Latest news with #2025Brier
Calgary Herald
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Inaugural season of curling's 'Rock League' about to launch
Article content Rock League is ready to roll. Article content What's that, you ask? Article content It's curling on a professional scale — a league to help grow the game worldwide. Article content 'I've always believed curling could go pro — and now it is,' wrote 2025 Brier winner Brad Jacobs via social media. 'Pumped to be named a captain in Rock League, curling's first-ever professional league. Canada, let's make history.' Article content Article content 'Proud to rep Canada as a captain in Rock League, the world's first professional curling league,' wrote 2025 world and Scotties queen Rachel Homan. 'Mixed teams. Global rivalries. One epic season, coming April 2026. Let's go.' Article content Article content What is Rock League? Article content At launch, the teams will be organized by region, including two from Canada, two from Europe, one from Asia-Pacific and one from the United States. Article content How long is the season? Article content The season will run for six weeks beginning in April 2026. Article content Where will the games be played? Article content Each week of competition will take place in a different location with plans to hold events during the inaugural season in Canada, the United States and Europe. Article content Article content What are the rules of play? Article content Event formats for Rock League will be unveiled in the coming months. Article content Who is playing in Rock League? Article content Six captains have signed on for the first season: Article content • Rachel Homan (Team Canada 1) • Brad Jacobs (Team Canada 2) • Bruce Mouat (Team Europe 1) • Alina Paetz (Team Europe 2) • Chinami Yoshida (Team Asia-Pacific) • Korey Dropkin (Team USA) Article content Additional participating curlers and official team names will be announced in the fall. Article content
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
McEwen, Saskatchewan eliminated from Brier after loss to Manitoba's Carruthers
Mike McEwen and Team Saskatchewan have been eliminated from the playoffs at the 2025 Montana's Brier. After a second-place finish at last year's Canadian men's curling championship in Regina, McEwen and company were hoping to get back to the final again this year in Kelowna, B.C., only to fall short of their goal on Friday night in the 3 vs. 4 page qualifier against Manitoba's Reid Carruthers, who earned the 6-4 victory to advance to Saturday's 3 vs. 4 page playoff game. Following a promising start to the 2025 Brier seven straight wins, McEwen and company lost to Alberta's Brad Jacobs in the final round robin game to cement Saskatchewan into the No. 2 seed in Pool B before losing to Manitoba's Matt Dunstone on Friday afternoon in the 1 vs. 2 page qualifier game. That forced the Saskatchewan rink — also featuring third Colton Flasch, second Kevin Marsh and lead Daniel Marsh — into a must-win game on Friday night against Carruthers. And at one point, Saskatchewan looked to be in control of the game against Carruthers, who alongside third BJ Neufeld, second Catlin Schneider — a Regina product — and lead Connor Njegovan finished as the third seed in Pool A with a 6-2 round robin record. After blanking the first end, McEwen scored the first deuce of the game in the second with hammer before Carruthers responded with two points of his own to tie the game in the third end. Following back-to-back blank ends, the game was turned on its head in the sixth end as McEwen missed a triple takeout which would have potentially scored three and instead gave up a steal of two to Carruthers. McEwen was then held to a single point in the seventh before Carruthers scored another deuce in the eighth to take a commanding 6-3 lead. Saskatchewan got one back in the ninth before Manitoba would run McEwen out of rocks in the 10th end to secure the win and advance to Saturday's 3 vs. 4 page playoff game. 'Monumental error in reading angles,' McEwen said of the missed shot in the sixth end. 'That's the game. 'Should have just drawn for two. I'm not even sure it was there for three … That was it. We controlled the game. We outplayed them the entire game. But we made a catastrophic error. 'We're a better team than that. We shouldn't be making an error like that … No one to blame but ourselves. We gave that away.' 