A little over a month prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 in March of 2020, a total of eight Northern Ontario men’s curling teams gathered in New Liskeard, site of the NOCA Provincials as Brad Jacobs was doing his thing yet again.

As some sense of normalcy emerged in the years following what was pretty much a two year stretch of vastly contracted sporting championships, the 2024 Northerns in Little Current featured 14 entries (Trevor Bonot captured the title), with 13 rinks making their way to Port Arthur last year as Team John Epping earned the right to wear the Green & Gold.

Beginning Tuesday in North Bay, no less than 16 teams make up the men’s field with Epping and his lads (Jacob Horgan, Tanner Horgan, Ian McMillan) looking to defend while seven women’s foursomes vie for a berth at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Mississauga.

Sudbury content is prevalent on both sides of the draw and while a Sandy MacEwan skipped rink is no stranger to the festivities, this year’s version has morphed to a five man crew, with second Olivier Bonin-Ducharme inserted into a lineup that includes Dustin Montpellier at vice and a tandem of Luc Ouimet and Lee Toner rotating at lead.

“We’re going to win; that’s been our goal for a while now,” said MacEwan, who will be playing in his first set of provincials following the celebration of his 40th birthday. “We’ve put some work into our game this year, moving to a five-man team which has allowed us to play a little bit more.”

“We’re excited to get out and compete.”

As noted, there is no lack of competition, highlighted by the #8 team in the world (Epping), but bolstered by many a familiar name within the Northern Ontario ranks: Trevor Bonot (Fort William CC); Jeff Brown (North Bay Granite Club); Tyler Stewart (Kakabeka Falls); Mike Assad (Idylwylde G & CC), Dylan Johnston (Fort William CC); Jordan Chandler (Little Current CC); Chris Glibota (YNCU CC – SSM).

Last January, it was Epping, Johnston and MacEwan that would earn the three pool qualifying spots, with Johnston besting MacEwan (9-5 in SF) before losing to Epping (10-2).

“We’ll rely on our experience,” said MacEwan, whose rink curls out of the Northern Credit Union Community Centre (NCUCC - formerly Curl Sudbury / Sudbury Curling Club). “We’ll rely on having played in many of these and having been in a final a bunch of times.”

Much like the casual curling observer in the north, MacEwan is excited to see a 16-team tournament that breaks down perfectly in a triple knockout for a triple knockout format. “It’s going to be competitive across the board,” he said. “You’ve got a little bit of everything at this provincial.”

To wit: the grouping welcomes a Sault College entry skipped by Evan Robert as well as the Riley Winters North Bay quartet that recently captured the Ontario Winter Games qualifier in New Liskeard, booking their tickets to Orillia in February.

That’s a whole lot of youthful enthusiasm for Team MacEwan to contend with, a crew that features at least one player in each of their twenties, thirties, forties and fifties. “Personally, I feel like I still have all of the shots in the bag that I did when I was younger,” said MacEwan.

“The older you get, the more it becomes that mental game. The art of curling comes more into play.”

While a seven-team women’s draw is not nearly as congested as the men, it is nonetheless loaded with teams that can more than hold their own at nationals – beginning with the defending championship team skipped by Krista Scharf (formerly McCarville).

Vice Kendra Lilly is but one of ten females curling in the event who boast strong ties to Sudbury as the nickel city sends three teams representing local venues: Team Lauren Mann – Idylwylde Golf & Country Club (Oye-Sem Won, Jennifer Gates, Amanda Gates); Team Bella Croisier – NCUCC (Piper Croisier, Mya Smith, Valerie Ouimet); Team Krysta Burns – NCUCC (Sara Guy, Laura Masters, Laura Forget) - as well as Sudbury skip Abby Deschene and second Mia Toner competing with a rink donning the colours of the host North Bay Granite Club.