Some of the best curlers in the world are in Guelph, Ont. this week for the Masters Event, one of the major bonspiels in the Grand Slam of Curling Series.
The tournament includes 32 of the top ranked men’s and women’s teams, with star skips like Brad Gushue, Matt Dunstone and Rachel Homan in the mix.
“Gotta go see Bottcher, I can’t believe he’s on a new team, so that’s cool to see and Gushue especially,” said Ella Cruikshank, a student at the University of Guelph and also a curling fan.
According to the bid committee for the event, the city is already seeing a major economic impact.
“Just for this week alone is about $4 million for the City of Guelph,” explained Rob Mungham, co-chair of the Guelph Grand Slam Host Committee. “The direct impact to the downtown core certainly is benefiting well. All the hotels are booked, restaurants are full. The economic impact is really significant.”
“The morning games are usually slower, but even those games have had bigger crowds than we expected,” said Erin Cook, co-chair of the Guelph Grand Slam Host Committee. “We’ve had lots of people coming in that haven’t bought tickets ahead of time. People coming in from the community before every game. We’ve been blown away by how many people are doing that. We’re really excited by the crowds.”
Curling fan Mark Britt was impressed with how residents have been coping with pressure.
“Went to a restaurant the other day. [The waitress] was not prepared, but she was so nice and was able to manage 40 curlers in an hour and a half. She was really nice,” he said. “Guelph’s been wonderful.”
For two athletes, it’s a bit of a return home.
Margot Flemming was born in Kitchener-Waterloo and plays Third for Team Skrlik, based in Calgary. Matthew Hall is also from Kitchener and is Second for Team Kleiter, based in Saskatoon. He learned to curl at the KW Granite Club and was excited to see some familiar faces after his draw on Friday.
“It’s great to be back in Ontario, just being able to see a lot of people that I know again,” Hall said. “We got some great support coming from a lot of the old people I used to play with and against at the curling club growing up.”
Hall won the 2019 World Junior Curling Championships for Canada and won the 2020 U Sports Curling Canada University Championships with Wilfrid Laurier University.
“I know we’re not a hometown team, but to get a little bit of that home feel really sort of brings a bit more competitiveness out of you and it feels great,” he told CTV News.
Team Kleiter was eliminated on Friday after only winning one of their four draws at the Masters. Hall said he’ll try to see more of his family but needs to get back to Saskatoon to start preparing for the Saskatchewan Tankard next week.
In the stands, spectators have been impressed with the caliber of play on the ice.
“It looks really cool being close to the ice, seeing all the curlers that I’ve always watched on TV,” said curling fan Adam Sawyer.
“Volunteers are great. Everybody’s so nice. You know, we’re curlers, right? So, we all love each other, and they’re so polite and everything,” curling fan Britt said.
“I just love curling. Good time to get out and watch the best players in the world,” added curling fan Logan Emiry. “Drove down five hours last weekend. Will be heading home on Sunday night.”
The biggest crowds are expected Friday night and over the weekend, with the playoffs set for Saturday and the finals on Sunday.
Organizers said they are 80 per cent sold out for the weekend.
