The Estevan Curling Club is getting ready to host one of the biggest events in the province.

The SaskTel Southern Men's Playdowns will happen at the club from January 17 to 20, 2013. Some of the top men's curling teams in the province will be in Estevan for playdowns. They'll be trying to qualify for the provincial championship a couple weeks later.

Manager Pauline Ziehl-Grimsrud said they have found most of their sponsors for the event. Now they're trying to sell event passes. Tickets would make a great Christmas present for a curling fan, she said.

“We just got going on it in the last week,” said Ziehl-Grimsrud. “We're doing pretty good. We're hoping that people will look at them as an option for Christmas gifts. Any of the adult curling club members have tickets for sale.”

People who enjoy watching curling on TV or in person, or who need an outing in the middle of January, should consider purchasing tickets to watch playdowns.

“We've been supported very well by not only our local curlers, but by the public, coming in and watching our events,” said Ziehl-Grimsrud. “We anticipate that we will continue to get that support from the community as a whole. We're going to prepare for the crowds we had a few years ago.”

When men's southerns were previously held in Estevan in 2009, there were a couple of local teams entered: Estevan's Brent Gedak and Lampman's Adam Himmelspach. Ziehl-Grimsrud said they won't know who will be competing at southerns in January until days before the event begins, but they are hopeful there will be local entries, as they attract spectators.

Gedak won the A final at the previous edition of southern playdowns.

A few teams will be able to bypass playdowns and advance directly to provincials, so there's a chance a couple top teams won't be coming to Estevan. But Ziehl-Grimsrud expects it will still be a strong field that will create some excellent competition.