Curling

Harris pivots to seek mixed results

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Friday, Apr. 24, 2026

BRIANE Harris was hopeful she’d land with a contender on the women’s circuit this off-season.

The four-time Scotties champion — who most recently played third for Kate Cameron — explored her options, but the ideal situation didn’t present itself.

Thankfully for the 34-year-old, she had an offer on the table from Kyle Doering to make the switch to mixed doubles. The pair of Manitobans recently announced they’re joining forces.

“I didn’t think I had any good (four-person) fits in the works, so I was like ‘You know what, let’s go with Kyle,’” Harris said Thursday.

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Pincott joins partner Dunstone in Winnipeg as she takes up with new team

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Preview

Pincott joins partner Dunstone in Winnipeg as she takes up with new team

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Thursday, Apr. 16, 2026

When Matt Dunstone and Erin Pincott pack up their things in Kamloops and move to Winnipeg later this year, the Brier champion won’t be the only one returning to his roots.

In a way, Pincott will be, too.

Her family tree goes through Manitoba with her grandparents meeting in Flin Flon before raising a family out west.

Her grandfather, Grant Young — who passed away in 2009 — represented B.C. at the 1981 Brier, playing lead for Barry McPhee, and helped ensure the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

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Thursday, Apr. 16, 2026

Longtime Gushue third returns to Manitoba to play second for Dunstone

Taylor Allen 4 minute read Preview

Longtime Gushue third returns to Manitoba to play second for Dunstone

Taylor Allen 4 minute read Tuesday, Apr. 14, 2026

It was an announcement that everyone who keeps tabs on curling saw coming.

Early Monday, Matt Dunstone officially revealed that Mark Nichols will join him, Colton Lott and Ryan Harnden to play second next season.

The 2026 Brier champion and world silver medallist had a hole to fill at the position with E.J. Harnden’s recent retirement.

Nichols, 46, was available for hire after his longtime skip and friend Brad Gushue retired after this year’s Brier.

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Tuesday, Apr. 14, 2026

Sweeting lands on her feet

Taylor Allen 4 minute read Monday, Apr. 13, 2026

Not even the reigning Scotties champions are immune to change at the end of a quadrennial cycle.

Days after returning home with a silver medal from the world women’s curling championship in Calgary, Gimli’s Kerri Einarson announced she was parting ways with third Val Sweeting — a teammate since 2018.

“It wasn’t a complete surprise. I had a sense there would be changes to the team moving forward,” Sweeting told the Free Press.

“It’s always tough when those chapters close, but I’m looking forward to what’s next.”

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Monday, Apr. 13, 2026

Chris Young / The Canadian Press
Selena Njegovan throws a stone during her team’s session against Nova Scotia-Black at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in January.

Njegovan forms new Manitoba rink

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Njegovan forms new Manitoba rink

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Friday, Apr. 10, 2026

There’s a new contender based out of Manitoba.

Selena Njegovan — who previously played third for Kaitlyn Lawes — announced Friday that she has formed a team with third Erin Pincott, second Margot Flemming and lead Krysten Karwacki.

Njegovan and Karwacki played together over a decade ago at the University of Manitoba where they won a CIS (now U Sports) national title in 2013 under Breanne Meakin. With Team Lawes going their separate ways and Karwacki on the hunt for a full-time role after several years as an alternate with Kerri Einarson, the two Winnipeggers started chatting about a reunion.

“We were just kind of looking to build something new. Selena sounded like she was really interested in stepping into the skip role, which was awesome to hear,” said Karwacki.

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Friday, Apr. 10, 2026

Amateur

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Cool Sweepings creator and producer Chris Sharpe at the Fort Rouge Curling Club, where the series was filmed. Cool Sweepings is a fictional series about a Jamaican-Canadian curling team based out of Winnipeg.

Cool Runnings-inspired curling series set in Winnipeg years in the making

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Preview

Cool Runnings-inspired curling series set in Winnipeg years in the making

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Friday, Apr. 10, 2026

When you think of the island country of Jamaica, curling isn’t what comes to mind.

But when Chris Sharpe’s high school gym class at Vincent Massey Collegiate crossed the street to try the sport at the Pembina Curling Club, it gave the Jamaican Canadian an idea.

You’ve heard of Cool Runnings — the hit movie inspired by the Jamaican bobsled team at the 1988 Winter Olympics. And while the country has yet to make its “ice chess” debut on the world’s biggest stage, that hasn’t stopped Sharpe from coming up with Cool Sweepings.

Sharpe, founder and creative producer of Black Film Space Manitoba, and his team filmed four episodes of the fictional series inside the Fort Rouge Curling Club in November. The show is scheduled to air this spring or summer on Bell Fibe TV’s streaming service.

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Friday, Apr. 10, 2026

Curling

Manitoba skip Kate Cameron heads east in search of spark

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Preview

Manitoba skip Kate Cameron heads east in search of spark

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Wednesday, Apr. 8, 2026

Kate Cameron was leaning towards taking a step back from curling.

