ESTEVAN - It’ll be a couple years later than the initial plan, but the two marquee curling events in the province will be coming to Estevan in 2023.
The Viterra Scotties Tournament of Hearts women’s championship and the SaskTel Tankard men’s championship will happen at Affinity Place. The announcement was made at the events centre last Wednesday.
“We know the host committee has exciting plans to make this the biggest and best 2023 event here in our city,” said Helen Fornwald, the vice-president of CurlSask’s board and a long-time curler in Estevan.
The 2023 Viterra Scotties will take place Jan. 25-29. The winner will represent Saskatchewan at the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Kamloops, B.C.
The 2023 SaskTel Tankard will be contested from Feb. 1-5, and the winner will advance to the Tim Hortons Brier in London, Ont.
There will be a two-day break between the two events to allow for necessary transitions.
Estevan was supposed to host the two events in 2021, but they were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Estevan last hosted the Tankard in 2018. The following year, the Tankard and the Scotties were hosted by the same community for the first time when they were held in Melville.
“After two unpredictable and challenging seasons, we are hopeful and excited to join these events once again,” said Fornwald. “It is my pleasure to be part of such a special day for the future of curling here in Estevan, and I know many members of the community have been looking forward to this event.”
The last time Estevan hosted the women’s curling provincials came in 2001.
“This event is so much more than a bonspiel. It is an opportunity to watch dreams come true for our athletes, but more than that, it brings the community together to share the excitement and honour of showcasing the highest level of curling in our province,” said Fornwald.
Estevan also hosted the Home Hardware Canada Cup – a national curling event – in 2018.
Other speakers at the event include Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig, SaskTel representative Dorna Burns, Viterra representative Megan Shoemaker and event committee chair and curling club president Devon Fornwald.
“This is an exciting announcement for us and the community of Estevan and the area. To be able to host the two premier events in Estevan at this wonderful arena, Affinity Place, is an extraordinary privilege,” said Devon Fornwald, who is also the event committee chairperson.
He thanked CurlSask for giving Estevan the chance to host the event, and the mayor and city councillors for co-operation to secure the event and provide the use of Affinity Place.
Devon Fornwwald said the curling club always knew it was going to try to get the event back after COVID scuttled their plans for 2021.
“We’d had talks with CurlSask about rescheduling the event,” he said. “We’re really glad … that we’ll be able to put on a full show and have full capacity available for crowds. Social distancing, hopefully, will be a thing of the past.”
But they did not want to have it this year because the Centennial Cup national junior A hockey championship, presented by Tim Hortons, was already confirmed for Estevan. The curling rink recognized the strain it would put on volunteers, fans and sponsors.
“It’s a great facility to have host for both hockey and curling,” said Devon Fornwald.
Thanks to the two events that Estevan hosted in 2018, he said there is a lot experience to draw from and a core group of volunteers.
“This is going to be a longer event, so we’re going to need more volunteers or more hours from the volunteers that do show up. It’s a little bit bigger commitment. People will be giving up some of their work time for this, and some of their pleasure time or travel time,” he said.
In addition to volunteers, they will need people from the community to support the event.
According to Devon Fornwald, the 2018 Tankard carried an economic spinoff of about $2 million for Estevan, thanks to the number of teams and the other people coming to the community for provincials and spending money in the community. With a longer event and more participants, it could mean an impact of closer to $4 million.
“Just having those people come into town is really a huge economic boost, especially in the winter time. You’re having this event at the end of January and the beginning of February, and the hotels and restaurants are a little bit slower then, and something like this coming in is really good for them,” he said.
The organizing committee will be forming committees and starting the process of signing up volunteers.
“The curling club and the community look forward to putting on a first-class event,” said Devon Fornwald.
