Category Archives: Canadian Curling Championships

MANITOBA’S ANDERSON TEAM ADVANCES TO EVEREST PLAYOFFS

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Derrick Anderson and his team Manitoba have qualified for the double knockout playoff round at the Everest Curling Championships at Assiniboine Memorial. A 10-3 Thursday morning win over Nunavut gave the Manitobans a 4W-2L record, tied for first in their pool with Saskatchewan and BC.

Team Manitoba Photo: Curling Canada/Connie Laliberte

Three teams in the other pool (Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) also finished 4W-2L. Alberta was the only team to finish with a perfect 6W-0L record.

Manitoba will face Ontario in their first playoff game at 4PM Thursday. With a win they will play the winner of Alberta and Quebec. A loss will move them to play the loser on the B-side of the draw.

Four teams will advance to a single knockout medal round.

Kara Balshaw’s Manitoba team has a 2W-3L record after five games and plays Nunavut at 12:30PM. A win and a 3W-3L record may be good enough to advance.

MANITOBA’S ANDERSON 3-2, BALSHAW 2-3 AFTER DAY 4 AT AMCC

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Derrick Anderson, Justin Hoplock, Mitch Einarson, Chris Sigurdson Photo: Curling Canada/Connie Laliberte

Manitoba’s two teams both split a pair of games on Wednesday at the Everest Curling Club Championships at Assiniboine Memorial.

Derrick Anderson’s Men’s team from Gimli had a strong start to the day, scoring an opening five and then stealing three to lead Quebec 8-0 on their way to an 11-5 victory. That win was followed by an afternoon 7-3 loss to British Columbia.

Kara Balshaw’s Thistle/Fort Rouge team (Heather Carson, Sandra Carson, Cathy Gingera, Alternate Kim Merasty) Photo: Curling Canada/Connie Laliberte

Kara Balshaw’s Women’s team from Thistle/Fort Rouge had the opposite patter – an early 6-3 loss to Ontario before beating Saskatchewan 8-5.

The women’s record is 3W-2L. Ontario has finished their round robin with a 5W-1L record. Alberta is at 4W-1L and Saskatchewan at 3W-2L. In the other pool BC is at 5W-0L while Northern Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick are all at 3W-2L.

The men have a 3W-2L record, tied with three others (Nunavut, Saskatchewan, BC) on top of their pool. In the other men’s pool Alberta leads with a 5W-0L record with Ontario (4W-1L) and New Brunswick (4W-2L) close behind.

The Manitoba teams finish their preliminary rounds Thursday when both play Nunavut.

Four teams from each pool advance to the double knock out round (to qualify into the championship round). The Manitoba teams, with wins, should advance and even with a loss, the men could advance (a best guess based on the win-loss records head-to-head with teams they would probably be tied with!).

(TUESDAY) MANITOBA’S ANDERSON 2-1, BALSHAW 1-2 AFTER DAY 3 AT AMCC: It took an extra end but Derrick Anderson’s Team Manitoba defeated Saskatchewan 7-6 Tuesday afternoon to improve their record to 2W-1L at the Everest Curling Club Men’s Championship at Assiniboine Memorial. At 2W-1L, Manitoba is tied with BC, a win behind Quebec.

Manitoba will play Quebec at 9AM on Wednesday.

IN the other men’s pool, Alberta leads the way (3W-0L) trailed by New Brunswick (3W-1L) and Ontario & Nova Scotia (both 2w-1L).

In the women’s competition, Kara Balshaw’s Team Manitoba lost an early Tuesday 6-4 game to Alberta to fall to 1W-2L. Alberta and Saskatchewan are on top of that pool with perfect 3W-0L records trailed by Ontario at 3W-1L. In the other pool BC leads the way with a 3W-0L record trailed by Nova Scotia, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick who are all at 2W-1L.

Manitoba plays Ontario at 12:30 Wednesday.

Throwing red in game one, Team Manitoba’s last shot call was to try to prevent the angle raise on the yellow Yukon stone outside the rings on the “in-turn” side of centre.

