Manitoba Open roars into action

The return of the Manitoba Open is a massive deal to curling clubs across the city.

Canada’s Gushue tops Whyte to advance at Canadian Open

CAMROSE, Alta. - Canada's Brad Gushue picked up a six-end, 5-1 win over Scotland's Ross Whyte to advance at the Grand Slam of Curling's Canadian Open on Wednesday.

Gushue of St. John's, N.L., opened the game with a single and after two scoreless ends, he proceeded to add another in the fourth. In the fifth, Gushue put the game out of reach by scoring a triple.

Canadian Brendan Bottcher also put forth a strong effort, defeating fellow countryman John Epping 7-2 in six ends at the triple-knockout competition.

Italy's Joel Retornaz ousted Canada's Reid Carruthers 6-3, while Switzerland's Yannick Schwaller topped the Netherlands's Wouter Gosgens 6-3.

Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame names class of 2023

The weight of the world was on Ray Orr’s final rock.

Reigning national champion Einarson dumps Lawes in five ends at Canadian Open

CAMROSE, Alta. - Reigning national champion Kerri Einarson defeated Kaitlyn Lawes 7-1 on Wednesday afternoon at the Grand Slam of Curling's Canadian Open.

Einarson needed only five ends to complete the victory at the triple-knockout competition.

In another all-Canadian Draw 6 matchup at Encana Arena, Abby Ackland scored a single in an extra end for a 5-4 win over Isabelle Ladouceur.

Canada's Jennifer Jones edged Italy's Stefania Constantini 6-5 and Sweden's Isabella Wrana shaded South Korea's Eun Ji Gim 7-6.

Long Road to Nationals: Provincial curling playdowns kick off this week

The long road to the Canadian curling championships begins in earnest this week with the kickoff of the provincial playdowns, a process that will eventually fill the fields for the national showcases later this winter.

For defending champions Kerri Einarson and Brad Gushue, they only have to circle dates on the calendar. Einarson has an automatic berth as the Canada entry at the Feb. 17-26 Scotties Tournament of Hearts and Gushue will wear the Maple Leaf at the March 3-12 Tim Hortons Brier.

Other teams must go through playdowns in order to represent their province or territory. And some high-profile rinks had to take the long route through last-chance qualifiers just to lock up spots in those events.

For example, Robyn Silvernagle recently earned a last-chance berth in the Jan. 25-29 Saskatchewan championship in Estevan while Mike McEwen picked up a spot in the Jan. 23-29 Ontario Tankard in Port Elgin.

Ideson to skip Canadian entry at 2023 world wheelchair curling championship

OTTAWA - Mark Ideson will skip the Canadian entry at the 2023 world wheelchair curling championship, while Collinda Joseph and Dennis Thiessen will wear the Maple Leaf at the world wheelchair mixed doubles playdowns.

Ideson, who plays lead, will be joined by fourth Jon Thurston, third Ina Forrest, second Gil Dash and fifth Marie Wright at the March 4-12 competition in Richmond, B.C., Curling Canada announced Monday.

The two competitions will be held over the same time period at the Richmond Curling Centre.

Ideson, who won Paralympic gold in 2014, skipped Canada to a 7-4 record at the 2021 world playdowns in Beijing. Canada was eliminated after dropping a 6-4 decision to the United States in a qualification game.

Newcomer hurries hard to make curling event a success

Less than six months after moving to Winnipeg from Lagos, Nigeria, Yemi Ajibola was on the lookout for volunteer opportunities.

In The Rings: Formative steps underway for curling players’ association

A new quadrennial has done little to improve the often perplexing elite curling scene. A sport that still clings to amateur roots despite a growing shift to professional status seems stunted by a lack of unity among the various power brokers.

Many elite domestic and international curlers have had issues for years with scheduling, convoluted ranking point setups, rule changes and in many cases, a general lack of communication.

"There's not a whole lot of working together with this," Canadian skip Matt Dunstone said in a recent interview. "It's a bunch of separate entities running their own thing."

Rylan Hartley is hoping to change that.

Team Carey focused on the positives

Chelsea Carey was a favourite the last time she played for Manitoba’s provincial curling crown.

Brandonite heading to the Brier with Nunavut rink

The opportunity to compete at a major curling event is nothing new for Sheldon Wettig.

Zacharias named CPA rep

The new Curling Players’ Association (CPA) features one of Manitoba’s most promising young curlers.

Olympic champ Edin named interim president of new Curling Players’ Association

Olympic champion Niklas Edin of Sweden has been named interim president of the new Curling Players' Association.

The international group was organized by Curling Live streaming service co-founder Rylan Hartley, the association said Thursday in a release.

Executive group members include representatives from Europe (Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni, Edin), Canada (Tyler Tardi, Emma Miskew), the U.S., (Korey Dropkin, Tabitha Peterson), Pacific-Asia (Japan's Anna Ohmiya and J.D. Lind) and Next Gen (Canada's Tanner Horgan and Mackenzie Zacharias).

A number of elite players have agreed to join the association by signing an initial letter of support, the association said. The group plans to hold seminars next year and canvass active competitive curlers around the world over the next two months for their support.