After seeing how well Estevan and area did in hosting the 2018 SaskTel Tankard, Curling Canada had little hesitation in providing Estevan with another curling event to sink its teeth into.
The Home Hardware Canada Cup of Curling will be taking place at Estevan’s Affinity Place Dec. 5-9, and will involve seven of each of the best men’s and women’s curling teams needing valuable points for Roar of the Rings pre-trials.
“It all started with holding the Tankard and wanting to see if we could hold that event and wanting to see if we had a fan base that could come out for it, and see with Curl Sask if we could meet our goals for them,” said host committee co-chair Helen Fornwald. “Our dream came true.”
Curlign Canada’s Resby Coutts, the chair of their board of governors, said they looked at the business model and the track records of the community.
“Obviously this community has a very recent track record of a very successful SaskTel Tankard,” Coutts said. “You look at the enthusiasm of the community which is evidenced through the support of mayor and council, and is evidenced by the support of sponsors…
“The track record of the Tankard and frankly, you look at the hockey ice here and you see the support the community gives to its hockey team. You can extrapolate from that. You know this is a community that supports activities in the community.”
With the thumbs up from the provincial curling association, the group then got the approval of Curling Canada to be a potential host in the future. It turned out that future was pretty soon.
“We got the committee together and thought ‘Can we do this?’, and then we thought ‘Yeah, a year or two down the road.’ And then they came back to us and said ‘No, right away’,” Fornwald said. The committee took little time to say they were ready to host again.
“It’s another level,” Fornwald said. “The Tankard was one, and now we’ve got the Canada Cup so we’re really excited about it.”
The Order of Merit standings as of May 1 will be used to determine the top six invitees of each gender, and the final invited team will be the seventh ranked non-qualified team as of mid-November.
The level of competition at the Canada Cup is going to be similar to what one would be able to see at a Tim Hortons Brier or a Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Coutts said the caliber is arguably better than that at a Brier or Scotties.
“It’s the best of the best from the Brier and the Scotties,” Coutts said. “No question it’s a world class curling competition. Great curling entertainment.”
“It’s an opportunity of a lifetime, is what I can say,” Fornwald said. “We’re bringing in seven men’s and women’s teams, the best of the best in the world from right across the country. They don’t have to travel anywhere. We’re bringing them right to our own community. The caliber of curling you’ll see in the world is right here in Estevan. And people will be excited to meet these people. You’ll see them on TV but now you’ll meet them and see them in action.”
The Sports Network (TSN) has committed to broadcasting 40 hours of the event.
There will be a call for volunteers in the coming months, and Fornwald said a lot of those who volunteered for the Tankard indicated they would be interested in the near future for further curling event volunteering.
“Now that they know the caliber of curling that’s coming, I’m hoping that will just increase the interest even more,” said Fornwald.
This is the third time the event has been held in Saskatchewan, with the 2012 Canada Cup taking place in Moose Jaw and 2009 in Yorkton.
The success of events like this could lead to a further steppingstone to events in the future for the community.
“It’s the first step,” Coutts said. “You do one event and you do it well, the response is positive, and now the Canada Cup is coming to town. It’s that sort of progression… probably the only limitations are scale.”