(MONDAY) MANITOBA’S ANDERSON, BALSHAW TEAMS BOTH 1-1 AFTER DAY 2 AT AMCC: Manitoba’s Derrick Anderson and his Gimli team (Justin Hoplock, Mitch Einarson, Chris Sigurdson) have opened the Everest Curling Club Championship at Assiniboine Memorial with a split of their first two games.

In their first game, on the Monday afternoon draw, the Gimli foursome jumped out to a 7-2 lead after five ends and stole three on end six to win it. (Teams are required to play a full seven ends before conceding, with the exception that they can conceded after six if down by seven or more.)

On the evening draw, playing Prince Edward Island, Anderson and his team were tied at 3-3 after four ends but gave up a pair of twos in the second half of the game (5th & 7th ends) to lose 7-3.

Up 7-2 playing end #6, Derrick Anderson’s last rock guard crossed centre and cut off that raise. The stolen three ended the game with Yukon

Manitoba’s Women’s team, Kara Balshaw’s Thistle/Fort Rouge foursome (Heather Carson, Sandra Carson, Cathy Gingera, alternate Kim Merasty) also won their opening game Sunday; a 7-2 victory over Newfoundland/Labrador. Game two saw the Manitobans give up a five on the fifth end to trail 7-2. They fought back with two on the 6th, and steals of two on end seven and one on end eight. The tie forced an extra end but the comeback attempt ended with Prince Edward island scoring a deuce for a 9-7 win.

EVEREST CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS BEGIN SUNDAY AT AMCC

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Derrick Anderson’s Gimli team and Kara Balshaw’s Thistle/Fort Rouge team get their national championship opportunity beginning Sunday at Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club.

Livestreaming will happen from sheet 1 at AMCC

The Manitoba champion teams will find a ‘spruced-up’ AMCC when they begin play. The six-sheet competition configuration has bleachers on sheet one and a hospitality area on sheet 8.

Balshaw (Heather, Carson, Sandra Carson, Cathy Gingera) will test the ice on the event’s first draw as they play their opening game at 6pm Sunday against Newfoundland-Labrador. Manitoba has won four previous championships: Megan Armit-2011, Stacey Fordyce – 2013 & 2017, and Tracy Andries – 2016.

Anderson (Justin Hoplock, Mitch Einarson, Chris Sigurdson) are attempting to become the first Manitoba team to win the men’s club champions event. They open play on Monday on the noon draw against Yukon.

TEAM KURZ 10W-2L & SILVER MEDAL AT CANADIAN MIXED

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(R-L) Kyle Kurz, Beth Peterson, Ian McMillan, Melissa Kurz Photo: Curling Canada/Jenny Hagan.

The run for Manitoba’s Team Kurz ended a win short at the Canadian Mixed in Swift Current. A semi-final victory over Team Ontario gave the Fort Rouge team a shot at the championship but for the second time in two games, they lost that gold medal game to Shaun Meachem’s Saskatchewan team. The Manitobans trailed by two twice in the final game but fought twice cam back to tie. A two on the seventh end gave Saskatchewan the hammer, tied, coming home. Saskatchewan won the gold medal while Manitoba earned the silver medal with their 10 wins in 12 games.

(Nov 10) TEAM KURZ 9W-1L & ON TO THE PLAYOFFS: The unbeaten string for Kyle Kurz and his Manitoba team ended at ten at the Canadian Mixed in Swift Current, SK. The only undefeated team through the preliminary round round, the Manitobans won their opening game of the championship qualifying round – a 4-3 win over Ontario’s Scott McDonald.

When the unbeaten run ended, it ended with a thud. The young team from Fort Rouge gave up an opening end four enroute to a blow-out loss to Saskatchewan’s Shaun Meachem.

To win the title, the Manitoba champions will have to win two today. They play McDonald at 10AM and the winner between Meachem and Nova Scotia’s Paul Flemming at 2:30PM.

(Nov.8) TEAM KURZ UNBEATEN INTO MIXED CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND: Six wins, the only undefeated team in the competition, have moved Kyle Kurz and his Manitoba champions into the Championship round at the Canadian Mixed championship in Swift Current.

