(Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW Staff)

By Ben Tompkins

Off to New Brunswick

Team Bryden wins Senior Men’s Curling Provincials in Melfort

Mar 18, 2024 | 2:59 PM

The 2024 Senior Men’s Curling Provincials were held in Melfort over the weekend and one team came out as the Saskatchewan representatives.

Team Bryden became the provincial champions after defeating Team Korte 8-4 in seven ends in the finals on Sunday afternoon, as they’re now off to their second National Championship in the last three years.

“It’s a great feeling anytime you win, we played in the final last year against the same team and we came second and they won, so you remember that and you kind of go that wasn’t the best feeling, so let’s try to change it up today,” explained skip Randy Bryden.

“The competition was really good this weekend, the same top four teams as last year got into the finals again, which is kind of interesting, the guys played fantastic all week, we got some family that came to watch this time, so maybe that inspired us and helped us out a little bit, and now we get a trip to New Brunswick, so it feels good.”

The team will have to wait a little bit until they travel to Moncton, the hosts of the Senior National Tournament, as the event won’t be held until December.

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That’ll come midway through the next curling season for the four gentlemen, therefore they’ll have to get ready again in the fall.

“You just kind of relax now and wait for summer. We’ll put a plan together in terms of next year when they start the curling season in September, October, and November, and we’ll probably do a few bonspiels to try to get us ready. Because it’s kind of in the middle of the season still, we do have some time to play before that, so that will help us out,” Bryden added.

“We got to go to Nationals two years ago, so we got to experience it and it was a great time and we so much wanted to go back. It just worked out for us this weekend, so we’re thankful for that.”

This isn’t the first time it has worked out for a member of the Bryden clan in Melfort, as Randy and his brother Russ, who plays second on the team, had their father Gary win the Saskatchewan Tankard on the same sheet exactly 40 years ago.

For Randy to not only be able to compete with his brother but for them to share something pretty special with their dad on sheet four is nothing short of a remarkable story.

“When I got into men’s I had been playing with my brother for many years, but he stepped back in his late 40s, and then when I hit into seniors, he came back to play, so it’s kind of fun to play with a family member. It’s a good time, good relationship and we can celebrate the wins together,” Randy told northeastNOW.

“Forty years ago, my father won the tankard for the men’s on the same sheet in 1984, so Melfort obviously has a great memory for the both of us and 40 years later we come and win a championship here, so we like that sheet four, that’s for sure.”

Randy has also made a National Juniors alongside his third Troy Robinson. Meanwhile, Chris Semenchuck rounds out the team at the lead position. The group plays out of the Caledonian Curling Club in Regina.

The 2024 Canadian Curling Senior Men’s Championships in Moncton, NB, will run from Dec. 2-7

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8