Cash before gold: Canadian Olympic curling champions play for $200K

The who’s who of Canadian curlers have assembled in Fredericton this weekend for the Everest Curling Challenge with the chance of winning the largest cash prize in the sport’s history.

The winners will take home $ 200,000 in a single-game knockout format that awards nothing to the losers.

For many of the 32 curlers at the event, 16 men and 16 women, it’s the first time on the ice this season. It’s back to school for the curlers in what will be an important few months leading up to the Olympic curling trials in Ottawa at the beginning of December.

The field is stacked with past Brier, Scotties, world and Olympic champions, with notable names Brad Gushue, Rachel Homan, Brad Jacobs and Jennifer Jones leading the charge.

Here’s the catch: the eight skips at the event were tasked with drafting their teams on Thursday night. Each skip had to select their third, second and lead, but none of those players selected could be current teammates.

Thirty-two Canadian curlers, including several world and Olympic champions, have gathered in Fredericton for the event. (Devon Heroux/CBC Sports)

It’s a rare summer event that has players showing up at the rink in shorts and flip-flops in the summer heat only to take to the cool ice surface.

“Coming here did feel a bit bizarre because it’s August and it’s warm and beautiful outside,” Jacobs said. “But as soon as we got settled and see familiar faces it brings back all those curling juices that get flowing.”

Jacobs admits he hasn’t thrown a single rock leading up to this event.

“But it’s like riding a bike. I think everything is going to be good and I’m just ready to hit the ice at this point.”

It was this time four years ago Jacobs and his team from northern Ontario began their push to represent Canada at Sochi. The team came away with the gold medal. And while getting back there is on his mind, it’s not the focus this weekend.

“It’s a big deal. It’s the most money a curling team has ever played for. Take it one game at a time and one shot at a time.”

Olympic push on hold for Gushue

Gushue is coming off the most successful curling season in his career. The Gushue rink won the Brier in front of a raucous hometown crowd in St. John’s before rolling into Edmonton and going undefeated to capture the world title.

Now he also wants to get back to the Olympics after winning gold in 2006, but like Jacobs, is looking to have fun at this event and not put too much pressure on the himself or team members this early in the season.

“It’s going to be interesting because you jump back on the ice after all summer without practicing too much and then you have three new teammates.”

Gushue knows how crippling the pressure of the Olympic trials can be on a team, including the training leading up and says he still doesn’t feel fully recovered from the rush of last season.

“We haven’t had enough time away just yet, ” he said. “I think for Mark and I the next couple of weeks, we’re going to ease ourselves back into this.”

The longtime skip says there’s a completely different mindset he has compared to other teams approaching the lead up to the Olympic trials. He says it’s a long haul.

“It’s too early in the year to zero in. I know the trials are only in December but if you start going 110 per cent at this point you’re going to burn yourself out.”

Gushue says this weekend’s event comprised of mixed teams is an interesting concept and will test all curlers strategies and shot-making throughout the games. He also says having an event like this in Fredericton is helping expose curling to more fans.

John Epping, Kaitlyn Lawes, Brent Laing and Rachel Brown pose with a young fan in Fredericton. The city has previously hosted the 1988 Scotties and 1975 Brier, but this is by far the largest cash event the New Brunswick capital has been the site of. (Devin Heroux/CBC Sports)

“I think this is great for the game. Everest has put a lot of money into this to bring the sport to [this] part of the country.”

Let the curling games begin.