She played on a torn meniscus last season and was mentally fatigued at the end of her first Olympic cycle as a skip.

“There’s only maybe one or two teams that really feel happy at the end of the quad,” Cameron told the Free Press on Wednesday.

“We’re all fighting for the ultimate goal of trying to go to the Olympics and we put so much time and energy into doing that and I think for me, this past season was a bit of a bust… I just didn’t know if the grind of doing it all seemed worth the reward anymore.”

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Wednesday, Apr. 8, 2026

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Curling

Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
Kaitlyn Lawes delivers a rock for Team Manitoba during the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts finals in February. The Winnipeg skip has decided to step away from curling and focus on her family.

Lawes talks pause, and possible retirement, from curling

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Preview

Lawes talks pause, and possible retirement, from curling

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Monday, Apr. 6, 2026

It was a decision Kaitlyn Lawes wrestled with all season.

Curling has been the only constant in the 37-year-old’s life, but with two daughters — Myla and Ella — under the age of three at home, the Winnipeg skip ultimately decided she needed to take a step back and focus on her young family.

“It just left like the right time if I were to ever take a break,” Lawes told the Free Press on Monday. “I didn’t take maternity leave with either of my girls. It was just kind of feeling like I needed to be home and needed some time to rest and recover from these last four years.”

It was two weeks after this year’s Scotties — an event Lawes went undefeated at before dropping the final to Kerri Einarson on Feb. 1 — when she officially made up her mind. She had several curlers reach out before and after nationals about potential new teams for the upcoming quadrennial, and while there were some intriguing conversations, Lawes knew what she had to do.

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Monday, Apr. 6, 2026

Curling

Darren Calabrese / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
John Epping officially announced on Wednesday he has formed a team with B.J. Neufeld, Ryan Wiebe and Ian McMillan.

Epping believes the sky’s the limit for his new team

Taylor Allen 7 minute read Preview

Epping believes the sky’s the limit for his new team

Taylor Allen 7 minute read Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

John Epping knows what he signed up for by forming a Manitoba-based rink.

He was forced to watch this year’s Brier from his couch — despite being ranked No. 8 in the world — after fumbling the Northern Ontario final to underdog Sandy MacEwan. Now teaming up with B.J. Neufeld, Ryan Wiebe and Ian McMillan, his path to nationals will now be even harder considering he’ll have to survive a provincial field that already features two heavyweights in Braden Calvert and Jordon McDonald.

“Manitoba has always been such a strong province,” said Epping in a chat with the Free Press.

“We know Braden’s a strong team who had a fantastic Brier and that’s no surprise — even though he hasn’t played as much as maybe the top teams would… And then Jordon, his future is so bright… I mean, it’s going to be tough.”

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Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

Health

PAUL DALY / THE CANADIAN PRESS
E.J. Harnden (centre) committed himself to a strength and fitness routine that help to revolutionize the game of curling.

How E.J. Harnden changed curling forever

Mitch Calvert 7 minute read Preview

How E.J. Harnden changed curling forever

Mitch Calvert 7 minute read Saturday, Mar. 14, 2026

I was a young sports reporter the first time I saw E.J. Harnden throw his broom.

It was February 2009 at the Northern Ontario Curling Association playdowns in Fort Frances. The Brad Jacobs rink — Jacobs at skip, E.J. at third, his younger brother Ryan at second — had just absorbed a 9-4 loss to Mike Jakubo in the final, their third straight defeat to the same Copper Cliff team that week. When Harnden’s last rock failed to disturb a pair of Jakubo stones sitting fat in scoring position, he didn’t shake his head or mutter under his breath. He threw his broom.

I remember thinking: that’s not how curlers act. This was, after all, a game still broadly associated with potluck socials and Canadian Club rye whisky. Curlers were supposed to be serene. Stoic. These guys were something else.

Seventeen years later, E.J. Harnden — now 42, and in the final chapter of a career that reshaped Canadian curling — just swept his way to a fourth national Brier title on a retirement tour with Matt Dunstone’s Manitoba rink. He was named tournament MVP, shooting 88 per cent accuracy for the week. He shared a long embrace with Ryan when it was over. And somewhere in that moment, the broom that once hit the ice in frustration became a symbol of everything that followed.

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Saturday, Mar. 14, 2026

Curling

Dream comes true, with fairytale ending, for Dunstone

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Preview

Dream comes true, with fairytale ending, for Dunstone

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026

Before sliding out of the hack for his Brier-clinching shot, Matt Dunstone took a moment to soak it all in and reflect.

“I pretty much told myself in the hack — sorry, I’m trying not to get emotional — that the five or six-year-old me would be so proud of what was about to happen,” Dunstone told the Free Press on Tuesday shortly after returning home to Kamloops, B.C.

