Grand Slam of Curling slides into Steinbach

The eyes of the curling world are on Steinbach this week, as the Southeast Event Centre plays host to the Grand Slam of Curling’s Players’ Championship.

The action on the sheets began Jan. 6, but crews were hard at work as early as Jan. 2, preparing the ice inside the arena’s main bowl for curling. Crews put down a layer of paint, add advertising logos and lines before finally laying down some pebble for rocks to curl on.

The Players’ Championship is the final slam of the year, with the Olympics coming up and the GSOC’s new Rock League taking place after.

Jennifer Cram is the director of communications for the Curling Group, which are in their second year of running the GSOC. She said this season, which will end in Steinbach, is the GSOC’s most packed season ever. Normally events run until April, but this season will be done by mid-January.

“Looking at this venue, and looking at the fans in the stands, I don’t think we could have picked a better spot to finish out the season,” Cram said during the afternoon draw Jan. 6.

The SEC has drawn rave reviews from everyone involved, with Cram especially praising the town’s ability to get out volunteers. More than 200 people have signed up to help around the rink this week.

“They were willing to step up instantly,” Cram said.

“It’s just a stunning facility, and the prefect size for what we’re doing.”

It’s been a season of change at the GSOC. The event went to several new locations for their events, including Steinbach, added a nation-based Rock League to begin after the traditional slam season, and even changed to a draw to the button shootout if games are tied after eight ends.

“We’re evolving with the sport, the sport is in need of evolving,” Cram said.

“We’re proud to be a part of it… The great thing about the Curling Group is we’re always willing to try new things, we’re really receptive to player feedback, to fan feedback.”

Manitoba players Kerri Einarson and Mike McEwen were delighted to see elite-level curling events come back to Manitoba. The province has only hosted a couple grand slams in the last decade, with the last dual-gender event in 2016 in Selkirk.

Einarson, a now-four time Canadian women’s champion, has never played a slam in Manitoba before taking to the ice for the afternoon draw Tuesday.

“It’s quite crazy to think it’s been that long since we played in Manitoba,” Einarson, who’s skipped provincials in recent years by pre-qualifying for nationals, told the Winnipeg Free Press before the tournament began.

“So, we’re super excited and a lot of my family and friends are coming out. It’ll be nice to be a home-crowd favourite.”

McEwen is hoping to replicate his performance at the St James Civic Centre in 2018, when he won the Elite 10 tournament, the last time any grand slam was in Manitoba.

“I 100 per cent believe Steinbach is going to be a great success,” McEwen said before the event began..

“Obviously, with the beautiful new arena and all that going for the community, but also just thinking back to, I think, my very first provincial final was actually in Steinbach against Jeff Stoughton (2010), but I have some great memories of that community supporting curling events quite well. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Slam comes back to Manitoba on a regular occurrence, especially if Steinbach does the job that I think it will do.”

McEwen will have some local flavour on his team this week, as BJ Neufeld, the son of Chris Neufeld will be filling in as a spare at third this week. The elder Neufeld was a member of the Canadian champion Vic Peters rink.

Cram said anyone who is planning on trying to pick up single-draw tickets for the weekend should move quickly, as interest is only growing in the community. The Players’ Championship features the best 12 men’s and women’s teams from around the world. This year’s field includes six men’s and six women’s teams competing at the upcoming Olympic Games.

With files from Taylor Allen