Portage to host Olympic curling trials

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This article was published 16/07/2021 (1712 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Portage la Prairie will host Olympic trials once again.

Athletes will hit Stride Place to participate in mixed doubles curling trials from Dec. 28 through Jan. 2, 2022. The competition’s winning team will represent Canada in mixed doubles curling at the winter Olympics in Beijing, China next year.

The July 13 announcement comes after several cancelled curling events in the area, including the Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship and the Everest Canadian Seniors Curling Championships. The COVID-19 pandemic and related public health restrictions led to both events’ termination last year.

“I can’t stress how committed and dedicated the facility staff were in helping manage the situation at the time,” said Kyle Jahns, the manager of communication and media relations for Curling Canada, at a news conference.

It’s expected the trials will bring in cash for Portage la Prairie, according to Katherine Henderson, the CEO of Curling Canada. The city hosted the Olympic mixed doubles curling trials — Canada’s first ever — in 2018. Neither Curling Canada nor the City of Portage la Prairie had data on how much money the trials garnered for the area that year.

“I know that our events generate a very significant economic impact in all of the cities that we’ve gone in,” Henderson said. “They’re in the millions and millions of dollars.”

A boost is helpful, especially coming out of a pandemic that’s lasted well over a year, according to Dan Lussier, the CEO of Canad Inns. The hotel is sponsoring the trials.

“Any activity that’s driven into Portage helps the recovery process,” Lussier said. “We welcome all the curlers and everyone else, the entourage who will join the curling event.”

Sixteen teams will compete in the end of year battle. Kerri Einarson and Brad Gushue, who won the 2021 Home Hardware Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship, will play. Kadriana Sahaidak and Colton Lott, the championship’s silver medallists, will come to Portage, too.

The trials will also see the top four teams ranked in the sport’s 2019-2020 season: Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, Jennifer Jones and Brett Laing, Nancy Martin and Tyrel Griffith, and Rachel Homan and John Morris.

Another 10 spots remain open for fall-time winners of mixed doubles events and top-ranking teams.

Stride Place has 1,675 seats in its main arena. As of July 13, Curling Canada expected to have the public back in the stadium to cheer on players.

“When you think of passionate fan bases in Canada, I don’t think you can overlook Portage la Prairie,” Jahns said.

Curling Canada will work with provincial and federal health authorities to ensure it’s complying with COVID-19 protocols, Jahns added.

In the meantime, the trial’s host committee will contact folks who signed up to help at the cancelled curling events last year.

The Olympic trials need roughly 100 volunteers. The host committee won’t put out a call for more hands until it has connected with past volunteers.

The trials at Stride Place follow the 2021 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials in Saskatoon, Sask. There, Canada’s four-player men’s and women’s teams will be decided. Athletes who make the Olympics in the Saskatoon trials will not be eligible to compete in Portage la Prairie.

Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris, both Manitobans, came first in the 2018 Olympic trials at Portage la Prairie and went on to take gold at the Pyeongchang winter Olympics.