A ton of world championship experience will be in Team Canada’s corner when they compete at the BKT World Men’s Curling Championship from March 29 to April 6 at the Temple Gardens Centre in Moose Jaw.
National Men’s Coach Jeff Stoughton knows a thing or two about winning world championships on home soil, and more specifically in Saskatchewan.
Stoughton won a world championship in 1996 in Hamilton. However, most recently, he won the 2011 world championship just down Highway 1 at the Brandt Centre in Regina. That’s on top of three Brier championships.
He said the key for the Brad Jacobs team representing Canada will be to block out distractions.
“A lot of it is making sure that the team stays on track, doesn’t get too distracted with all the goings-on around them because you are at home. There is a lot of demand on your time, but this is also a long grind. You are playing 12 games in less than a week, and then playoffs start,” Stoughton said on a conference call before this year’s world championship.
He continued that, while there will be a lot of obligations as Team Canada, they must keep the ultimate goal in mind.
“There is a lot of time when your time is being requested, so we just want to make sure that they stay on track and do Team Jacobs, get out of their way, let them do what they do, and they’ll do it the best. Keep them on the straight and narrow—we have a goal: win a gold medal,” Stoughton commented.
There will be at least one familiar face to Stoughton in the field for the 2025 world championship. When Stoughton won the championship in 2011, Niklas Edin of Sweden finished third in his first world championship. Edin will once again be representing Sweden this year.
All of the action gets underway with the first draw at 2 p.m. on Saturday, with Team Canada taking on Japan. Tickets for the event are going fast and can be purchased at sasktix.ca.