Tillsonburg, Ont. curler achieves dreams, makes history at the Brier

CTV’s Karis Mapp finds out how curiosity led a small-town man to The Brier, a major curling competition.

A small-town curler is achieving big dreams and making history in the process.

Jayden King and his team won the 2026 Ontario Tankard in January, qualifying for the Montana’s Brier currently happening in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

While preparing for the bonspiel, King spoke with TSN.

“If you ask any junior curler what they want to do in Canada, they always say ‘I want to play at the Brier.’ It’s great that we’ve accomplished that at such a young age,” said King.

The 23-year-old is now competing against some of the sport’s greatest athletes including Brad Gushue and recent Olympic gold medalist Brad Jacobs.

King came from humble beginnings in Courtland, Ont., just east of Tillsonburg. That’s where his neighbours first introduced him to curling.

“I’d go to the local club in Tillsonburg and they opened the doors and let me try, and it’s stuck ever since,” King told TSN.

Diane Kleer is president of the Tillsonburg Curling Club and said she’s extremely proud of his showing at the Brier.

“I think from day one, Jayden has always had an incredible attitude,” she told CTV News on Monday.

“Not just to curling, everything. He’s one of those individuals that can do a million things at once and do them all very well,” she said.

Kleer said King is the first athlete of theirs to compete at the Brier and it’s amazing to see him represent their small-town club on the big stage.

As of Monday afternoon, Team King was 2-2 getting victories over Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Although the team had dropped two games, King is still turning heads by making history as the first Black skip to compete at the Brier, according to Curling Canada.

“My dad being from Trinidad and Tobago, there’s not a lot of curling going on down there. So, it’s super exciting for me to be able to not just represent my community and Tillsonburg, but also represent that part of my life,” King told TSN.

While achieving accomplishments many curlers only ever dream of, he’s proving that he doesn’t forget where he came from.

“Last Saturday, we had a big kick-off for the team before they went to the Brier. The team volunteered to come in in the morning, this was not scheduled, and run a clinic just to try curling” Kleer said. “We opened it up to the community. He came out and him and his team gave the individuals who had never been on the ice an opportunity to throw a rock.”

King hopes to continue inspiring people to get involved in the sport, regardless of their background or circumstance.

“Representation is key,” he told TSN.

“It’s really about just inspiring everybody out there and all the junior curlers and everybody watching curling that you can find a home in curling, no matter where you’re from or what your background is, and there’s an avenue to be successful.”