Canada’s most talented club curlers will compete at the Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club from Nov. 28-Dec. 4, 2021. The event includes 14 men’s and 14 women’s teams from each Member Association – 10 provinces, three territories and Northern Ontario – that will clash over an opportunity to be named Canada’s top grassroots-level team.
The 2020 edition event was initially scheduled at the Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club but cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Last year, the host committee in Ottawa was ready to put on a first-class event that would showcase the incredible skill of grassroots curlers in our country,” said Mitch Minken, Chair of Curling Canada’s Board of Governors. “We’re pleased that the Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club, along with our partners Everest, will get another opportunity this year to set the stage for what will be a memorable moment for these curlers.”
The Everest Canadian Curling Club Championships are for recreational, club-level curlers who don’t have the time or resources to compete at the high-performance level; the event gives those curlers the exciting opportunity to represent their home province or territory on the national stage.
“We are thrilled for the return of the Everest Canadian Curling Club Championships to the Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club in 2021. It is always an honour to host one of Canada’s national championships and this will be our second time hosting this event. I know our members are excited to host the best club-level curlers from across Canada,” said event chair Ryan Wilkes.
It is the second time Ottawa has hosted the event and the sixth time in Ontario throughout the event’s 13-year history. The Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club hosted it in 2015 when Newfoundland & Labrador’s Andrew Symonds and Prince Edward Island’s Lisa Jackson won the men’s and women’s events.
“I am proud that Ottawa was selected by Curling Canada to host the 2021 Everest Canadian Curling Club Championships,” said Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson. “The Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club is the perfect venue to welcome men’s and women’s teams from across the country in this prestigious event. I wish them all an enjoyable stay in the nation’s capital.”
The Everest Canadian Curling Championships were last held alongside the Home Hardware Canada Cup in 2019 at Leduc, Alta. Ontario’s Paul Moffatt (Waterloo) and Alberta’s Nanette Dupont of Lethbridge are the defending champions.
Overall, Alberta and Ontario have won three men’s titles apiece, followed by British Columbia and Saskatchewan with two each; Newfoundland & Labrador has won once.
“CurlON is proud to continue the tradition of hosting Curling Canada events in Ontario and know the Everest Canadian Curling Club Championship will be another fantastic event in our hosting history. The Club Championship has developed into a premier event for club curlers to showcase their abilities on the National stage,” said CurlOn Executive Director Stephen Chenier.
Manitoba has won four times on the women’s side, followed by Ontario and Alberta with three titles each; Prince Edward Island has won once.
This event marks the first occasion of the Canadian curling club championship partnering with Everest’s title sponsorship, a funeral planning and concierge service rolled into a life insurance plan. The 2020 Canadian Curling Club Championships were initially supposed to dawn the Everest title.
“We are thrilled to be the new title sponsor of the Canadian Curling Club Championships. The Club Championships celebrates the grassroots competitiveness of curling at the club level so it’s a perfect fit for Everest. As we have demonstrated through our sponsorship of the Seniors, the Everest-Ferbey National Pro Am, the TSN All-Star Curling Skins and the Everest Curling Challenge on TSN, Everest fosters and celebrates the unique culture of community and caring that runs deep through this special sport. ” said Mark Duffey, CEO. “ We want to be more than a sponsor of the Club Championships; we want to be a partner in growing curling in every club in Canada.”
It will not be the first time the Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club has hosted a national curling championship. In 2010 it hosted the Canadian seniors and it also hosted the 2014 and ’15 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championships back when that event was in its infancy.
“Ottawa Tourism is excited to welcome passionate curlers from all across the country to Ottawa as part of the 2021 Everest Canadian Curling Club Championships,” said Michael Crockatt, President and CEO of Ottawa Tourism. “Bringing sporting events such as this one back to our capital remains an important objective of Ottawa Tourism and we couldn’t be prouder that Ottawa was chosen as the host destination for this competition.”