It was about three years ago that Scott Newton and co-chair Heather Todoruk had the notion that it might be time for Neepawa to host the Viterra Men’s Provincial Curling Championship again, but at that time it was just talk around the curling club and the pandemic would quickly put a halt to in-person events for the next while. It was just a year ago that the event was officially awarded to the town, with an organizing committee being put together in the spring of 2022.

Putting the Provincial Curling Championship on is quite a challenge for the community.  In this episode of Coffee Chat, host Lyle Watson talked to the co-chair of this big event, Scott Newton.

Volunteers were the first challenge, and Newton says that about 300 volunteers have committed to helping at the event in jobs ranging from preparing the facility to tending bar in the lounge. It’s a huge undertaking but he says that people have stepped up from all over the area including commitments from student groups and service clubs to help with aspects of the event.

Because the championships use the local arena and not the curling club, there is a process that has to take place to convert the space to an appropriate venue. Immediately following a Friday night MJHL hockey game, work will begin to convert the arena to four sheets of curling ice and construct a temporary viewing platform at the west end of the space. By Tuesday, the work is expected to be completed in time for curlers to arrive and test the ice out in advance of the four-day competition.

One of the peripheral challenges to hosting the event is ensuring there are sufficient accommodations, not for spectators, but for all of the participants, officials, and media. Every available accommodation in town was booked for the event and several people also offered rooms in their homes to billet visiting curlers. With thirty-two teams competing in the event, even with five of them coming from the immediate area and electing to stay at home and commute, that was still a lot of bodies to house.    

CurlManitoba, which manages competitive curling in the province, will be livestreaming the entire event on YouTube in addition to spectators being able to view it in person, and NACTV has the exclusive broadcast rights to CurlManitoba’s coverage.  

Any profits from the event will be split between the Neepawa Curling Club and the Yellowhead Centre, which are expected to come from ticket sales, bar and canteen sales, and nightly special events in the adjacent hall including banquets and entertainment. As well, over 40 sponsors have stepped up to help with costs of the event, about 80% of which come from the Neepawa area.

The last time the Viterra Men’s Provincial Curling Championship was held in Neepawa was in 2013.