Reader here, and I’d like to extend a welcome to all of the curlers and curling fans that have descended upon Melville, as the Rail City is the centre of the Saskatchewan curling universe this week, as the C.N. Community Centre is hosting the SaskTel Tankard provincial men’s and Bunge Prairie Pinnacle women’s curling championships.
A total of 18 teams – nine apiece on the men’s and women’s side – are vying to represent the province at the national championships.
The women’s winner will advance to the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Mississauga, Ontario, starting Janury 23, while the men’s championship will represent Saskatchewan at the 2026 Montana’s Brier in St. John’s Newfoundland, at the end of February.
These teams are the best of the best, and have spent years honing their skills to get to the elite level.
Me, on the other hand, curling while growing up, but have never really played too much in my adult years.
As a kid in elementary school, back home in Conquest, each year, we had “Jam Can Curling,” which we played across the skating ice. No sweeping involved, and each team had players from Grade 8, down through kindergarten. And the rocks? Old Javex or Bounce jugs, filled with water and frozen so that they could be crashed into each other (or often, the boards, when thrown too hard)!
It was always one of the best days of the year, because there’d be no classes, and after the tournament was done, trophies would be handed out, and there was a big prize table, that every team would get to select from!
So much fun!
I also curled (real curling) on our school team in Grade 8, and I skipped the team in the division final (I think because I was the oldest player on the team, not because I was most qualified!), and came within a shot of winning, but it wasn’t meant to be.
I also curled in the Conquest curling league for a few years. The first year, I was placed on a team with some other folks from town. We won some, we lost some, but it was always a good time!
Then, for a couple of years, my late Uncle Ron, Auntie Val and cousin Derek came out from Saskatoon, and we curled in the Conquest league. We weren’t the best team on the ice, and weren’t serious championship contenders, but we always had a blast!
The last time was a few years ago, when I was working part time at TD Bank in Yorkton, and we held our Christmas party out at the tiny little two-sheet Tonkin Curling Rink. We had supper and curled a couple of games, and that is a fantastic little rink! (Just don’t get too close to the walls and bonk your head on a beam while sweeping) It’s great to see those tiny little rinks still going strong in the smaller communities, giving people a chance to stay active, enjoy the game, and give kids a place to to follow their curling dreams from an early age!
Make sure you get out to the C.N. Community Centre and cheer on your favourite teams this week, and enjoy some great curling action! And the best of luck to all the curlers!
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