'I would have played (the takeout) if I were him too,' said Carruthers, a former teammate of McEwen's from 2018-21. 'I didn't have steal of two on the table. I thought if he hit it a certain way he may only get one. But to give us the steal of two is obviously fortunate for us. 'It was a big break and a huge momentum swing.' In the 3 vs. 4 page playoff game on Saturday (2:30 p.m.), Carruthers and company will be playing Brad Jacobs and Team Alberta, who beat Nova Scotia's Owen Purcell 10-6 in the other 3 vs. 4 page qualifier on Friday night. The winner between Jacobs and Carruthers will advance to Sunday's semifinal (12 p.m.) while the loser will be eliminated. Last year, Jacobs played alongside Carruthers at the Brier before leaving to join his current Alberta team, following the departure of skip Brendan Bottcher, who joined forces with Brad Gushue. In the 1 vs. 2 page playoff game on Saturday night (8:30 p.m.) it will be three-time defending champion Gushue and Team Canada against Dunstone withe winner advancing directly to Sunday's final (6 p.m.) while the loser will head to the semifinal. tshire@ Brier playoffs: Saskatchewan's McEwen faces must-win after loss to Manitoba's Dunstone Here's how the Montana's Brier playoff format works The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Canadian men's curling championship returns to Kelowna, B.C., for 1st time in decades
It was already busy at the local curling club on Monday, as curlers from across the country arrived in Kelowna, B.C., for this year's Brier tournament. "It's crazy down here," Kelowna Curling Club general manager Jock Tyre told CBC's Radio West host Sarah Penton Monday afternoon. "I'm very excited." The Brier, Canada's annual men's curling championship, will be held at Kelowna's Prospera Place downtown, but teams from the East Coast arrived early, adjusting to the time zone and practising for their first draw. The 2025 Brier kicks off in Kelowna, B.C., on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press) The tournament kicks off Friday, with draws [or games] at 6:30 p.m. Teams from 10 provinces and three territories, along with a few additional teams, will compete for the title of Canada's best men's curling team. The winning team will also go on to represent Canada at the World Curling Championships, which will be played on home ice this year in Moose Jaw, Sask. Tyre, who worked on the bid to bring the tournament to B.C.'s Interior, said the local curling community has been buzzing with anticipation. "The community has been starving for it since 1968," he said, noting the last time the tournament was played in Kelowna. A parade celebrating competing provinces was held in Kelowna on Feb. 27 to start the host city ceremonies for the 2025 Brier. (Tom Popyk/CBC) Not only does the Brier draw local fans and teams from across Canada, but it also brings a crowd of curling fans from far and wide. "You get people that have been coming for, it feels like, 100 years," Tyre said. "People make a habit of coming to the Brier or the Scotties every single year. It's amazing to see those people, and they collect pins, and they wear T-shirts, and they've got banners and flags and costumes." As part of the festivities, a fan space called the Original 16 Patch is set up at the Delta Grand Hotel near Prospera Place, with live entertainment and food and drink options. B.C. band 54-40 will be performing Friday night to kick things off. "The curlers come in, and they do a little thing called Up Close & Personal [where they] go up on the stage and have some interviews," Tyre said. "It's just an incredible feeling. It's people that truly love the game of curling and are willing to travel across the country for it." For those heading to the tournament in the coming days, Tyre is reminding people the downtown core is going to be busy and advises locals to consider taking the bus into town. According to Curling Canada's website, regularly scheduled transit services are free for anyone who shows their tickets or event ID to bus drivers throughout the week, as long as there's space on the bus. Cawston Avenue will be closed to vehicle traffic between Water Street and Cannery Lane starting at 6 a.m. PT today, until 6 a.m. PT on Monday, March 10, according to the City of Kelowna. The tournament runs from now until March 9. Some tickets are still available.
