Sudbury to host two national curling events in spring 2026

Greater Sudbury is to host two national youth curling events in late March. $133,000 in local funding will aid the arena's conversion and more.

At the end of March, the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex in Sudbury will be transformed to host Curling Canada’s U21 Mixed Doubles Championship and U20 Curling Championships.

On Tuesday, Greater Sudbury Development Corp. presented a cheque to Curl Sudbury for $133,000 to help them host the events.

“We wanted to bring this event to an arena, and we know how wonderful Countryside Arena is for events for curling,” said Kelly Irvine, Curl Sudbury event coordinator.

“The two-pad facility, we want to turn it into an eight-sheet curling facility. And the money from the Greater Sudbury Development Corp. will allow us to do that.”

This is the first major event since 2023, when Curl Sudbury hosted the Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship and the CCAA Curling Canada Championships at the arena.

Major opportunity

Irvine said they knew they didn’t want too much time to pass before hosting another event.

“This being a second national event in the last three years, it’s an opportunity to train the volunteers in many different roles,” Irvine said.

“There’s lots of timing, there’s lots of technical roles and there’s a lot of volunteerism that takes place in these events. And by us doing these events, we’re able to look into the future of hosting some of the bigger events.”

Curl Sudbury would love to host even bigger events, Irvine said, including “a Brier, a Scotties, a world championship.

“We know by doing these events, when it comes our turn to do one of those big national events, we’re going to be ready.”

Hosting the events can also serve as a springboard for bigger things for local curlers.

“We all know Tracy (Fleury) has been a curler since she was five years old and has gone up the ranks with the Northern Ontario Curling Association and, most recently, is with Team Homan,” Irvine said.

Stepping stone

“And we look at her career and realize how important the U21 events were for her. It’s the stepping stone for a future champion, and it’s a stepping stone for future Olympians just like Tracy. So it’s important for us to help enrich curling in Canada. And what better place to do it here in Sudbury, where we have an amazing curling community.”

City officials said while it’s hard to know the exact number of people coming to town for the events, they will have a large impact and show the importance of sports tourism.

“This event will see an economic impact of $800,000 to $1 million over the course of the weeklong event,” said Lara Feilding, manager of tourism and culture at Greater Sudbury.

“They’ll be taking in our accommodations, our retail, our food and beverage. And with that length of stay and younger families coming, they will be looking at our attractions and taking in outdoor events, as well.”

U21 Mixed Doubles Championship runs from March 24-27 and U20 Curling Championships goes March 28-April 4.