Both players and fans had nothing but great things to say about Moose Jaw after hosting the BKT World Men’s Curling Championship at the Temple Gardens Centre.
Over nine days last week, curling fans packed the arena to watch the best curlers in the world compete, with Team Scotland being crowned world champions on Sunday afternoon.
A total of 77,985 curling fans attended throughout the week, in what is expected to inject $10 million to $15 million into the local economy.
Carolyn and Barry Graham came from Camrose, Alta., to take in the championship weekend. Barry said that, while they had been to Moose Jaw before, they still took in the sights around the city.
“(It’s) a great city. We’ve been here several times. We enjoy the town. We’ve done the tunnels and we’ve done all the stuff, I think,” he said.
Carolyn added that Moose Jaw did an excellent job hosting fans, even though they didn’t get the outcome they hoped for from Team Canada.
“We were hoping that Canada would be in the gold medal (game), but this has been just awesome to see everything here,” she said.
Even the teams enjoyed their time in the city, especially Team Canada, who played in front of sold-out crowds almost every time they took to the ice. Their bronze medal game saw a sellout crowd of 4,321.
“I would say my number one thing I’m taking away is the support that the fans and the people of Saskatchewan came together, buying a bunch of tickets, selling out this building a bunch of times, and supporting us all the way through. It’s something really special that we’ll never forget,” said Canada skip Brad Jacobs.
It was also a homecoming of sorts for Canada lead Ben Hebert. Originally from Regina and no stranger to Moose Jaw, Hebert said the experience of curling in front of friends and family was amazing. Hebert was curling in his fifth world championship.
“It was a pleasure playing here. Saskatchewan’s my favourite place in the country. The people here are great. Curling fans are amazing. It was probably 10 out of 10, probably the best world’s I’ve ever participated in, and we got third,” he said.
Canada third Marc Kennedy said he had played in some big events, including winning an Olympic gold medal on home soil in Vancouver.
He said that the atmosphere Moose Jaw brought was very much comparable to the Olympic experience.
“Vancouver 2010 was something special, something we’d never seen before. This crowd was incredible, supporting us all week,” Kennedy said.
“Even today (Sunday), after a tough loss yesterday, there wasn’t one negative comment that I saw or anyone disappointed. Everyone was still proud of us and supported us. Saskatchewan sports fans are unbelievable, and we were extremely fortunate to have this experience.”
The BKT World Men’s Curling Championship could also not have happened without a volunteer base. It took nearly 400 volunteers to make it all happen.