Nearly 200 athletes will be in Tisdale over a nine-day period as the town will be the first community to host five of Saskatchewan's curling provincials in one year. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Tisdale Curling Championship 2021

Tisdale hosting five provincial curling championships in February 2021

Feb 8, 2020 | 11:42 AM

In CurlSask’s 113-year history, no community has held five major provincial curling championships in one year.

Until the Town of Tisdale next year.

CurlSask officially named Tisdale as the host community for five provincial championship – Junior Men’s, Junior Women’s, Senior Men’s (SaskTel Tankard), Senior Women’s, (Viterra Scotties), and Mixed Doubles – in February 2021.

Ashley Howard, CurlSask’s executive director, said 200 athletes and 56 teams will travel to Tisdale for nine days of curling to determine who will represent Saskatchewan in the five different national championships.

“We’ve been working on this for just about two years with our friends in Tisdale,” Howard said. “It’s an opportunity for all of these provincial championships to be contested on arena ice. We compiled a list of 26 communities and rated them on pros and cons, and we know there’s been success here in Tisdale with their past championships they’ve hosted.”

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Tisdale previously hosted the 2014 Viterra Scotties, 2017 SaskTel Tankard, and the 2018 Senior Championship.

Howard said what put Tisdale over the top was having numerous sheets of arena ice at the Tisdale RECplex and the Tisdale Curling Club, and the support from the community through sponsorships, ticket sales, and volunteers.

“We knew we could rely on [Tisdale] for a special event like this because there’s a lot of extra that comes with this,” she said. “A new format and the extra people it will bring. We believe in Tisdale and I think they can make it a memorable event for a lot of people.

“A lot of dreams will come true here. Twenty provincial jackets will be awarded.”

Despite the announcement being official, CurlSask and the Tisdale Curling Club still have a year’s worth or work ahead of them. Or as Howard described it: “I’d love to say we’re in the 10th end, but really we’re in the first.”

She said a lot of volunteers will be needed, as 18 are required for one draw alone. She encouraged those interested in sponsoring or volunteers to contact them.

Even though Tisdale won’t be the last community to host five provincial championships in one month, the occasion will still be rare.

“We’ve built all of our provincial championships so they can be combined into an event like this, but they can all still be separated,” Howard said. “We have to be mindful of all our communities and their opportunities to host and bring champions into their communities as well. We’re probably looking at every three or four years to do something like this, but every time it happens, it will be special.”

The five curling provincials in Tisdale will take place at the Tisdale RECplex and Tisdale Curling Club from Feb. 12 to 20, 2021.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow