Stoughton stepping back from curling

Legendary skip Jeff Stoughton is hanging up the broom at the end of the season.

Stoughton announced Wednesday via Twitter he’ll be taking a step back from competitive curling.

Well it's time! Stepping back from the game, that darn R word is just to hard to say! Thx to all but mostly thank you to my family! #awesome

— Jeff Stoughton (@jrs_curling1) February 25, 2015

The 51-year-old Stoughton is a two-time world champion, three-time Brier winner and has captured the Manitoba provincial title a record 11 times as a skip.

Stoughton was one of the “Original 18” skips during the formation of the Grand Slam of Curling in 2001 and helped the series grow over the years. The Winnipeg native took home his first Grand Slam title in 2003 at the Players’ Championship, won the Masters in 2004 and the Canadian Open in 2006. Stoughton earned the National title in 2013 to complete a career Grand Slam.

He also made the “spin-o-rama” famous, a move where he slides 360 degrees around while coming out of the hack.

Stoughton fell to Mike McEwen in the semifinal of the Safeway Championship earlier this month. His team is scheduled to compete in the Pomeroy Inn & Suites Prairie Showdown, March 12-15 in Grande Prairie, Alta., and could qualify for the season-ending Players’ Championship, April 7-12 in Toronto.