Wheat City lands host duties for 2016 Canada Cup curling

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This article was published 05/11/2015 (3923 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — Canada’s top men’s and women’s curling teams are coming to Brandon next year.

Curling Canada has named Brandon the host city for the 2016 Home Hardware Canada Cup, which will run Nov. 30 to Dec. 4 at Westman Place.

The teams will compete for a share of a $70,000 purse for each gender, with the winners earning a spot at the 2017 Roar of the Rings Olympic trials in Ottawa as well as the 2017 Continental Cup.

The event will end a 14-year drought for Brandon hosting a national curling competition — the most recent being the 2002 Scott Tournament of Hearts.

Resby Coutts, a former Brandonite who is now a Curling Canada governor, made the announcement Wednesday at the Keystone Centre and isn’t sure if he’ll have a better moment in his new role than that.

“I was thrilled when chairman (Hugh) Avery asked if I could be here to represent,” Coutts said. “To be able to make my first official appearance here in this room where I was part of so many wonderful events and have so many wonderful memories, and this becomes one of those memories, but to be able to make this announcement, it’s a four-year term and I can’t think of anything ahead that will be more important to me personally.

“The marketplace was proven through that decade of the ’90s when we did all those events and reproven again last year with the Safeway Championship that it’s one of the vital marketplaces for curling. Then the history of people and support, both the extended community and the curling community, the fans and volunteers, all of those things made it imperative that Brandon get back on the pathway.”

Brandon used to be a go-to place for what was then known as the Canadian Curling Association. It seemed to be an ideal event with a good volunteer base, a fantastic facility with an indoor walk to a Patch and great viewing lines in the arena — not to mention the crowds.

That run started in 1989 when the Wheat City put on the national mixed championship and was followed up by the 1993 Tournament of Hearts, the 1995 men’s and women’s world championships and the 1997 Canadian Olympic trials.

It also hosted the 2003 Canadian Open, which is a Grand Slam of Curling event.

There was a long hiatus after that, although the Wheat City did host numerous provincial events, including the Safeway Championship, which determined Manitoba’s Brier representative, in February.

As soon as he was voted into office, Mayor Rick Chrest said he wanted to get Brandon back on the national curling scene. Brandon First got on the job and Chrest is happy the city has landed the Canada Cup.

“It’s outstanding,” he said. “It just doesn’t get any better. We have very avid curling fans in western Manitoba. They will be treated to some of the best curling you can see live. Then on top of it, the national coverage that Brandon will receive will also be outstanding and certainly has a great payoff in terms of putting us back on the national map.”

— The Brandon Sun