ESTEVAN — The Estevan Curling Club is making a determined push to secure its bid for hosting the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts national women's curling championship, as the submission deadline draws near.
With strong community backing and the support of volunteers, the club feels confident in its proposal, even as it potentially competes against larger cities like Summerside, P.E.I., and Lethbridge.
The club is currently focused on gathering deposits for ticket packages to strengthen their bid. The deposit deadline is set for Sept. 8, after which the club will have to finalize its bid and apply by the end of the month. It is aiming to demonstrate significant community support and the city's potential for hosting a national event to Curling Canada.
The club has been asking residents to place $100 deposits on event packages, which would be applied towards tickets if Estevan is selected, or refunded, if not. Club president Tyler McMillen said that although they have decided not to disclose the number of deposits collected to not tip off the other communities as to where they are, the Estevan committee remains determined to proceed with their bid as it seems to be strong.
Given Estevan's status as a smaller host city, the push for deposits is seen as a critical element of the bid, which has helped other communities before. McMillen noted that the committee feels Estevan will have a chance, especially if the community gives it another push before the deadline.
"We feel good that we'll have a competitive package," McMillen said.
The bid package also includes key elements like letters of support from various levels of government, businesses and individuals. McMillen noted that this process has been ongoing since early summer.
"It's just phenomenal with the support across the province and especially the southeast corner here. It's been really good," McMillen said.
He emphasized that smaller markets like Estevan offer unique advantages and hoped that Curl Canada would recognize the value of hosting the Scotties in a tight-knit community where businesses "bend over backwards" to support such events.
The bid committee, composed of volunteers most of whom have been involved since 2018, has been gathering deposits for ticket packages as a show of support. The final number of deposits will be the last thing to be entered in the package before the bid is submitted.
"Deposits are just one part of it, budgets and all those support letters from multi-levels of government, businesses, local community members, athletes from the province, we're starting to pull that together. So now our bid writers are putting the package that's going to go to Curl Canada together," McMillen explained.
"I'm excited to see the finished product. I've seen bits and pieces that are going into it, and we look good. We are the agriculture and oil and energy sectors down here, and it'd be fun to showcase [the region] nationally."
Even though they are not putting a call for volunteers out until the decision on the host community is made, they had quite a few people saying that they will be ready to go if Estevan wins the bid.
Despite facing stiff competition from larger markets, McMillen believes Estevan's bid will be competitive.
"I think we're going to make it a tough decision for Curl Canada," he said.
Curl Canada's decision is expected to be made late this year or early next year, with an official announcement potentially at next year's Scotties in February in Thunder Bay, Ont. If successful, Estevan will be at the centre of national curling attention, bringing economic benefits and showcasing the region's community spirit.
For now, the focus remains on finalizing the bid package and gathering as much local support as possible.
"I really want to thank the city for allowing us to use Affinity Place; thanks to the community members that continue to come out, not all of them are curlers. They just are community people that want to see things come to the city. Pauline's [Ziehl Grimsrud] put extra hours in, so thanks to her," McMillen said.
"And we really look forward to hopefully winning this bid and bringing something special to the community."
To learn more, submit a letter and support the push by making a deposit towards the tickets, visit estevan2026scotties.ca.