Kyle Kurz, Beth Peterson, Ian McMillan, and Melissa Kurz are trying to become the first Manitoba team to win the Canadian Mixed since Kyle’s brother Colin Kurz skipped his team to Canadian and World Mixed titles in 2019.

Kyle Kurz, Beth Peterson, Ian McMillan, Melissa Kurz Photo: Curling Canada/Jenny Hagan.

In Swift Current, from the Kurz pool, Jamie Koe’s NWT team advanced with a 5W-1L record along with 4W-2L Alberta (Evan Van Amsterdam) and 3W-3L New Brunswick (Charlie Sullivan).

From the other pool, Saskatchewan (Shaun Meachem), Ontario (Scott McDonald) and Nova Scotia (Paul Flemming) all advanced with 5W-1L records while Prince Edward Island (Tyler Smith) advanced with a 2W-4L record.

The first round records carry forward and accumulate with the 4-game championship round record to determine the final four teams for the Saturday morning semi-finals. The gold & bronze medal games take place Saturday afternoon.

The championship round features two games Thursday and two Friday (12:30pm & 7:30pm Manitoba time).

DUNSTONE & BOTTCHER TEAMS PRE-QUALIFIED FOR 2024 REGINA BRIER

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(Curling Canada Release) Three teams that will compete at the 2024 Brier, presented by AGI, are now confirmed for the event’s run from March 1-10, 2024, at Brandt Centre in Regina.

Following his record-breaking fifth Canadian men’s curling championship as skip earlier this year in London, Ont., Brad Gushue and his team from St. John’s, N.L., return to the 2024 Brier as Team Canada.

Curling Canada photo

Today, Curling Canada confirmed Team Brendan Bottcher of Calgary and Team Matt Dunstone of Winnipeg will also be part of the 2024 Brier as pre-qualified teams based on their 2022-23 Canadian Team Ranking System performances.

The Brier’s long and storied history has seen plenty of firsts throughout its 97-year history and the event in Regina marks another first. It will be the first time three teams have pre-qualified for the Brier this far in advance of the event. The changes to the qualifying for the Brier, Scotties and Canadian Curling Trials were announced in April.  

Team Dunstone — with vice-skip B.J. Neufeld, second Colton Lott and lead Ryan Harnden — earned 69 wins and 22 losses during the 2022-23 season. Highlights included winning the Prism Flow Red Deer Curling Classic in Red Deer, Alta., and DEKALB Superspiel in Morris, Man. Team Dunstone also represented Manitoba at the 2023 Tim Hortons Brier and earned second overall after claiming a spot in the final against Team Gushue.

Team Bottcher — which includes vice-skip Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert — finished second overall in the CTRS this past season. Team Bottcher earned three first-place finishes on the curling tour last season, including two Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling victories at the Co-op Canadian Open in Camrose, Alta., and the Kioti Tractor Champions Cup in Regina. The team concluded the season with a 50-18 win/loss record.

There will be a fourth pre-qualified team for the 2024 Brier, with the top non-qualified team on the 2023-24 CTRS standings after the provincial and territorial playdowns earning a trip to Regina. 

Those four teams will compete with the 14 Member Association champions for the right to represent Canada at the 2024 World Men’s Curling Championship from March 30-April 7 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, pending qualification through the 2023 Pan Continental Curling Championships from Oct. 29-Nov. 4 at Kelowna, B.C.

Ticket sales for the 2024 Brier have been strong, particularly for the championship weekend, and fans will need to act quickly to nail down their preferred seats. New premium seats have recently been added and are now on sale.

Here’s a look at what will be available:

  • Full Event Package ($486-$522) — A single ticket to every draw of the 2024 Brier.
  • Championship Weekend Package ($234-$252) — A single ticket to every draw from Friday, March 8, to Sunday, March 10.
  • Opening Weekend Package ($120-$138) — A single ticket to all draws from Friday, March 1, to Sunday, March 3.
  • Weekday Package ($69-$75) — A single ticket to all three draws on either Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. 

All ticket purchases are subject to PST as well as standard facility and ticket-service fees. 

