Flasch seeking second Saskatchewan Tankard title as skip

Colton Flasch will look to add another accomplishment to the growing list for Biggar curling.

Flasch, a product of the Saskatchewan town, will be chasing his second straight provincial SaskTel Tankard this week in Estevan. Saskatchewan’s men’s curling championship is to take place from Wednesday through Sunday.

The 31-year-old skip isn’t approaching this Tankard differently just because his rink is the top-ranked entry in the tournament.

“Just because you’re the defending champion, it doesn’t mean anything,” Flasch said. “It’s a new year and a new event. You have to come out and you have to play well.

“Obviously being the No. 1-ranked team, everyone is gunning for you but that doesn’t change anything. You know you’re going to get everyone’s best no matter what.”

The late Sandra Schmirler — a three-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion, a three-time world champion and an Olympic gold medallist in 1998 — hailed from Biggar.

Last week, Robyn Silvernagle, who also is from the Saskatchewan town, won the Viterra Scotties for the third time in her curling career.

“There have been some good curlers come out of Biggar and good for Robyn for coming out as well,” Flasch said. “I know she’s had a tough last two years with everything that has gone on in her life and it’s good for her to come out and enjoy curling again.

“They did better than I think they thought they would do at this point, but she’s a really good curler and (there’s) a lot of talent out there.”

Silvernagle’s mom Anita was the one who first got Flasch started in the sport.

“She taught the junior program there and got me to where I am today,” he said.

Flasch’s Saskatoon-based rink will be seeking a second appearance at the Tim Hortons Brier, which is to take place March 3-12 in London, Ont.

Flasch, third Catlin Schneider, second Kevin Marsh and lead Dan Marsh finished fourth at the 2022 Brier, losing to Brad Gushue’s Wild Card rink 9-7 in the 3-4 Page playoff game.

“Our Brier last year was really good but there is definitely room for improvement,” Flasch said. “We know we can take that next step and we weren’t very far off last year.

“If we can get back, we feel like the Brier field this year is as good of a chance as we are ever going to get. If we can go out and play well, you never know what can happen.”

The 2022-23 season has been a return to normalcy for the curling world, with many events returning after stripped-down versions over the past few years due to the COVID pandemic.

“We’ve played in a lot of events this year and all of the best events in the world,” Flasch said. “We unfortunately haven’t won anything, but we have been very consistent throughout the year and given every top team a really good game even if we haven’t won.

“We have managed to beat teams all lower ranked than us this year so we are doing good in that aspect. When it comes to provincials, we know we’re going to get everyone’s best and we’re going to have to play our best to compete.”