Maple Ridge curling club steps up to host Olympic trials qualifier this week

The phone call came when Shannon Joanisse was in the office last Tuesday 

Joanisse, a curler who’s participated in five Scotties Tournament of Hearts, serves as manager of the Golden Ears Winter Club, a 400-member program that plays at a facility attached to Planet Ice in Maple Ridge.

As a former high-level curler, she’s followed the sport at the Olympic, national and provincial levels. She also knew a curling club in Abbotsford was hosting one of three Olympic trial qualification tournaments across Canada later this month. 

Over one year ago, the Fraser Valley club won a bid to host the event through a competitive application process. It’s a tournament expected to feature 25 mixed doubles teams and athletes like Olympian Jennifer Jones, Brent Laing and Tayler Reese-Hansen, among other curling stars. 

But last week, the manager of the Abbotsford Curling Club called with a request: could she host the tournament in Maple Ridge with one week’s notice? 

“I said, ‘Give me an hour,’” Joanisse told Kent Bird, manager of the Abbotsford club. “I need to call my board of directors, but I think we can help you out.” 

The request came after Abbotsford’s curling facility suffered a major equipment failure with its chiller, resulting in a temporary loss of all ice sheets in the building. 

Following an emergency board meeting, the Golden Ears Winter Club agreed to host the tournament. It marks the first time the club has hosted a major tournament since 2015. 

The main trepidation for the club was a fear of displacing its members who compete in weekly curling matches on the same six sheets of ice. 

“Everybody looks forward to coming out and playing their game,” said Joanisse, who added that all the missing dates were rescheduled and many members are excited for professionals to use the same stones as them.

“Our members are really excited. These are people we’ve been watching on television over the years, competing at a very, very high level. Jennifer Jones is an Olympian. Everyone knows who Jennifer Jones is.”  

There were also concerns around finding extra cash for janitorial costs, letting extra foot traffic in the facility and recruiting enough volunteers to cover other hosting duties. 

But, coupled with the member’s support, the pros outweighed the cons  — primarily as it would bring the sport extra exposure in Maple Ridge. 

“We’re putting Maple Ridge on the map,” Joanisse said. “Curlers from across Canada are going to be coming into our facility.” 

The winning team will automatically clinch a spot in the Canadian mixed doubles curling trials slated for December in Nova Scotia. However, even if a team doesn’t win the Maple Ridge event, they can use the tournament to move up in national rankings and qualify for the trials on points. 

The 2026 Olympics are scheduled for February 2026 in Italy. 

Aside from serving as a revenue source, Joanisse said she hopes it renews a sense of volunteerism within the club.

Maple Ridge has a strong willingness to volunteer — The Ridge recently wrote about a local Repair Café that gained international fame over the summer— and tapping into that mindset will only build community. 

“I put a call out for help on Wednesday at 9 p.m., and by Thursday morning, I was 76 per cent full in my volunteer roles,” Joanisse said. 

Members from the Abbotsford Curling Club are also going to help with volunteer duties with folks from Golden Ears. 

Joanisse expects the Maple Ridge facility to surprise Curling Canada, the governing body for the sport in the country, and set the stage for other large events to be held in Maple Ridge down the road.

The Golden Ears Winter Club is also hosting a provincial tournament for men and women over the age of 60 in February. (That event was booked before the club was asked to host the Olympic qualifier.) 

Its facility is larger than your average curling club, Joannisse said. The extra space has allowed Golden Ears to place seating directly next to the ice throughout the tournament, which was something Abbotsford only planned to do on Sunday for the playoffs.  

“I think Curling Canada is going to come in here and go, ‘Wow, why haven’t we ever hosted here before?” Joanisse said. 

Tickets cost $10 per day. Kids under the age of 12 can get in for free. 

The tournament runs from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3.