Canada’s senior-aged curlers will meet in Sault Ste. Marie and battle for the 2021 Everest Canadian Senior Curling Championships from December 6th to 11th, according to Curling Canada.
CC’s board of governors’ chair Mitch Minken says the event was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, but they are hoping that the situation will be different this year.
He adds the Soo Curlers Association will host the event and has begun the work to organize the premier event.
“We’re excited to make this announcement after what has been a turbulent year for both our sport and in general,” adds Minken. “The 2020 version of this event was one of the first to be impacted by COVID-19 this past March, and we’re excited to work with our partners Everest and the exceptional host committee in Sault Ste. Marie to bring this first-class event back to the ice.”
The event was cancelled in Manitoba last year because of the pandemic and the decision was made to move forward with the schedule.
“The Soo Curlers Association is extremely proud to be named as the host organization for the 2021 Everest Canadian Senior Championships,” says Soo Curlers Association President, Tom McLean. “Our community has a rich history with curling and we are thrilled at the opportunity to showcase Northern Ontario hospitality while featuring exciting championship curling at the Community First Curling Centre.”
It will be the third time the Northern Ontario Curling Association has hosted Everest Canadian Senior Men’s and Women’s Curling Championships. Most recently, Sault Ste. Marie hosted the 1998 edition with Saskatchewan’s Gary Bryden and Ontario’s Jill Greenwood, winning their respective crowns. Before that, the 1989 event was hosted at Kenora and won by Jim Sharples of Ontario and Emily Farnham of Saskatchewan in the men’s and women’s events, respectively.
Sault Ste. Marie is no stranger to hosting premiere national curling championships. The city is most recently known for its role in hosting the 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, where Jennifer Jones won her fourth of six Canadian women’s curling titles. The 1990 edition of the Brier, the Canadian men’s curling championship, was won by Ontario’s Ed Werenich in Sault Ste. Marie.
Northern Ontario won one Canadian senior men’s curling courtesy of skip Al Hackner in 2006. The women have won two events, in 1991 led by Eila Brown and in 1995 by Sheila Ross.
Manitoba and Ontario lead the way with 12 men’s titles each at the Everest Canadian Senior Curling Championships and Ontario leads the pack with 10 titles to its name in women’s competition. The Canadian senior men’s championship first occurred in 1965, with the first event played in Northern Ontario at Port Arthur. The women Canadian senior women’s championship began in 1973 in Ottawa.
