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The final details are falling into place for the SaskTel Â鶹ÊÓƵern Men's Tankard playdowns to be held at the Weyburn Curling Club from Thursday, Jan. 20 to Sunday, Jan. 23.
Sixteen men's teams from the southern half of the province will converge on Weyburn for the right to advance on to the provincial Tankard men's championships, which will be held the following weekend in North Battleford. Five teams will advance from the Weyburn playdowns to represent the south.
The first draw will take place at 1 p.m. on Jan. 20, and the opening ceremonies will take place that evening.
Starting at 6 p.m., local bagpiper Rod Stafford will pipe the 16 teams onto the ice in a brief ceremony, with local junior curlers on hand to carry the names of each rink.
Mayor Debra Button and MLA Dustin Duncan will both bring greetings on behalf of the City and the province, along with local organizers.
The ceremonies will be followed by the second draw at 7 p.m.
There are three draws on Friday, at 9 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m., while Saturday will be the busiest day of competition, with four draws slated, at 8:30 a.m., 12:30, 4:40 and 8:30 p.m.. Following the two last draws there will be presentations made to the A and B event winners respectively.
The final day of competition will see two draws, at 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., and the presentation to the C event winners will be made after the final draw.
There will be a luncheon provided by the Family Place for curlers and their spouses on Friday from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Anyone from the public who wishes to join can purchase a ticket for $12 each.
Tickets for the draws are available at the door, with an event pass costing $25, a day pass $10, and the last draw $5.
The host committee for the Â鶹ÊÓƵern Men's playdowns includes chair Harry Plemel; secretary Sandy Bell; Charles Ries, in charge of officials; Bob Milligan, ceremonies; Glenn Tollefson, advertising; Bob Smith, finance; Dave Rommann, facilities; Glenn Albertson, ice; and Delois Sunde, decorating.
