Viterra Championship

3 V I T E R R A C H A M P I O N S H I P . C A JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 4, 2018 | WINKLER CENTENNIAL ARENA, WINKLER "We have the constant battles between our two consis- tent (leaders), Carruthers and McEwen," he said. "The men's provincials is a marquee event for so many people. (Winning it) is a goal for so many curlers. Their desire to play in our championships and how the elite curlers talk about the Manitoba championships speaks volumes about the quality of the event and the quality of the curlers." A new provincial champion will be crowned at the Vit- erra Championships, which will be held from January 30 to February 4 in Winkler. Carruthers, who won the 2015 provincial title as a skip, knows a little bit about one of the "Big Three" - he was Stoughton's second for four years, highlighted by a world title in 2011 - but he thinks the comparison is a little premature. "It's obviously an honour to be put up against those names. Those guys definitely earned their legacy through winning. There's a whole lot of winning that has to happen first before we're compared to that three-headed mon- ster," he said. Playing alongside a curling legend rubbed off on Car- ruthers, 33, who takes the same approach to the game both on and off the ice as Stoughton did. "Curling was fun for him and he really enjoyed it but at the same time, he treated it like a business. That's what I'm trying to work on with my team," he said. "You treat it like you're going to work. You put the hours in, you take it seriously and you do your best to accomplish a goal. You try to handle everything professionally, which is why you don't see me swearing on the ice or throwing my broom (after a bad shot). Acting mature on the ice is something I take very seriously. Keeping calm under in- tense situations is one of the things Jeff did really well." Carruthers, who lost to McEwen in last year's Viterra, said he's careful not to take teams outside of the top three for granted. "We've got some real tough competition in Manitoba. You know you have to play exceptionally well to win this thing. We've had flashes of that this year. If we get off to a good start and we play well early, I like our chances of making it to Sunday. If not, well, that's the beauty of the Viterra. Anything can happen because it's a double knock out. If you get a little bit of pressure on you, strange things can happen. Playing in Manitoba, you never have an easy road to get to the Brier," he said. The fact that the marquee event on the men's side in Manitoba has had just four title sponsors in the past 80s years, is another indication of the event's strength. Before Viterra stepped up in 2016, the tournament was previ- ously known as the Safeway Championship (2008–2015), the Safeway Select (1995–2007); the Labatt Tankard (1980–1994); the British Consols (a tobacco company) (1937–1979). With 32 teams, Manitoba holds the biggest provincial championships in Canada. THE MEN'S PROVINCIALS IS A MARQUEE EVENT FOR SO MANY PEOPLE. (WINNING IT) IS A GOAL FOR SO MANY CURLERS. THEIR DESIRE TO PLAY IN OUR CHAMPIONSHIPS AND HOW THE ELITE CURLERS TALK ABOUT THE MANITOBA CHAMPIONSHIPS SPEAKS VOLUMES ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE EVENT AND THE QUALITY OF THE CURLERS. " " - Craig Baker, head of CurlManitoba Looking to counter the cold this winter? Energy efficient Tripane windows from JELD-WEN help keep chilly air where it belongs— out of the house! Skip extra heating costs and get cozy with our award-winning ENERGY STAR ® certified windows. JELD-WEN Windows & Doors and McMunn & Yates Building Supplies are proud supporters of the 2018 VITERRA CHAMPIONSHIP Hurry Hard to High Performance Manufacturer of the Year Windows and Doors 2017 Energy savings are just a stone's throw away. Visit your local McMunn & Yates store today.

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