The 2022 SaskTel Tankard Men’s Provincial Curling Championship has changed locations, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
CurlSask announced the event – originally scheduled at the Co-operators Centre in Regina – has been relocated to the Whitewood Community Centre in Whitewood. The tankard will still be held February 9-13.
According to a news release, the decision was reached jointly between CurlSask and the Regina Host Committee “due to the risk of hosting a large scale event in an urban centre 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,” CURLSASK President Jim Wilson said in the release. “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.”
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).
The remaining four teams will have a chance to qualify through the SaskTel Last Chance Event January 20-23, held at the Nutana Curling Club in Saskatoon.
The dozen teams that qualify will compete in a self-seeded triple-knockout event with a four-team page-playoff, and the winner will represent Saskatchewan at the 2022 Tim Horton’s Brier set for March 4-13 in Lethbridge, Alberta.
It’s the second time Whitewood has hosted the provincial men’s curling championship, as the most recent event was in 2019.
“We are once again thrilled to welcome Saskatchewan’s best men’s teams back to the community of Whitewood,” Chad Kelly, Chair of the Whitewood Host Committee, said in the same release. “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.”