Top curlers took part in the men’s and women’s provincial curling championships, which wrapped up on Sunday in Port Elgin, with attendance estimated at over 10,000 throughout the week-long event.
Three-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion Rachel Homan from the Ottawa Curling Club won her match 9-2 in eight ends against Hollie Duncan of the Woodstock Curling Club.
With this win at the Scotties, Homan’s team will represent Ontario at the national Scotties championship happening Feb. 17-25 in Kamloops, B. C.
Meanwhile, Mike Mc Ewen from the Royal Canadian Curling Club in Toronto triumphed over four-time world champion Glenn Howard from the Penetanguishene Curling Club with a score of 8-3 in seven ends during the Port Elgin Chrysler 23 Ontario Tankard.
This victory secured his team’s place at the national championships, known as the Tim Hortons Brier, set for March 3-12 in London.
The event featured 17 draws held at Port Elgin’s Plex arena, where hockey ice was temporarily transformed into textured curling ice. Each draw had a capacity of 1,000 spectators and nearly all tickets were sold out, according to event spokesman Dave Middleton on Monday.
The event was expected to generate $1.5 million for the Saugeen Shores area over the week, based on predictions from an economic study. Visitors came from all over Ontario, said Middleton, who referred to it as the “best ever” Tankard/Scotties.
He pointed out that it stood out partly because of attendance figures. He estimated that an average of about 700 people attended each draw. With “more than 90 percent of tickets sold for the entire week,” he mentioned that this has never happened before.
While other tournaments might attract larger crowds due to bigger venues, he claimed that “it far outsold every other Tankard and Scotties ever” when looking at ticket sales percentage.
Middleton also noted around 57 sponsorships from Grey-Bruce made this event “by far the most sponsored Tankard and Scotties ever.”
The positive feedback from players further validated its success. “Every single player commented this was easily the best one they’ve ever been too…”
Mc Ewen, who previously competed in Manitoba, described their Tankard/Scotties as a mini Brier. “That’s what he called it… that’s a pretty big compliment,” Middleton shared.
Additionally, Middleton mentioned that these tournaments were live-streamed on curlontv. ca and attracted more than one million viewers. Last year when Port Elgin hosted just the Tankard alone, over 300,000 tuned into Curlontv. ca’s stream; that was when live streaming for a Tankard first started.
Team Mike Mc Ewen, the 2023 Ontario Tankard champions, Sunday Jan. 29, 2023 in Port Elgin Ont. From left: Mike Mc Ewen, Ryan Fry, coach Richard Hart, Brent Laing and Joey Hart. (Supplied)
Share this article in your social network
Source link
Source link
