The on-going COVID-19 pandemic has forced CURLSASK to change host locations for the upcoming SaskTel Tankard Men’s Provincial Championship, it was announced today.
The event, originally scheduled at the Co-operators Centre in Regina, Sask., from Feb. 9-13, has been relocated to the Whitewood Community Centre in Whitewood, Sask. The 2022 SaskTel Tankard will take place on the original scheduled dates.
“Curling has a long-standing tradition of teams winning their way to represent their province or territory at Nationals,” said CURLSASK Executive Director Ashley Howard. “The CURLSASK team continues to do everything in our power to preserve the integrity of the championship and determine our Team Saskatchewan Brier representatives safely on the ice, despite the relentless challenges of the pandemic.”
The decision to move this year’s SaskTel Tankard to Whitewood was reached jointly between CURLSASK and the Regina Host Committee due to the risk of hosting a large scale event in an urban center location. Organizers felt the relocation was the safest option to allow the competition to be contested.
“We are so thankful for the incredible work of the Regina Host Committee led by Bob Sonder and Shannon England, all the volunteers, sponsors and venues had put in to host the 2022 SaskTel Tankard and we look forward to working with them in the future,” said CURLSASK President Jim Wilson. “Implementing contingency plans are never easy, especially under short notice, but we are extremely excited to work with Chad Kelly and his committee in Whitewood under unique circumstances to host another successful SaskTel Tankard.”
It will be the second time the provincial men’s curling championship has been played in Whitewood. The most recent edition was the 2019 SaskTel Tankard, where Saskatoon’s Team Kirk Muyres took home the championship over Team Dunstone.
“We are once again thrilled to welcome Saskatchewan’s best men’s teams back to the community of Whitewood,” said Chad Kelly Chair of the Whitewood Host Committee. “We are honoured CURLSASK believes in us to host this prestigious championship and most importantly, we will do everything we can to provide a safe environment for all the competing teams.”
The following pre-qualified teams are confirmed to compete in Whitewood: Team Dunstone (Regina), Team Flasch (Saskatoon), Team Hartung (Langenburg), Team Deis (Fox Valley), Team Jacobson (Saskatoon), Team Knapp (Regina), Team Meachem (Swift Current), and Team Kleiter (Saskatoon).
Teams nine-twelve will qualify through the SaskTel Last Chance Event January 20-23, held at the Nutana Curling Club in Saskatoon.
These twelve teams will compete in Whitewood in a self-seeded Triple Knockout Event with a four-team page-playoff. The winner will represent Saskatchewan at the Tim Hortons Brier, March 4th to 13th, 2022 in Lethbridge, AB.
Real Cast Media, the official webcast partner of CURLSASK’s Championships, will televise one game per draw on CURLSASK’s YouTube channel. One evening draw and all of the playoff action from Whitewood will air on SaskTel Max TV.
