Curling fans young and old take in the 2024 Brier in Regina

The Brier has always brought fans from across the country together to watch the very best curling has to offer.

With the Brier in Regina this week, thousands of people have gathered in the Queen City. But with Team Saskatchewan on a roll, it’s the hometown fans that are flocking to the arena.

“It’s a big province but the whole stadium is kind of like a big family,” curling superfan Terry Tremblay said, wearing his Saskatchewan Roughrider gear to the game Wednesday.

“It’s just icing on the cake that the Saskatchewan team is doing so great.”

To watch his beloved provincial team in the contest, Tremblay said he bought his tickets a year in advance.

Tremblay and his wife Maureen live in Melfort but took time off and found accommodations in Regina for the entire week of the Brier. Tremblay said he even brought his parents along for the ride.

“If Saskatchewan wins and becomes team Canada… Saskatchewan fans travel well. (The Brier) is in Kelowna next year, so you could see a pretty green stadium in Kelowna next year if Mike McEwen happens to be representing us,” Tremblay said. “That would be amazing.”

On Wednesday, new curling fans were in attendance, as many schools brought some students to the rink to take in the action.

Unfortunately for one young fan, his school wasn’t one of them.

Twelve-year-old Evan Binns was extremely excited to watch the games, and his mom let him skip school to be up close and personal with the curlers.

“I said, ‘Hey Brad, can you sign this for me? And he said, ‘Sure!’” Binns explained after he got to meet the defending Brier champion and Team Canada skip, Brad Gushue.

“He was a little scary.”

His mother, Wendy, said having the tournament in Regina is potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them.

“The Brier is only here every few years,” she said. “It was 2018 when it was here last so I thought if it’s another five, six, seven years, Evan will be grown up by then. Who knows if he’s even going to be in Regina by then? He could be (at) university somewhere, so we thought, ‘Let’s pull him out of school for the morning and catch up on what work he misses,’”

For fans still hoping to take in the action, tickets are available for most of the draws leading up to the final on Sunday night.

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