No rust on Team Kurz Capped off undefeated week by capturing provincial mixed curling crown By: Taylor Allen Posted: 6:04 PM CDT Tuesday, Apr. 14, 2026

Nearly seven years after their world championship run, Colin Kurz wanted to get the band back together.

“I laughed… I think we all thought he was joking at first,” admitted Meghan Walter.

Kurz, Walter, Brendan Bilawka and Sara Krym (née Oliver) wore the Maple Leaf at the 2019 World Mixed Curling Championship in Aberdeen, Scotland, and ran the table en route to a gold medal finish.

“We still talk about that and tell stories about that to this day when we see each other,” said Kurz.

“That whole event was really cool, obviously, and I never expected when I started curling that I would be able to win a gold medal for Canada.”

Since then, a pandemic, life in general, as well as an injury to Kurz, prevented the foursome from teaming up again.

That all changed a few months ago when Kurz — who took a step back in recent years owing to a small tear in his meniscus — tested out his Manitoba tuck and didn’t experience any pain.

That led to the 28-year-old Winnipegger sending a message to the group chat to see if a reunion could be in store for last week’s Manitoba Mixed Curling Provincial Championship at the Pembina Curling Club.

“I never expected when I started curling that I would be able to win a gold medal for Canada.”

“It took a bit of convincing, especially with Brendan (who plays lead for Team Braden Calvert) because he was busy with his men’s team at the Brier and whatnot. He said if he won the men’s provincials, he’d play in the mixed provincials and it all ended up working out,” said Walter, 24.

“I was on board right away. I hadn’t stepped on the ice since I played fifth for Beth Peterson at last year’s women’s provincials. I had always said I loved playing mix, and it’s a fun event that you don’t need to take too seriously.”

Despite all their talent and chemistry, they weren’t so sure that another provincial crown was going to be in the cards for them.

“I think we went in with not a lot of expectations at all. We just haven’t really been able to hang out with our chaotic lives,” said Walter, who stepped away from curling in 2024 to go to nursing school.

“Brendan and Sara have children now, Colin is a teacher, and I’m out in Brandon so we don’t have the time to get together anymore. So we thought this weekend would be a good time to kind of hang out again and play a sport we all love.”

They showed no signs of rust and capped off an undefeated week by knocking off Austin Pearson and his Rivers team (Janelle Lach, Justin Gerrard, Hallie McCannell) in Sunday night’s final.

“We gave up a steal of two in the first end we played in the tournament. Then we gave up a steal in the second end and we were laughing. No one was upset, no one was mad, because we just wanted to have fun, get together, and curl a little bit,” said Kurz.

“And after that, we just started rallying and everyone was making shots. It’s easier to play well when you’re smiling out there and having fun.”

Walter started the quadrennial as one of curling’s most promising prospects. She skipped a young team to a Scotties appearance in 2023 when she was just 21, then joined Kate Cameron in 2024 and helped her capture bronze at nationals.

Playing mixed is allowing her to scratch a competitive itch while still focusing on school.

“It’s made me look back at my accomplishments and be proud.”

“I always knew the sport would be here after I settled into my career. I think stepping my toes back in right now is nice to keep my name out there in case I ever do make a comeback, but by taking it easy the past two years, it’s made me look back at my accomplishments and be proud of those,” said Walter.

“I think getting to represent our province again after not playing on the big scene for a while is super special, and getting to do it with my three really good friends again makes it even more memorable.”

They’ll now head to the 2026 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship in Prince Edward Island (Nov. 8-14).

“Like, what else could you ask for? It’s a beautiful province that none of us have travelled to,” said Kurz.

“We hope we can still represent our province well and I think we can do well. But for us, goal No. 1 is always going to be to enjoy ourselves and the results will kind of come from there.”

winnipegfreepress.com/taylorallen

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Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.