The eight-event circuit, which includes a November stop in Thunder Bay with the Courtesy Freight Northern Ontario Superspiel, was formed to give competitive curling a more formal look and allow the sport’s elite athletes to maximize the number of events they can attend.
This means good things, said a trio of current and former athletes, who see the new tour as a win-win situation for the region’s best looking to make a mark on the game.
Kari MacLean, who plays second on Krista McCarville’s four-time Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts championship squad, said Tuesday she’s particularly intrigued by the addition of a women’s division, a development she believes will help elevate her team’s game.
“I think women’s teams in the north have finished either first or second the last five or six years (at provincials), so this will be perfect to keep growing the sport. I know for our team, when we go away to spiels, it can cost $4,000 or $5,000, so it’s great to have something local and a driving distance so we can really drive the sport in Northwestern Ontario,” MacLean said.
And if it means a little more competition and a tougher road to nationals, she’s fine with the idea.
“That’s great. That’s what we look forward to. Our team has many friends in the curling community here, and we want to develop and grow women’s curling in our community and in this area,” she said.
Women’s divisions will be included in most, though not all, of the scheduled events, including Thunder Bay, and will feature a 12-team pool format.
The Thunder Bay event is one of two scheduled for Canada, the other slated for Sault Ste. Marie starting Oct. 28.
Other cities hosting include the tour opener in Fort Wayne, Ind., Green Bay, St. Paul, Duluth, Madison and Eveleth, Minn.
Pat Berezowski, the co-chairman of the Courtesy Freight event, said it’s an idea whose time had come.
“All the co-chairs of each event want to fill their spiels. And to encourage participation we’ve developed a tour that’s going to give a tour bonus at the end, a bit of an incentive for curlers to curl more,” Berezowski said.
“And when they curl more, they develop consistency, they improve, and who knows, maybe we’re going to see one of these teams at the Brier on the Canadian side and a team at the Olympics on the U.S. side.”
Two-time world champion Rick Lang said the idea harkens back to when he and Al Hackner were leading the charge out of Northwestern Ontario.
As someone who coaches young curlers, not to mention the McCarville foursome, Lang said big, easily accessible events definitely readied his team for competition on the national and world stages.
“We got to play the biggest, best names in the world without having to travel too far. When that happens, your game elevates to the level of that play. Therefore you’re able to play nationally and internationally.
“Hopefully a lot of the teams that want to compete here will be able to get a lot of competition against the best teams in the area and advance their skills.”
Both stops north of the border will feature automatic berths at the 12-team Northern Ontario men’s playdowns in Sault Ste. Marie.
The Thunder Bay spiel, a triple knockout format which begins Nov. 11 at Port Arthur Curling Club, offers total purse of $16,000 for the men’s side and $7,000 for the women.
Tickets are $5 a day.
