Homan vs. Jacobs: Turning a high-performance showdown into a win for local clubs
By: Melissa Martin
Last winter, as they gathered at a friend’s house, Doug Flowers and Dave Middleton started talking about how to help curling clubs near their hometown of Port Elgin, Ont. For years, Middleton and Flowers, the retired former president of Goldline Curling, had jaunted around the region with a travelling men’s league; they’d seen how facilities struggled to make ends meet.
“No matter what club we went to, there was always a need of some type,” Flowers said, chatting over the phone earlier this summer. “They’d be selling hot dogs or having 50-50 draws to try and raise money for a new dehumidifier, or a new roof, or to upgrade their kitchen. There seem to be infrastructural needs everywhere.”
As they mulled over this problem, Flowers and Middleton had an idea. The two were no strangers to organizing big events — they’d helped spearhead back-to-back Ontario Tankards in Port Elgin in 2022 and 2023 — and lately, they’d been hungry to take on a new challenge. What if they could convince two of Canada’s top curling teams — one men’s squad, one women’s — to come duke it out in a one-off fundraising extravaganza?
That’s how The Battle was born. Set to kick off on Sept. 25, 2026, the event will bring Team Rachel Homan and Team Brad Jacobs to The Plex arena in Port Elgin for three days of curling, community-building, and off-ice fun, all to raise cash for as many as 16 regional clubs.
It’s a unique event, headlined by three different meetings between Team Homan and Team Jacobs. On Sept. 25, the rock stars will pair up for two mixed doubles games. On Sept. 26, they’ll face off in a skins match. And on Sept. 27, they’ll cap the weekend with a full-tilt eight-end game, which will be streamed online for fans everywhere to watch.
Besides those marquee tilts, the weekend will include an adult curling camp led by veteran coach Maurice Wilson, where up to 80 participants will hone their skills with guidance by members of Team Homan and Team Jacobs. There will also be apres curl social events and a jersey auction.
It was an ambitious idea, Flowers and Middleton knew. To pull The Battle off, they’d need a big buy-in from sponsors and about 100 volunteers. But after their recent successes hosting provincial Tankards and Scotties, the pair knew they could count on the local support: “When we had the Tankards here, a lot of people said they were the ‘best ever,’” Flowers said. “Within our area, we are renowned for having people who are prepared to get involved.”
Still, they geared up for a big challenge. The first hurdle was getting the teams to sign on. Turned out, they cleared that one easily: both Homan and Jacobs were quick to come aboard. (The teams will be compensated, including with a donation to a charity of their choice.) For Team Homan, not only is it a great way to help give back to a local community, but it’s also a chance to connect with fans in a way their high-performance events don’t always allow.
“Ninety per cent of the time we’re on the ice, it’s televised, and our main focus is trying to find a way to make the next shot and do all of our jobs out there,” said Team Homan second Emma Miskew. “A lot of the time we feel, especially as women, that we’re misunderstood… so being able to go into a more relaxed setting, have some fun, and also be part of communities and showcase our personalities and who we really are is something we always want to make time for.”
The next step was teaming up with the local community. That part too went smoothly: with organizers expecting The Battle to bring around 1,000 visitors and $900,000 of economic stimulus to the area, the town of Saugeen Shores was happy to support the initiative, offering a discounted rate on the arena, and some local businesses eagerly signed on as sponsors.
“When we first conceived this, we thought, ‘wow, is this going to fall off the rails at some point?’” Flowers recalled. “But every time we’ve come to an intersection, everything seems to fall into place. We’re well on our way at this point in time.”
That progress is music to Bobby Ray’s ears. As Curling Canada’s director of club development and member services, Ray — himself the former manager of North Bay’s Granite Curling Club — is often on the lookout for innovative ways clubs can raise money.
The need is urgent. All over the country, aging facilities are faced with daunting costs, especially to replace equipment or complete major repairs. At the same time, in many communities, old revenue sources are drying up: “We’re in a competition for people’s attention, which is quite sparse nowadays,” Ray said.
In other words, attracting new donors increasingly means thinking outside the box. Some clubs have started offering naming rights to their facilities. Others have taken familiar fundraisers, such as 50-50 raffles, online. This summer, Ray was delighted to see some clubs organize off-season events for members, including golf outings, barbecues, and a beach day — events which build on a club’s strength as a social hub.
Some of the facilities benefiting from The Battle include the Allenford, Kincardine, Meaford, Port Elgin, Southamptom and Tara Curling Clubs.
“We say that community is our superpower in curling,” Ray said. “We have a diverse audience because it’s a sport you can start playing when you’re eight years old, if not younger, and we have members that are just starting when they come into retirement. You can come in and out of the sport at any point in time throughout your life. So it creates a really special community where it’s intergenerational, and there’s this breadth of an audience it attracts.”
Yet even in this community-oriented milieu, The Battle stands out as a unique vision. It will be a thrill to see two of the world’s best teams go head-to-head in Port Elgin. If the event raises the expected $100,000 or more for local clubs, that will be a boon. But its most lasting impact could be in how it gives curling fans from all over Ontario — and beyond— a chance to share a whole weekend of love of the sport.
“I think it’s such an interesting idea, because it ticks more than one box,” Ray said. “It raises money for a really great cause. But it’s also supporting some of our best curlers that have their own dreams and aspirations. When it’s all over, they’ll have made more money for curling, but… they will also have brought communities together to bond around the sport.”
That community-building part is key for The Battle’s organizers as well: Flowers believes the buzz around the event could attract new members for the participating clubs. And if The Battle turns out to be a smash hit, Flowers hopes it will inspire clubs across Canada to dream up their own big events.
“I would love to see this become a model that could be used across the country,” Flowers said. “It is a lot of work, and it is heavily dependent upon a very supportive sponsor base… but I’m hoping that we’ll have that kind of a positive impact everywhere in the curling world.”
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