Chicken Chef Mixed Provincial Championship Goes This Weekend
For Immediate Release, October 7, 2021
Championship competition returns to the Manitoba curling scene this weekend when the covid-delayed 2020-21 season Chicken Chef Mixed Championship occurs at Winnipeg’s Granite Curling Club.
The event features six teams playing a round-robin series with a #2 vs #3 semi-final and the winner advancing to play #1 in the championship final. Not only will the winner go into the record books as the 2021 Manitoba champion but they will also have an early reward in a trip to the Canadian Mixed Championship, November 7-14 in Canmore, AB.
Sean Grassie will be attempting to win his fifth Manitoba Mixed Championship. His winning record also includes a Canadian Mixed title and a bronze medal at the 2009 World Mixed Doubles, when he and Allison Nimik were the first Canadians ever to medal at the World Mixed Doubles.
Acknowledging that it is very early in the season and many of the curlers who usually join forces for late-season Mixed curling are committed to other competition at this time of year, CurlManitoba Executive Director Craig Baker says he is neither surprised nor disappointed by the size of the field.
“We want to help re-start curling after the covid cancellation of the past season and that includes championships events,” says Baker. “We have six quality teams playing for the first Manitoba championship of the year. We’re excited, and I’m sure they’re excited, to have championship curling back for Manitoba curling fans.”
Three draws Saturday, October 9th and Sunday, October 10th (9am, 1:30pm, 7pm) with Monday playoffs (semi-final 10am, final 2pm) will take place at Granite.
Grassie’s Manitoba championship wins came in 1999, 2009, 2012 and 2014. This time around he skips a team comprising Sarah-Jane Sass at third and Daryl Evans at second with Calleen Friesen, who was on his 2012 and 2014 champion teams, at lead.
Grassie’s foursome will face two intact teams from the last Manitoba Mixed championship in 2019. They’ll enter the competition with the confidence that comes from having beaten Grassie the last time they met.
Wes Jonasson, with Ashley Surminski, Sheldon Oshanyk and Laurie Macdonell qualified for the playoff round in 2019 and finished with a 5W – 3L record after losing to eventual champion Braden Calvert in a semi-final.
Sam Antila is also returning to the championship with his Thompson team of Courtney Reeves, Ian Graham and Pam Antila. In 2019, their only victory was over Grassie.
Also in this year’s field are Corey Chambers, who skipped the finalist team undefeated into the final before losing to Calvert in 2019, with his team of Lisa McLeod, Nigel Milnes, and Sarah Pyke; Alex Forrest with Brandi Forrest, Tyler Forrest, and D’Arcy Forrest; and Cory Anderson with Lori Pelissier, Justin Reischek, and Quinn Jones.
The complete draw for the championship along with end by end live scoring is posted at https://curlmanitoba.org/about-company/scoreboard/#!/competitions/6988
The 2021-22 season Chicken Chef Mixed will be played in Carman, Manitoba scheduled for March 17-20, 2022.
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For information: Media may contact
Rob Gordon, CurlManitoba Event/Development Assistant
(204) 801-1119 ([email protected])
Craig Baker, CurlManitoba Executive Director
(204) 791-2204 ([email protected])
