It was from September 14 to 18 that the 2026 edition of the Senior Provincial Championship took place. For this season’s edition, we were able to bring together the women’s and men’s championships simultaneously, as the event was held at the Noranda Curling Club, a 6-sheet facility.
On the women’s side, seven teams participated in the event. After the preliminary round, a tiebreaker game was required to determine the last team to qualify for the playoffs. Thanks to their victory over Team Daoust (Victoria/Trois-Rivières), Team Gagnon (Chicoutimi/Riverbend/Victoria) secured its place in the semifinal.
In the semifinal, Team Gagnon faced Team Osborne (Buckingham/St-Lambert/Thurso/Laval-sur-le-Lac). After a blank end and two single-point steals by Team Gagnon, Team Osborne scored three points in the 4th end to take the lead at the mid-game break. Team Osborne then stole 1 point in both the 5th and 6th ends and added three points in the 7th end to win the game 8–2.
In the final, Team Osborne faced Team Hains (Belvédère/Amos/Noranda/Des Collines). The team with hammer managed to score two points in each of the first three ends. In the 4th, Team Osborne scored three points to take a 5–4 lead at the break. After another two-point end by Team Hains in the 5th, the teams traded single-point ends with hammer in the 6th and 7th ends. With last rock in the 8th end, Team Osborne was able to remove the opponent’s counting stone as well as a second stone to score four points and win the final 10–7.
- GOLD: Chantal Osborne, Nathalie Audet, Sylvie Daniel, Josée Friolet
- SILVER: Caroline Hains, Sonia Simard, Nathalie Leblanc, Janique Allard
- BRONZE: Nathalie Gagnon, Ginette Simard, Karine Tremblay, Sonia Delisle
On the men’s side, sixteen teams were divided into two sections of eight teams. After the preliminary round, two teams from Section B qualified for the playoffs, while two teams from Section A had to play a tiebreaker to determine the second qualifying team from that section.
In the tiebreaker, Team Gagnon (Chicoutimi/Kénogami) defeated Team Lavoie (Buckingham) 8–6 to qualify for the playoffs (Page system). In the A1-B1 game, Team Kennedy (Chicoutimi/Riverbend/St-Bruno/Montréal Ouest) earned a direct spot in the final with a 6–4 win over Team Ménard (Des Collines/Rivière-du-Loup). In the A2-B2 game, Team Ferland (Etchemin/Trois-Rivières) convincingly defeated Team Gagnon 8–1.
In the semifinal, Team Ménard scored one point in the first end before forcing Team Ferland to do the same in the 2nd end. In the 3rd end, Team Ménard scored four points to take a 5–1 lead. Team Ferland fought back, scoring two points with hammer in the 4th and 6th ends and forcing Team Ménard to single points in the 5th and 7th ends, trailing 7–5 in the 8th end with hammer. On the final shot of the game, Team Ferland attempted a raise takeout for two points. While the raised stone removed the opponent’s counting stone, its rotation caused it to slide slightly too far to score two, giving Team Ménard a 7–6 victory.
In the final, Team Kennedy opened the scoring with one point in the 1st end. After a three-point end by Team Ménard, Team Kennedy scored two points with hammer in the 3rd end and stole two more in the 4th to take a 5–3 lead at the break. After being stolen another point in the 5th end, Team Ménard scored two points in the 6th end and forced their opponents to one point in the 7th. In the 8th end, Team Ménard scored two more points to force a 9th end. This extra end went in favor of Team Kennedy, who did not need to throw their last stone to secure the 8–7 victory.
- GOLD: Mike Kennedy, Robert Desjardins, François Gionest, René Dubois, Stewart Yaxley
- SILVER: Jean-Michel Ménard, Peter Burgess, Daniel Caron, Christian Bouchard
- BRONZE: Martin Ferland, François Roberge, Éric Sylvain, Jean Gagnon
We would also like to congratulate the recipients of the 2026 Réjean Paré Award, who stood out for their sportsmanship, respect, and competitiveness. Congratulations to Ms. Luanne Waddell and Mr. Luc Ouellette, who were chosen by their peers!
Finally, a big thank you to the Noranda Curling Club for organizing this championship, and thank you to our officials Ms. Louise Cardinal and Mr. Yves Morissette for officiating the event.
