The 2022 SaskTel Tankard is heading east to Whitewood. The provincial men’s curling championship to determine who heads to the 2022 Brier in Lethbridge has been rerouted from its original venue. The event was originally scheduled to go from Feb. 9-13 at Co-operators Centre in Regina, but will now be played on the same dates at the Whitewood Curling Club. The move is rooted in the ongoing COVID pandemic. 

“Curling has a long-standing tradition of teams winning their way to represent their province or territory at Nationals,” said CURLSASK Executive Director Ashley Howard. “The CURLSASK team continues to do everything in our power to preserve the integrity of the championship and determine our Team Saskatchewan Brier representatives safely on the ice, despite the relentless challenges of the pandemic.” 

CURLSASK and the Regina Host Committee agreed to the move due to what they perceived was a higher risk of hosting the event in a large urban centre. In a winter when many provincial championships have been scrapped or are in jeopardy, organizers felt a new location would provide the safest pathway. 

“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,” said CURLSASK President Jim Wilson. “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.”

This is the second time the provincial men’s curling championship has been played in Whitewood. The community hosted the 2019 SaskTel Tankard that pitted a victorious Kirk Muyres team against his current teammate, Matt Dunstone. 

The familiarity of the venue for the players and an experienced organizing committee helped with the decision to move the event. 

“We are once again thrilled to welcome Saskatchewan’s best men’s teams back to the community of Whitewood,” said Chad Kelly, Chair of the Whitewood Host Committee. “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.” 

Eight teams have pre-qualified for the Tankard. Among them are Team Dunstone from Regina, and Saskatoon’s Team Jacobson which features Humboldt native son Dustin Kalthoff. Also in the mix are: , Team Flasch (Saskatoon), Team Hartung (Langenburg), Team Deis (Fox Valley), Team Knapp (Regina), Team Meachem (Swift Current), and Team Kleiter (Saskatoon). 

Teams nine through twelve will qualify through the SaskTel Last Chance Event January 20-23, held at the Nutana Curling Club in Saskatoon. These twelve teams will compete in Whitewood in a self-seeded Triple Knockout Event with a four-team page-playoff. The winner will represent Saskatchewan at the Tim Hortons Brier, March 4th to 13th, 2022 in Lethbridge, AB.