said no to those requests because he wanted those teams to have that provincial experience.
The respect that his fellow coaches had for Albert was shown in their selection of him on three occasions as the recipient of the Coaching Award at provincials…at the Junior Men’s in 2011 AND twice in 2024 – at both the U18 Men’s and the Junior Men’s.
CurlManitoba has long admired Albert’s dedication to junior curling both as a coach and as the organizing energy behind the Manitoba Junior Curling Tour.
thecurler.com 