Assiniboine-Memorial Curling Club to host MCT Championship

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This article was published 22/10/2014 (4351 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Some high-level curling tournaments have been held at the Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club (AMCC), but none with the prestige of the Manitoba Curling Tour (MCT) Championship, which will be held there this December.

Starting on Dec. 12 through to Dec. 14, the AMCC will play host to both the MCT Men’s and Women’s championships.

“We were approached by the MCT chairman, Resby Coutts, with an offer to host a couple months back,” said Paul Batchelor, manager at AMCC. “There will be the Top 16 men’s teams and the Top 12 women’s team on hand.

“There will be a number of spots available to be one in the men’s Safeway Select bonspiel and women’s Scotties bonspiel.

The MCT Championship events feature a 16-team men’s division and a 12-team women’s division, each scheduled to play a triple knock-out with a playoff round. Teams are invited based upon their success in the MCT’s fall season.

According to the MCT website (curlmanitoba.org) if eligible, the winners of the televised final games will earn invitations to compete in their respective provincial championships — the Safeway Championship for the men’s winners, and the Scotties for the women’s winners. In addition, the four top-ranked eligible men’s teams and the two top-ranked eligible women’s teams after the championship will also earn provincial invitations.

Established in 1929 as a war memorial by veterans from the Assiniboia area, the AMCC has seen some of the province’s best curlers glide down their eight sheets of manicured ice.

The club has hosted many events, including the Manitoba’s Credit Unions Master Men’s and Women’s championships, but this will be the first time the MCT will grace the 85-year-old club located at 940 Vimy Rd.

“We hosted the 2011 National Masters, the Masters this past February, and the Manitoba Stick Curling Championships,” Batchelor said. “We are also going to be hosting the Canadian Stick Curling Championships in April of 2015.”

It’s quite the undertaking, according to Batchelor, but the club, with the help of volunteers, has hosting top-tier events down to a science.

“We have to ensure there is space on the calendar, usually meaning juggling and moving some of the other events,” Batchelor said. “That’s step one. But the MCT does a lot of the work. We need volunteers to help out and we have to make sure the ice is perfect. We’ve got the best guy for that, so it won’t be a problem.”

Shaw TV will be on hand to broadcast both finals on Dec. 14, with the men’s final going at 1:30 p.m. and the women’s final at 4 p.m.

And the festivities continue for the curling club, who will host the Junior Provincials starting on Boxing Day.

For more information on the AMCC and the MCT Championship, including who will be competing in the event, visit: www.curlamcc.ca