Team Manitoba’s 30-year-old skip, who was born and raised in Winnipeg before moving out west in 2018, executed a winning takeout to perfection to clinch a 6-3 victory over Alberta’s Kevin Koe in the Canadian men’s curling final on Sunday in St. John’s, N.L.

Dunstone was overcome with emotion and fell to his knees before a joyous embrace with teammates Colton Lott, E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden.

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Tuesday, Mar. 10, 2026

Curling

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
Colton Lott is greeted by Marsha (left) and Margaret Simmons as he arrives at Winnipeg airport Monday after Team Dunstone won the Brier in St. John’s on Sunday.

Breakthrough in The Rock blows open doors for Dunstone team

Taylor Allen 4 minute read Preview

Breakthrough in The Rock blows open doors for Dunstone team

Taylor Allen 4 minute read Monday, Mar. 9, 2026

Colton Lott had a hero’s welcome all to himself Monday night at the James Armstrong Richardson International Airport.

Matt Dunstone’s third was serenaded by a bagpiper while making his way down the escalator to be greeted by his wife Kadriana, family, friends and even a pair of fans from his hometown in Winnipeg Beach.

Lott, the lone member of Team Manitoba that lives in the province, is back home after winning the Brier on Sunday in St. John’s, N.L., with a 6-3 victory over Alberta’s Kevin Koe.

“It’s been pretty surreal. I don’t even think it’s fully set in yet,” Lott told the Free Press.

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Monday, Mar. 9, 2026

Curling

Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
Team Canada skip Kerri Einarson said Monday it would mean the world to her Gimli-based club to win the World Women’s Curling Championship this month in Calgary.

Team Einarson ready to rock the Maple Leaf at women’s worlds

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Preview

Team Einarson ready to rock the Maple Leaf at women’s worlds

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Monday, Mar. 9, 2026

For the first time in 31 years, Manitoba rinks have won both the Scotties and the Brier in the same year.

Gimli’s Kerri Einarson captured the women’s national crown last month in Mississauga, Ont., meanwhile Winnipeg’s Matt Dunstone took care of business on Sunday in St. John’s, N.L., to win his first men’s title.

Connie Laliberte and Kerry Burtnyk accomplished the last Manitoba sweep back in 1995.

“To see them finally come out on top at the Brier was just so awesome to see,” said Team Einarson second Shannon Birchard in a video call with reporters on Monday.

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Monday, Mar. 9, 2026

Curling

Stoughton helps guide Jacobs team to top of podium

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Preview

Stoughton helps guide Jacobs team to top of podium

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

Medals don’t get handed out to coaches at the Olympics.

Heck, they don’t even get one of those stuffed animals that the Canadian men’s hockey team begrudingly accepted after their heartbreaking overtime loss to the Americans.

But even though Jeff Stoughton didn’t get to bring a highly sought after souvenir from Milano Cortina back to Winnipeg, he’s not complaining. He was more than just happy to play a role in helping Brad Jacobs win gold in men’s curling for Canada.

“We just get handshakes and pats on the back, and that’s more than enough,” said Stoughton, the head of Curling Canada’s men’s national program.

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Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

Curling

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS FILES
Reid Carruthers announced on social media Wednesday that he is retiring after more than 20 years in competitive curling.

Carruthers calls it a career

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Preview

Carruthers calls it a career

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

One of Manitoba’s most decorated curlers is hanging up his sliding crutch.

Reid Carruthers, a nine-time provincial champion, announced on social media Wednesday that he is retiring after 20-plus years in competitive curling.

“It’s the point in time where I have to think about my future and spending time with my son. The past few years have been tough, and he’ll be four soon. Being away, I found it very difficult. Most parents who have to travel (for work) would understand where I’m coming from that it’s not the easiest,” the 41-year-old told the Free Press. He and his wife Jodi became parents to Bo in May 2022.

“And for me, as I look at the sport, it’s becoming more and more professional and you have to be able to put 100 per cent of your time and commitment into it. And where I am in my career and age, that doesn’t quite line up.”

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Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

Amateur

SUPPLIED
2026 Manitoba junior champions: Skip Shaela Hayward, Third India Young, Second Keira Krahn, Lead Dayna Wahl and Coach Ron Westcott.

Junior curling champs realistic about chances at nationals

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Preview

Junior curling champs realistic about chances at nationals

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

SHAELA Hayward isn’t getting ahead of herself.

Sure, the skip from Carman won the national U-18 women’s curling crown in 2024. And yes, most of the field from that event will be at the Canadian U-20 Curling Championships in Sudbury, Ont., from March 28-April 4.

But Hayward — who claimed her third consecutive Manitoba junior championship on Sunday in Morris by defeating Cassidy Dundas (Heather Curling Club) 6-5 — is quick to remind you that her past performance doesn’t guarantee her anything.

“You would think (we have lots of confidence), but the field is so, so tough and the teams only get better,” she said.

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Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

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