Ticket packages will be available online curling.ca/tickets, or in person at the Brandt Centre box office. All other ticket inquiries should be sent to briertickets@curling.ca or by phone at (639) 709-5575.

JONES & HOMAN JOIN EINARSON WITH 2024 NATIONAL SCOTTIES ENTRIES

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A change for Curling Canada Scotties qualifying is good for the teams and for the national events/Curling Canada being able to promote name teams almost a year in advance. Not so good for provincial championship events, specifically the 2024 Scotties in Morden. They lost Team Einarson as an attraction when the Gimli four repeated as national champion. Now they have lost Team Jones (confirmed today, see below) and the local attraction of her young teammates who represented Altona for many years. It was proposed nearly a decade ago and has been inevitable for a few years – that the CTRS teams should be removed from the pool before provincial play. The argument then was that they were an important attraction to fans in the provincial event. The argument now may be that with Einarson and Jones teams both absent, there may in fact be more teams interested in playing at the provincial level.

(Curling Canada Release) Three of the 18 teams that will play at the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts next February in Calgary have been confirmed.

Four-time defending champions Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., clinched the first berth into the 2024 Scotties, set for Feb. 16-25 at the WinSport Event Centre in Calgary, by capturing the 2023 Scotties title earlier this year in Kamloops, B.C. Today, Curling Canada confirmed that Team Rachel Homan of Ottawa and Team Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg will be part of the 2024 Scotties field as pre-qualified teams based on their 2022-23 Canadian Team Ranking System performance.

It will be the first time three teams have pre-qualified for the Scotties this far in advance of the event. The changes to the qualifying for the Scotties and Brier, as well as the Canadian Curling Trials, were announced in April.

Team Homan  — the team is rounded out by vice-skip Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew and lead Sarah Wilkes — finished second in the CTRS this past season thanks to a pair of victories on the Pinty’s Grand Slam circuit — the Hearing Life Tour Challenge in Grande Prairie, Alta., and the Kioti Tractor Champions Cup in Regina — and posted a 50-17 record overall.

Team Jones — with third Karlee Burgess and front-enders Emily Zacharias and Lauren Lenentine —  was third in the CTRS standings. Team Jones, representing Manitoba, captured the silver medal at the 2023 Scotties and also won the inaugural PointsBet Invitational last September in Fredericton, N.B. Team Jones finished the 2022-23 season with a 68-35 record.

There will be a fourth pre-qualified team for the 2024 Scotties in Calgary as the top non-qualified team on the 2023-24 CTRS standings at the conclusion of the provincial and territorial playdowns will earn a trip to Calgary.

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TICKETS & INFORMATION:

Tickets are available online through Ticketmaster at curling.ca/tickets. All ticket inquiries should be sent to scottiestickets@curling.ca or by phone at 587-885-0953.

CANADIAN BRONZE MEDAL FOR SMITH-REHBEIN

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Four of ten Manitoba teams advanced to the Sunday playoffs at the Canadian Stick Championships in Nanaimo but only one was able to bring home a medal.

St. Vital’s Gewen Smith & Lynne Rehbein receive Canadian Bronze Medals from Canadian Stick Ass’n President Randy Olson

That medal was assured when the bronze medal game was a re-match of the Manitoba Women’s championship final game. This time around, Gwen Smith & Lynne Rehbein (St. Vital) defeated Val Kolsun and Lorna Marr (Springfield).

In the Open Division, Manitoba champions Warren Johnson & Dan McDonald (St. Vital) were eliminated in the round of 16 while defending Canadian champions Norm Magnusson & Resby Coutts advanced one step further.

Magnusson-Coutts lost a 3-2 quarter-final to McDougall-Dyke (Nova Scotia). A near perfect game by both teams saw the Nova Scotians with last rock coming home tied and McDougall’s draw to the open rings stopped with a2 inch bite of the back 12 foot circle.

Norm Magnusson & Resby Coutts receive “qualifier” congratulations from Randy Olson

The Nova Scotia team advanced to the gold medal game where they lost to Keith Bennett-Paul Landry, also from Nova Scotia.

The Women’s gold medal was won by Rich-Radcliffe, British Columbia.

