A Manitoba curler is coming to Big Rock Country to try and fill a big order.
“Winning a grand slam – on the World Curling tour those are the premier events — and it’s an honour any time you get a chance to defend a title,” said Mike McEwen. “The task to do so will be pretty tall.”
That is exactly what he will be trying to do when he and 14 other of the best men’s curling teams roll in to town for the WFG Masters Oct. 25-30 at the Pason Centennial Arena.
McEwen captured his first Masters — the first-stop of the Grand Slam tour — in Truro, N.S. last year.
His winning of the Masters kick-started one of McEwen’s best season capped off for the Winnipeg curler by getting to his first Brier last February.
“Getting to the Brier was a long-time in coming and it was a bit of a hurdle for us to get over,” the 36-year-old McEwen said. “We broke down some barriers to do that.”
That barrier was a solid as the granite buried in the Keystone Province. Manitoba has produced infamous curlers such as the legendary Don Duguid and Jeff Staughton always seemed to spin his way into the Brier for many of the 13 years.
“Oh for sure it was frustrating (not to get to the Brier),” McEwen said. “On the tour, we have been pretty consistent the past six years or so, but for whatever reason we just couldn’t get that win in February.
“And Jeff was always at his best in February but that wasn’t the case for us, we had our struggles during the provincial playdown season.”
That is until last February when the McEwen rink downed Matt Dunstone in the Manitoba final.
He got some help from a guy who used to try to beat him.
Former world champion Jon Mead who was third for Staughton, joined the McEwen rink as coach.
“He brought some experience to the team — a past rival — but he brought us some things to get us ready (for Manitoba playdowns),” McEwen said.
The Manitoba champions have shared their ups and downs for a while now. The foursome of McEwen, B.J. Neufeld, Matt Wozniak and Denni Neufeld is going into their ninth year together.
“We are approaching the same shelf-life as the Ferbey Four,” McEwen said with a laugh. “I think we are the longest intact team right now among Canadian teams at the top level.”
That continuity has its pros and one con.
“There are lots of advantageous knowing the guys for so long and comfort with each other and all that,” McEwen said. “The challenge is sometimes finding ways to get better. That was one of the reasons we brought someone in as far as coaching in Jon Mead. It can be a challenge to find new ways to get better.”
They are aiming to be better for the Masters.
“We’ve had a bit of a rocky start on the World tour and the start of the Grand Slam is important to us — lots of points, money and trying to get into the Olympic trials directly,” he said.
“It’s the start of a bunch of big events that are really important to us and a bunch of teams.”
Curlers can earn points to get into the Olympic trials at the WFG Masters this week in Okotoks.
It will be tough.
McEwen will be matched up against some of the best curlers in the world.
On the men’s side is 2014 Olympic champion Brad Jacobs, 2016 world champion Kevin Koe and veterans like Glenn Howard, who likely has several sweaters in order to wear all the purple hearts he’s earned to go to the Brier.
McEwen will have family support as well, that is, when wife Dawn McEwen isn’t curling with her 2014 Olympic gold medal teammate, skip Jennifer Jones.
“We met at an Ottawa Junior superspiel about 1998 and it just happened that her parents put up our team,” he said. “That’s how we met for the first time and we stayed in touch over the years. We were about 18 years old.”
They had their first child last year, which meant plenty of family help.
“Dawn and I had our first child just before the season,” McEwen said with a chuckle. “It was an entourage of grandmas when we were on tour. We rely on a lot of family support behind the scenes.
“I watch her games and she watches mine, but often we are coming and going at these events.”
So does he offer some friendly criticism?
“Maybe when I was younger and more naďve,” he said with a laugh. “We try and help each other out, but you don’t want to get too meddling in things.”
On the women’s side some of the curlers are defending Masters champion Rachel Homan, a two-time Scotties champion, Jones and 2016 Scotties champion Chelsea Carey. Things got started at the Pason on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.
To see all the draws and for ticket information go to okotokscurling.com