CBC
26-02-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Get to know the teams competing at this year's Brier
Social Sharing The 2025 Brier men's curling championship begins on Friday in Kelowna, B.C., and runs through March 9. Here are all the skips and rinks that will be vying to become this year's national champions. Teams listed by seeding in their pools, athletes from skip to lead, followed by hometown. POOL A CANADA: Brad Gushue, Mark Nichols, Brendan Bottcher, Geoff Walker (St. John's) Three-time defending champions hold the top seed but have posted middling results since adding Bottcher at second in November. A perennial contender, the team has been in top form since E.J. Harnden joined his brother on the front end about three months ago. NORTHERN ONTARIO: John Epping, Jacob Horgan, Tanner Horgan, Ian McMillan (Sudbury) A heavy schedule and impressive results helped this team crack the top five in the national rankings. Epping represented Ontario on three previous trips to the Brier. ALBERTA-KOE: Kevin Koe, Aaron Sluchinski, Tyler Tardi, Karrick Martin (Calgary) An inconsistent season has this rink seeded lower than usual but Koe has the experience to deliver against anyone in the field. MANITOBA-CARRUTHERS: Reid Carruthers, B.J. Neufeld, Catlin Schneider, Connor Njegovan (Winnipeg) Neufeld was recently added at vice after being dropped from Dunstone's rink. Carruthers outscored Braden Calvert 9-7 in the final of the Manitoba playdowns. BRITISH COLUMBIA: Cameron de Jong, Alex Horvath, Corey Chester, Brayden Carpenter (Victoria) It's the third straight Brier trip for de Jong and his first as skip. Kelowna is 475 kilometres away from his Vancouver Island club but he'll still get a boost from the Prospera Place home crowd. NEW BRUNSWICK: James Grattan, Joel Krats, Paul Dobson, Andy McCann (Oromocto) Grattan is making his 17th career Brier appearance. Krats, the young gun on a veteran team, won world junior bronze in 2022. NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR: Ty Dilello, Ryan McNeil Lamswood, Daniel Bruce, Aaron Feltham (St. John's) Gushue's return as defending champion left him out of provincial playdowns. Dilello booked his Brier ticket by stealing a single for a 6-5 win over Andrew Symonds in the Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard final. NUNAVUT: Shane Latimer, Sheldon Wettig, Justin McDonell, Peter Van Strien (Iqaluit) The territory is coming off a 1-7 showing at the 2024 Brier in Regina. Nunavut, which made its Brier debut in 2016, earned its first-ever win at the event in 2023. POOL B ALBERTA-JACOBS: Brad Jacobs, Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant, Ben Hebert (Calgary) Jacobs, in his first season as skip of this experienced team, has guided the rink to the No. 2 position in the Canadian rankings behind Dunstone. SASKATCHEWAN-McEWEN: Mike McEwen, Kevin Marsh (throws second), Colton Flasch (throws third), Daniel Marsh (Saskatoon) A pre-qualified berth allowed this team to skip provincials and prepare for nationals, where they'll look to get back to the final after falling to Gushue last year. SASKATCHEWAN-KLEITER: Rylan Kleiter, Matthew Hall (throws second), Joshua Mattern, Trevor Johnson (Saskatoon) A Grand Slam Tier-2 champion this season, Kleiter leads a sixth-ranked team that's enjoying a breakout campaign. ONTARIO: Sam Mooibroek, Ryan Wiebe, Scott Mitchell, Nathan Steele (Whitby) The future has arrived in Ontario with Mooibroek leading one of the country's top young teams in his Brier debut. He won a U Sports title for Wilfrid Laurier University in 2023. QUEBEC: Felix Asselin, Jean-Michel Menard, Martin Crete, Jean-Francois Trepanier (Glenmore/Valleyfield/Etchemin/Des Collines/Belvedere) Ranked 20th in Canada, this team should not be taken lightly. Vice-skip Menard skipped a Quebec team to a Brier title in 2006. NOVA SCOTIA: Owen Purcell, Luke Saunders, Scott Saccary, Ryan Abraham (Halifax) Purcell won a national U18 title in 2018. Luke Saunders is at vice and his mother, Colleen Jones, will serve as coach. PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND: Tyler Smith, Adam Cocks, Christopher Gallant, Edward White (Crapaud) Smith was a whisker away from making his first Brier playoff appearance last season. Longtime Nova Scotia skip Paul Flemming returns as coach. Scoffin won a U Sports title in 2015 with the University of Alberta. He also skipped Canada to a bronze medal at the Youth Olympic Games in 2012.