Former Manitoba Brad Childe finished 4-1 and advanced to the first round of playoffs. He was awarded the Open event Sportsmanship Award.

**
The Round Robin Records of the ten Manitoba teams were:
WOMEN 4-1: Val Kolsun-Lorna Marr
WOMEN 3-2: Gwen Smith-Lynne Rehbein
WOMEN 1-4: Darlene Maywood-Mel Shura

OPEN 4-1:Warren Johnson-Dan McDonald
OPEN 4-1: Norm Magnusson-Resby Coutts
OPEN 2-3: Don Fischer-Grant Nicolson
OPEN 2-3: Fred & Britta Spiring
OPEN 2:3: Jim & Keren Rouse
OPEN 1-4: Ken & Shirley Strand
OPEN 1-4: Tom & Rae Campbell

Smiles after a Manitoba final re-match in the Canadian Bronze Medal game: Lorna Marr, Gwen Smith, Lynne Rehbein, Val Kolsun

LOTT/LOTT INTO PLAYOFFS AT CANADIAN MIXED DOUBLES

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With a 5W-2L record, Manitoba’s Mixed Doubles Champions have advanced to the playoff round of the Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship in Sudbury. They will play an elimination game Saturday morning against Lisa Weagle and John Epping with the winner advancing to a quarter-final game against Jennifer Jones & Brent Laing.

Kadriana & Colton Lott
(Photo: Curling Canada-Duncan Bell)

Kadriana and Colton Lott opened the competition with a pair of wins before losing to Jones/Laing who finished the round robin undefeated (7W-0L). They ran off three more victories before losing their final game to Tracey Fleury and Jacob Horgan. Jones/Laing at 7W-0L will advance to the quarterfinals. Lott/Lott at 5W-2L tied for second in the pool with Weagle/Epping but rank ahead of them as they defeated Weagle/Epping in their first round game.

A pre-event Curling Canada news release describes the playoff plan: “teams will play a seven-game round robin within their pools Tuesday through Friday, with 12 teams advancing to the single-knockout playoffs, which begin Saturday. The four pool winners will get byes directly into the quarter-finals, which take place Saturday at 7 p.m., while the teams with the next eight best records overall, regardless of the pool they’re in, will be matched up in the playoff opener at 1 p.m. Saturday.”

Three of the pool winners, Jones/Laing, Laura Walker & Kirk Muyres, Jocelyn Peterman & Brett Gallant, were unbeaten in seven games, and Chaelynn Kitz & Brayden Stewart won their pool with a 6W-1L record. The other eight teams include two with 6W-1L records and six with 5W-2L records.

SILVER MEDAL FOR TEAM DUNSTONE

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Matt Dunstone and his Team Manitoba came up a shot short in their Tim Hortons Brier final game – a 7-5 loss to Brad Gushue’s Team Canada. Their 10-2 record included an unbeaten 8-0 round robin and two playoff wins over Brendan Bottcher’s wild card entry – but two playoff losses to Team Gushue.

Matt Dunstone, BJ Neufeld, Colton Lott, Ryan Harnden, Adam Kingsbury
Curling Canada Photo: Mike Burns

11W-1L AND SENIOR MEN’S BRONZE MEDAL FOR MANITOBANS

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(December 10, 2022: 7PM) Disappointment for Randy Neufeld’s Team Manitoba as they lost their semi-final game at the Everest Canadian Senior Men’s Championship, giving up a two coming home to lose 4-3 to Alberta. They bounced back in the Bronze Medal game, scoring a three and a four in the first two ends enroute to a 10-7 victory over Nova Scotia.

In the Gold Medal game, Ontario defeated the Albertans, 7-6.

In the Senior Women’s, Saskatchewan’s Sherry Anderson won the semi-final (7-4 over Nova Scotia) and the final (7-3 over Quebec). It was the fifth consecutive Canadian Senior Women’s title for Anderson’s Saskatchewan team.

