Canadian Pride Curling Championships in East Toronto opened by Olympic medal winner Emma Miskew
By JESSICA SHACKLETON
The Canadian Pride Curling Championships are in full swing at the Royal Canadian Curling Club on Broadview Avenue.
Jeff Junke is the vice-skip for Team Toronto 1, which also includes Bill Francis, Stephen Courteau, and Ian Kasper. Junke joined the Riverdale Curling League in 2018 and has been with his current team since 2020. They won the championship in 2023 and 2024.
In their fifth-straight CPCC appearance, they’re excited to be playing on home ice.
“We’re really happy to have the championships in Toronto and to host the nation and just to see a lot of friends from across the country, too. It’s a lot of good things this weekend,” he said.
“This tournament is really special. It combines the best of competitive curling with welcoming our LGBTQ+ community to the city.”
As more teams have joined, the tournament has grown.
Junke said it’s great to watch leagues start across Canada in big cities and small towns.
“To see PrideCurl continue to grow and to be welcoming new cities. This year, we’re welcoming Charlottetown into the championships; last year, we welcomed Regina. Just to see that year-to-year growth is something great because at the end of the day, curling is a great sport because it’s intense and competitive, but it’s really a community sport. To welcome so many curlers from across the country feels really good,” he said.
The event was opened by Ottawa’s Emma Miskew, who recently returned from the Winter Olympics in Italy with a bronze medal as a member of the Canadian women’s team.
She threw the ceremonial first rock on the afternooon of Thursday, March 5, along with the two of the founders of the event. Miskew also stayed afterwards to meet and chat with teams in the curling club’s lounge.
“I’ve been part of Pride events for many years in some way, and I’m always happy to be a part of it. It feels really cool and special to be able to come here with my bronze medal and feel all the love and support from everyone, and I just wanted to be able to give it back for an event that’s so important in the community,” said Miskew.
The most special part about curling is the social aspect, which is there from grassroots to the most elite level. The CPCC and Do It on the Ice see old and new friends who are bonding over a shared love of the sport.
“We’re not the Brier, even though we’re watching it, but even when you go to a Brier or a Scotties, there is a social aspect after where you hope to connect with the players,” said Junke. “Maybe you’re competitors on the ice, but afterwards you’re sitting down and having a drink and getting to know each other.”
