Saint John to Host 2023 Canadian Masters Curling Championships

February 7, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAINT JOHN, NB – The Thistle-St. Andrews Curling Club in Saint John will be hosting the best masters curlers in the country for the 2023 Canadian Masters Curling Championships April 2 – 9, 2023.

New Brunswick was set to host the Championship in the Saint John region in 2020, before the pandemic derailed those plans, only a few weeks prior to the event. Event hosting is rotated among the member provinces, with Winnipeg, Manitoba hosting in 2022. This return to Saint John, New Brunswick in 2023 is estimated to inject over $230K into the local economy.

This high-caliber national event is comprised of male and female athletes over the age of 60, many being medal winners in previous national and world curling events. Twenty- eight teams, 14 male and 14 females, representing the affiliated Member Associations of Curl Canada (Canada’s 10 provinces, plus Northern Ontario and the Territories of Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut) who have qualified to represent their province/territory will be taking part.

The Masters Championship is one of 14 annual Canadian Championships where Provincial Associations compete for points in order to win the MA (Member Association) Cup, presented by TSN (highest points) and the Governor’s Cup, presented by Curl Canada (biggest year-to-year improvement on points). The Provincial play-downs to determine the teams who will be earning a berth to the Canadian Masters are being held in the next few months. The New Brunswick teams who have won a berth at the championship are Team Levesque from Fredericton, 2019 championship bronze medal winners, Sharon Levesque, Debbie McCann, Valerie Laing, and Nancy Syroid, and Team Sherrard from the host club in Saint John, Bob Sherrard, Adib Samaan, Mike Martin, and Danny MacDonald.

The Host Committee, comprised of members from the area’s curling clubs, has been working for months to make the event a success.

“This will be an exciting opportunity for our community to showcase our curling club, the City of Saint John and our East Coast hospitality. There promises to be some excellent curling for our spectators as well,” says Gail Samaan, Event Co-Chair.  “A large active volunteer force (100 +), primarily from the curling clubs in the area (TSA, Carleton, Hampton, and Sussex) will be required. Our area Junior Curlers will also be part of this event participating in the opening and closing ceremonies.”

“Following the pandemic, sports tourism has been quicker to recover than some other industries, and is an economic driver for our region,” says Jillian MacKinnon, VP, Marketing Communications & Strategic Initiatives of Envision Saint John: The Regional Growth Agency. “Events like the Canadian Masters Curling Championship not only generate excitement for sports fans, they also bring new money into the local economy filling hotels, restaurants and retailers, thanks to the efforts of volunteers like Gail and Wayne along with their team who are championing our region on a national stage.”

Find more information at the 2023 Canadian Masters Curling Championship Website at https://masterscurling.com/. To volunteer for this exciting event, visit https://masterscurling.com/volunteers/.

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Media Inquiries:

Gail Samaan, Event Co-Chair
(506) 651-6114 or [email protected]

Wayne Cooper, Event Co-Chair
(506) 636-0615 or [email protected]

Jillian MacKinnon, VP, Marketing Communications & Strategic Initiatives
Envision Saint John: The Regional Growth Agency
(506) 658-2877 ext. 115 or [email protected]