Port Elgin Curling Club (PECC) Tankard Committee member Dave Middleton delivered the official announcement that the Club will be hosting the 2022 Ontario Tankard, in a press conference to club members, volunteers and media on Curling Day in Canada, February 27.

Hub Staff

Despite curling tournaments receiving plenty of air time from national broadcasters such as TSN and CBC, Jan McGarry of the Port Elgin Curling Club (PECC) reported a significant drop in membership over the last five years. Prior to COVID-19, the PECC membership sat at just over 100 members, down from 250 in previous years. When the pandemic took hold, their numbers dwindled even further until a successful 2020 marketing campaign targeting Millennials resulted in their membership climbing to 130, more than double their previous season.

McGarry reported that the club’s newly introduced Social Night held on Friday nights is full every week and said that with the recent announcement of the PECC hosting the 2022 Ontario Men's Tankard, the horizon continues to brighten for the Saugeen Shores club.

See: Saugeen Shores to host the 2022 Ontario Tankard

The event is expected to engage an average 1,000 spectators per day, estimated Doug Flowers, chair of the Tankard Steering Committee at the February 22 Saugeen Shores Committee of Whole meeting, with the crowds increasing in number as the competition progresses throughout the week.

The Port Elgin Plex will be adapted to accommodate the event, to be held February 9 to 13, 2022, and the winner will go on to represent the southern part of the province at the Tim Hortons Brier in March.

“Seeing a facility transformed into a curling rink is spectacular," said Vice Deputy Mayor Mike Myatt, recalling his involvement with the 1991 Ontario Tankard when it was held at the Bayshore in Owen Sound.

Saturday, February 27 marked the third annual Curling Day in Canada and at an event hosted at the PECC, Saugeen Shores Mayor Luke Charbonneau noted, “It isn’t only Curling Day in Canada, it is most definitely Curling Day in Saugeen Shores."

The club hosted tournaments and held a press conference to commemorate the day and the club's achievements.

“It’s an opportunity for us to show off our community in terms of its ability to host great sporting events,” declared Charbonneau. “I think this is just the beginning, and it’s a great beginning.” Charbonneau expressed his confidence in the Port Elgin Curling Club and pledged the assistance of the Town to help ensure a successful event.

“We’re going to see eight of the top teams in Ontario playing in this event,” said PECC President Earl Anderson to those in attendance, adding that the Club is no stranger to prestigious sporting events, with many high calibre players returning each year for the club's annual Super Spiel.

Dave Middleton, Media and Advertising Chair for the Tankard Committee and emcee for the February 27 Curling Day event, spoke confidently of recruiting the estimated 200 volunteers needed for the Tankard, calculating it would only take a handful of volunteers from each of the 40 curling clubs that fall within a one-hour radius of Port Elgin to reach the goal.

Guests were treated to a surprise virtual greeting from multi title holder Glenn Howard, including four-time world champion, four-time Brier champion and 17-time Tankard champion, both as a skip and as a vice under his brother Russ. Glenn reminisced of the many Port Elgin Super Spiels in which he has played and shared his delight in the announcement of the 2022 Tankard host. He spoke of his participation in the 1991 and 2004 Ontario Tankards, both of which were held in Owen Sound. 

“You know what I was blown away with the most, Dave, it was the attendance,” said Howard in a pre-recorded conversation with Middleton, recalling "a couple of thousand people hanging off the rafters watching us curl." Howard concluded this to be a testament to the strong curling community in this area and predicted the PECC would see a similar turnout for the 2022 Tankard.

In his presentation to Saugeen Shores Council February 22, PECC's Doug Flowers said the club's annual Super Spiel event had recently been designated a sponsored World Curling Tour event and added that following a successful Tankard in 2022, the club will set its sights on the possibility of hosting other nationally televised curling events such as the Grand Slam of Curling, the Canadian Junior Curling Championships and the World Junior Curling Championships.

Anyone wishing to volunteer at the 2022 Ontario Men's Tankard can visit portelgincurlingclub.com/volunteers-needed for more information or email oncurlmens22volunteers@gmail.com.