‘It’s unlike any other event:’ Saskatoon’s Olympic qualifiers one year away, creating excitement for Sask. curlers

It’s a bright spot in a year full of disappointment within Saskatchewan’s curling community.

Beginning on Nov. 27, 2021, the Tim Horton’s Roar of the Rings will be held at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon. The winners of the event will represent Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

If the qualifiers were held today, Matt Dunstone’s foursome would qualify as one of Canada’s top seven rinks.

The team’s second, Kirk Muyres is originally from St. Gregor, Saskatchewan. He told 650 CKOM Sunday that as a child growing up, he watched all the Briers held at SaskTel Centre, dreaming of getting the chance to compete in the facility that houses both the Saskatoon Blades and Saskatchewan Rush.

(Muyres Curling)

“It’s always been a dream of mine,” he said. “The Olympics have become such a big part of our game. Teams are formed every four years to qualify for those trials and hopefully win those trials and represent Canada at the Olympics. It’s become such a big part of our game.”

The top seven teams in both the men’s and women’s division in Canada are guaranteed a spot in the trials. Two play-in tournaments will be held to determine the final, nine-team draw at the event.

“It’s unlike any other event. The tension in the building is so palpable. The Brier and the Scotties usually has a fun element to it. Where this one it seems, when you’re sitting in the stands watching or playing, you can cut the tension with a knife,” Muyres said.

“As it sits right now, we would be part of that group, and hopefully we can keep it that way.”

The 2020 season isn’t going the way Muyres originally had hoped. After moving from his own rink to part of Dunstone’s foursome in the offseason, COVID was just starting to move through Saskatchewan.

Muyres said 2020 has been different, but not all bad at the same time.

“Normally, we’d have been to a few different continents, a lot of different provinces … and (this year) we haven’t left Saskatchewan,” he explained.

“It’s similar to everybody, and that’s going through anything in the world today. It kind of messed up with our normal season. We’ve played (less) games, we’ve travelled a lot less, but we’ve been able to practice a lot more.”

Competing in the Brier this year, representing Saskatchewan is still up in the air for Muyres and the Dunstone foursome.

In October, CURLSASK said Saskatchewan’s professional curlers wouldn’t be able to compete outside of our borders this upcoming season.

Muyres said there are rumblings on a possible hub city to house the Brier, which is giving him hope to play on men’s curling’s biggest stage.

“Curling Canada has been pretty tight lipped yet, but hopefully something comes to fruition here in the next few weeks so we can get back at it in the new year,” he explained.

The Tim Horton’s Roar of the Rings Olympic trials will wrap up on Dec. 5, 2021 from Saskatoon’s SaskTel Centre.