The City of Greater Sudbury hosting two major curling events in 2026 gives the municipality a chance to show off for future national sporting events, said Mayor Paul Lefebvre at a Dec. 9 press conference.
The mayor took part in a cheque presentation event Tuesday at the Sudbury Curling Club, a.k.a. the Northern Credit Union Community Centre (NCUCC) on Wessex Street in Minnow Lake.
The rink is the home base of Curl Sudbury, the organization that is preparing to host the 2026 Canadian U21 Mixed Doubles Championship and the 2026 New Holland Canadian U20 Curling Championships
The national mixed curling doubles event is scheduled to run from March 24-27, 2026, with the winner representing Canada at the 2026 World Junior Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, said a news release.
Following that, the 2026 New Holland Canadian U20 Curling Championships is to take place in Sudbury from March 28 to April 4, 2026
As part of the presentation Tuesday, Lefebvre thanked the organizers of Curl Sudbury for winning the bid to bring the two events to the city. The city presented Curl Sudbury with a donation of $133,000 to help cover the cost of staging the events.
"Greater Sudbury is firmly on the curling map," said Lefebvre. “This is our moment, and events like the ones we're announcing today help build on that momentum. Sports tourism continues to be a major economic driver for our community.”
He said it was essential that the city build up the experience of hosting major sporting events to let other sports organizations learn Sudbury will soon have the capacity of hosting even larger events.
"We're hosting these important events also as we develop the Event Center,” the mayor said. “Well, it goes together because we are in discussions with people from Curling Canada saying, well, Sudbury is a great destination for this. We don't have the major facility to host the major events yet, like international events, but with the event center that puts us on the map."
Kelly Irvine, who is chairing the 2026 curling events for Curl Sudbury, was pleased to accept the city’s donation, saying the curling events will help Sudbury build on the success of hosting larger events.
“We're also hosting these championships with an eye toward the future,” Irvine said. “As Sudbury moves towards building a new arena, we want to ensure that we have an incredible group of trained volunteers and strong community support so that we are ready to host another Scotties, another Briar or another World Championship. It's been far too long since we've seen that level of competition at home, and we want to bring it back,” said Irvine.
Anna Frattini, vice chair of the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation (GSDC), said the curling events will have a significant economic payoff for Sudbury.
"This is a big win for our community and for sports tourism in Sudbury and the region," she said.
"These events bring people together, strengthen community pride and put Sudbury on the map as a destination for world class sporting events.
“Sports tourism is also a powerful economic driver when we welcome athletes, families and fans from across the country. They stay in our hotels, dine in our restaurants, and shop in our stores. Those dollars circulate locally, supporting jobs and businesses and grow our economy by reinvesting money in our community. Every successful event strengthens our hosting resume.”
Len Gillis is a reporter at Sudbury.com.