HOG LINE: Calvert excited about new team
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Winnipeg Free Press subscription for only
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*$1 will be added to your next bill. After your 4 weeks access is complete your rate will increase by $4.99 a X percent off the regular rate.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/08/2023 (748 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
It didn’t take long for Braden Calvert and his longtime teammate Kyle Kurz to find two new players for their team for the 2023-24 curling season.
The Carberry product has brought in Corey Chambers and Brendan Bilawka to the Winnipeg-based squad, which will start their campaign at the Manitoba Curling Tour Challenge on Sept. 8 at the St. Vital Curling Club.
Calvert is skipping the team, with Chambers playing at vice, Kurz sliding down to the second position and Bilawka at lead.
Carberry’s Braden Calvert competes at the 2023 Viterra championship at Neepawa’s Yellowhead Centre. (Thomas Friesen/The Brandon Sun)
“We actually got things finalized earlier this spring, but we just kind of got to announcing the team now,” Calvert said with a laugh.
Calvert and Kurz were in need of new teammates after their previous rink parted ways following a five-year run.
Lead Rob Gordon is taking a step back from competitive curling this season due to work commitments, while second Ian McMillan has joined up with reigning Northern Ontario champion Tanner Horgan.
“Corey and Brendan were both pretty high on our lists of guys that we wanted to get,” Calvert said. “We’ve curled against them a lot and we know that they are good people off of the ice.”
Bilawka, who won a world mixed curling championship with Kyle’s brother Colin in 2019, has some experience playing with Calvert as he joined the squad for a cashspiel last season.
“I remember us saying after the event just how much we enjoyed playing with Brendan and how easy he was to get along with,” Calvert said.
Chambers has quietly become one of the top contenders at the Viterra Championship since the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the 2022 event in Selkirk, he skipped a rink that included Julien Leduc, Devon Wiebe and Stu Shiells to a fourth-place finish.
He teamed up with Daley Peters, Leduc and Bilawka at last year’s Viterra in Neepawa and just missed out on a second straight championship-round appearance after losing a wild 9-8 extra-end slugfest to Brandon’s Steve Irwin.
“Corey and I have had some pretty good battles over the years so it’s nice to have him on the same squad,” Calvert said.
“It’s going to be a little bit different for me as I believe this will be the first time that I’ve played with another skip. There will be a bit of learning along the way but I think it will work out well, especially since Corey was a top-tier third a few years back when he was playing with Sean Grassie.”
Due to work and family commitments, the team is going to spend most of the season competing in Manitoba cashspiels, though they are planning to venture out to Swift Current, Sask., and Red Deer, Alta., for events.
Calvert’s main goal for this season is to make it to the 2024 Viterra Championship in Stonewall and improve upon his semifinal showing last winter.
“We want to make it to the Brier,” Calvert said. “We’ve been pretty close now over the last couple of years and we’re pretty hungry to get back there.
“We feel like we can do some damage there as we know we can compete against the top teams.”
• • •
Believe it or not, the new curling season has already begun in the Keystone province.
The Manitoba Junior Curling Tour got things started over the weekend with the Morris Summer Spiel, and a pair of Westman skips came away with event titles.
Jace Freeman’s Virden squad, which features third Nick Senff, second Ryan Ostrowsky and lead Luke Robins captured the men’s crown with a 7-4 victory over Zach Norris of Morris.
McCreary’s Zoey Terrick, who is joined on her Winnipeg-based squad by third Cassidy Dundas, second Jensen Letham and lead Tessa Terrick, stole two points in an extra end to beat Altona’s Dayna Wahl by a score of 8-6 in the women’s final.
• • •
This marks the final edition of The Hog Line curling column in the Brandon Sun.
I will be finishing up my time as a sports reporter here early next month to pursue a new job opportunity in Thunder Bay, Ont.
I’d like to thank everyone who’s read my work over the past couple of years, with a special thanks going to the curling community here in Manitoba who have been a great help in putting together a lot of the articles that I’ve done.
Hopefully, our paths will cross again soon, especially if Brandon is able to land the 2025 Olympic Curling Trials.
» lpunkari@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @lpunkari