The Canadian Mixed Curling Championship gets underway on Sunday at the Weston Golf and Country Club in Toronto.
One of curling’s most competitive events, with significant implications in deciding Canada’s 2018 Olympic curling teams, will make its first trip to Manitoba, it was announced today by Curling Canada.
When the world’s best curling teams all play each other in a major competition, it’s anything but guaranteed that the No. 1 seeds will win the event. Sure, it happens, but it’s just as likely that a No. 2, 3 or a 6 could get hot that weekend, and knock off the top squad en route to a championship.
It’s safe to say the season is in full swing at this point. Considering the top curling teams have been on the competitive circuit for nearly two months now, the teams playing in the Grand Slam Masters of Curling in Truro, N.S., should officially be in “mid-season” form.
Karlee Burgess is a 17-year-old curler from Nova Scotia who will compete for Canada at the 2016 Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, next February with teammates Tyler Tardi, Mary Fay and Sterling Middleton. This story is the third in a series, as Karlee shares her experiences on the road to the Youth Olympic Games.
New season. Different Team. Same story.
One year ago, the curling world was marvelling at the run that Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen was on to start his season. His team was winning practically every event it played in, and rarely lost a game along the way. And while Team McEwen is still the World Curling Tour No. 1, having won two of its first three events this season, Brad Gushue’s incredible start has got his St. John’s foursome in striking distance of the top spot.
Winnipeg skip Reid Carruthers is used to facing the top men’s teams in the world. This weekend at the Canad Inns Mixed Doubles Classic in Portage la Prairie, Man., however, he discovered that the women can be just as tough.
Simon Barrick is a competitive curler and coach. He’s also a sport researcher, currently completing his PhD in Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. To complete his Master’s degree at the University of Waterloo, he turned the microscope on adult Learn-To-Curl leagues – the Getting Started in Curling for Adults program was introduced by Earle Morris in 2007 with the support of Curling Canada - to explore what the experience is like for adults new to curling. Here’s what he found out.
While a crowd in Portage la Prairie, Man., settled in to watch Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock face Calgary’s Kevin Koe in the final of the Canad Inns Men’s Classic on Monday night, a different set of athletes was arriving in town to start another event; the first of its kind; the following morning.
With all of the chatter this week about new broom technology and sweeping techniques, it’s easy to forget that the World Curling Tour is marching on, and that several events featuring top teams will be taking place this weekend.
Young Ontario curlers aged 6-13 now have a new and exciting way to test out their curling skills as the Ontario Curling Association has announced its inaugural Hit, Draw & Tap Challenge for the 2015-2016 season. Curlers of all skill sets are invited to head down to their host club to test out their skills, with an opportunity to compete in a provincial championship event – on arena ice!
Mike McEwen was back to his winning ways this weekend at the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard, but not without some controversy.