(December 9 , 2022: 11PM) 10W-0L MANITOBAN’S ADVANCE TO PLAYOFFS … Repeat headline – TWO MORE WINS: NEUFELD STILL PERFECT – as Randy Neufeld and his Manitobans (Dean Moxham, Peter Nicholls, Dale Michie) wrapped up the championship qualifying round with two more wins. On the early draw they beat BC 7-3 and then, with first place on the line, they defeated Nova Scotia.

Seeded first in playoffs, Team Neufeld will play Alberta’s Pahl team on the early morning draw Saturday – hoping to advance to the gold medal game at 12:30 (10:30 CST). Nova Scotia will play Ontario in the other semi-final.

In the Women’s championship, Nova Scotia earned the #1 seed with a 9W-1L record and they`ll play Saskatchewan (7W-3L). Quebec (also 9W-1L) will play Ontario (also 7W-3L) in the second semi-final.

(December 8, 2022: 9PM) TWO MORE WINS; NEUFELD STILL PERFECT … Thursday started slow for Randy Neufeld’s Team Manitoba with Howard Rajala’s Ontario team scoring three consecutive singles to start their first game of the day. Neufeld scored a three on the fourth end to tie and went on to a 7-4 win.

A 10-3 victory over Quebec followed on the late draw and and the Manitobans had improved to a perfect 8W-0L. They are now guaranteed a spot in the final four playoffs.

At 8W-0L, Neufeld’s La Salle team leads the way – ahead of Nova Scotia (7W-1L), Ontario (6W-2L), and both Alberta and Saskatchewan who are tied at 5W-3L. They wrap the championship round on Friday with games against BC’s Wes Craig (4W-4L) and Glen MacLeod’s Nova Scotians.

Even with two losses, a worst case scenario, Manitoba will finish 8W-2L and no worse than second place seeding going into the semi-finals.

(December 7, 2022: 8PM) NEUFELD UNDEFEATED INTO CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND … Randy Neufeld’s LaSalle team (Dean Moxham, Peter Nicholls, Dale Michie) haver completed the preliminary round of play at the Everest Canadian Senior Championships with a perfect 6W-1L record. The Manitobans now advance to the second round, the championship round.

Right behind the Neufeld team in the standings are Howard Rajala (Ontario) and Glen MacLeod (Nova Scotia) with 5W-1L records. The two teams both advanced from the other pool so Neufeld must yet play both. Their game with Rajala opens the championship round on the morning draw Thursday while they’ll finish on Friday afternoon against MacLeod.

Their other two games will be against British Columbia and Quebec. The top four teams overall advance to the playoffs.

In the women’s championship, Saskatchewan’s Sherry Anderson team is the lone unbeaten team as they continue a quest to win a fifth consecutive title. After opening with split of their first two games Manitoba’s Terry Ursel has lost four in a row and finished the preliminary round with a 1W-5L record.

(December 5, 2022) CANADIAN SENIORS UNDERWAY … Manitoba’s Terry Ursel and Randy Neufeld teams have begun their quest for the national Senior championships. Neufeld and his team opened play with a win over Alberta’s James Pahl while Ursel’s first game was a loss to Ontario’s JoAnne Rizzo.

Both teams won their second games. Neufeld defeated Keith Ryan (Nfld/Labrador) while Ursel defeated Sandy Comeau (New Brunswick). The teams play in two pools of seven for a six-game preliminary round. The top four teams will advance to a second championship round for four more games against teams crossing over from the other pool. Four teams then advance to a knockout playoff.

Neufeld (Dean Moxham, Peter Nicholls, Dale Michie) won gold and silver in back to back years in 2015 & 2016 along with a world seniors silver medal in their Canadian championship year. Former Brier & world champion Al Hackner, fresh off his Masters victory at Pembina a couple of weeks ago, won the 2006 Canadian Seniors – the only other former champion skip in the field.

Ursel (Wanda Rainka, Brenda Walker, Tracy Igonia, Alternate Chris Hamblin, Coach Lorne Hamblin) reached the bronze medal game in 2019. The favorite is no doubt Saskatchewan Sherry Anderson, attempting to win a fifth consecutive title. Alberta’s Diane Foster won the Canadian and world titles in 2008.

Photos: Curling Canada/Malcolm Seaboyer