The Estevan Curling Club has put itself on the map the past two seasons, with plenty of help from the community. In 2017-18 they hosted the Sasktel Tankard as the best curlers from Saskatchewan competed for a spot in the Brier. In 2018-19, they played host to the Canada Cup of Curling, which saw some of the finest curlers in the world flock to Estevan.

After earning a reputation as great hosts, the list of tournaments Estevan can bid on has expanded. And according to Pauline Ziehl-Grimsrud, manager of the ECC, they're planning to bring yet another marquee curling event to Estevan in the future. 

"From there (the previous tournaments) we have a lot of learnings," she said. "We have a better understanding of the needs of the organizations we partnered with, and we're prepared to sit down this fall and look at some of the bid packages that are available to see what is realistic and what would be beneficial to our community as a whole to host in the future."

With the Canada Cup in particular, the ECC and the city of Estevan in general left a positive impression on Curl Canada. The job the city did hosting might open other doors for the future as well.

"We had a lot of great feedback from Curl Canada," said Ziehl-Grimsrud. "They were happy with our group, our location turned out to be much better than they had anticipated, not having an airport obviously in the community. They were thrilled with Affinity Place, the venue is second to none, one of the best they've ever been in."

According to Ziehl-Grimsrud, the Brier is off the table for Estevan for now, as Affinity Place is too small to accommodate it. But just about every other major tournament is a possibility.

Other tournaments, like the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, are often booked years in advance, so it may take some time to net another big curling bonspiel. But Estevan now has a major foot in the door with Curl Canada events. 

The ECC will take this season off from the larger events as they need a bit of a rest after two consecutive years of planning major tournaments. But that's not to say they will be idle.

"We needed a scheduled rest," said Ziehl-Grimsrud, "and that's what this curling season will be for us. We aren't leaving the building this year, but we are very very busy at the curling club. We've taken on three events for Curl Sask, including the Masters Men's and Women's provincials this March. So we have a very busy calendar, but within the curling club this year."

Ziehl-Grimsrud added they hope to have some successful bids to announce before the end of 2019.