Coming off a strong year, Virden curling sensation Jace Freeman has a new team, but the same competitive fire as the group prepares for their first event.
After a long curling season, Freeman jokes that he's been enjoying the time off this summer. "Our season ended the week before May, so I've only had a few months off. I actually threw rocks last weekend, so I'm kind of always thinking about it. I've had lots of time to golf, and enjoy my summer, but we've had to look for sponsors, pretty much since May, so I'm always thinking about it. It never really stops, but it's good, it keeps me excited."
It's not just physical rest, Freeman says it's important to get the mental rest, too. "It's important to unplug. I think by that last event, there was a bit of burnout, we were playing for like, eight or nine months of the year last season, I think I was in over 20 bonspiels. That summer break is important, rest the muscles, but a big part of it is mental, it's a mentally taxing game."
Looking ahead, Freeman is planning to get back on the ice for a big tournament in Edmonton. "Our first event is in a month, end of August, we're off to Edmonton for the U25 Next Gen Classic. It's run by Curling Canada. They sent out invites to 12 of the top U25 teams in Canada, and we were lucky enough to be chosen. So, we're heading to Alberta in about a month to get our season going."
"I've got a new team heading into men's this year," Freeman says with an excited smile. "I got at lead, Aaron MacDonell, he's a couple years older than me, he's from Winnipeg. I've played with him before in the past, he's had a very successful career in mixed doubles, he's in the Curling Canada Next Gen program, and I've played in the Junior Nationals with him, as well. I'm very good friends with him, and excited to play with him again. My second is Ryan Ostrowsky, he's from Winnipeg as well. He played third for me two years ago when we won the bronze medal a couple of years ago in 2024. I have lots of experience with Ryan. He aged out of juniors and I was still in juniors, which is why he couldn't play with me, but now in men's we're joining back together, which I'm excited about. My new third is Dallas Bugess, from Thunder Bay. Very excited to have Dallas playing, never played with him, but played against him lots of time. He's been a rival of mine in juniors, he's played on really good teams, his team last year was highly ranked. He's got a lot of experience. I'm very excited about this new team."
Freeman will be skip of a new team this year, and he's looking forward to getting on the ice ahead of traveling to Edmonton. "I think we'll start as a team here, probably in two or three weeks, middle of August, maybe closer to the end of August. We'll try and have two team practices before we leave. We haven't been off that long, so I find it all comes back quickly, which is nice. My third actually lives in Thunder Bay right now, so he doesn't move back to Manitoba until the end of August, so we won't have a full team practice until he gets back toward the end of August."
Heading into his first competition in men's with this new team, Freeman is very much looking forward to being at his best and putting the curling world on notice that his team is ready to be a team in Manitoba to watch out for. "I'm really excited, I think this team has all the talent, and I think we have good team chemistry, which is really important. We're all friends going in. I think one of our goals is to be one of the top teams in Manitoba this year, and be one of the top under 25 teams in Canada. If we can get off to a good start at this bonspiel in August, I think it will set up our season very well. It's going to be another busy season, but we're looking forward to it."
For now, Jace Freeman will enjoy a few more weeks of summer weather before he and his team bring the heat to curling rinks around Canada.