Two young Newfoundland athletes selected as Team Canada’s Gangwon 2024 mixed doubles curling team

Curling Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced Canada’s mixed doubles team selected to compete at the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games.

The Team Canada mixed doubles curling team for the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games is:

Athletes
Cailey Locke (Conception Bay South, N.L.)
Simon Perry (Portugal Cove, N.L.)

The two athletes qualified for Team Canada based on their team performance during a best-of-seven qualifying series that took place from August 30 to September 2 at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton. 

Sixteen-year-old Locke and seventeen-year-old Perry defeated Lauren Evason (St. Adolphe, Man.) and Jaxon Hiebert (Sherwood Park, Alta.) 4-3 in the series, winning the final three games in a row to come back from a 3-1 deficit.

“I’m honoured and humbled to have the opportunity to wear the maple leaf at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games in South Korea. Although I come from a small province, the support and encouragement that I feel from my curling community is enormous,” said Locke. “Having role models like Team Gushue and Nathan Young has shown that you can achieve your goals with hard work and dedication. We are honoured to be selected as Team Canada but we realize this is only the beginning. The next few months will be busy as we continue to strengthen our skills and prepare to represent Canada with pride.”

Gangwon 2024 will mark the first time the mixed doubles curling discipline will have a dedicated competition at the Winter Youth Olympic Games. At past Youth Olympic Games, the mixed doubles competition was a mixed-NOC event.

The nomination of Locke and Perry marks the second consecutive Winter Youth Olympic Games where the curling team will be represented by athletes from Newfoundland and Labrador. At Lausanne 2020, Nathan Young of Torbay, N.L., skipped the Canadian mixed team and won gold in mixed doubles curling during the mixed-NOC event.

“I can’t begin to describe how excited I am to wear the maple leaf. I’m absolutely bursting with pride,” added Perry. “Ever since seeing Nathan Young, a fellow Newfoundlander, go to the Youth Olympics, it was my dream. Realizing it feels so surreal. It’s a wonderful feeling having all your hard work pay off. I’m overjoyed with the opportunity to compete in South Korea. I know with the tremendous support behind us, Cailey and I have all the potential to bring home a medal for Canada.” 

“Mixed doubles curling continues to gain popularity around the world and we’re excited to see it’s been added to the Winter Youth Olympic Games program,” said mixed doubles team coach Jeff Hoffart. “Cailey and Simon were tasked with competing at a very high calibre early in the curling season and succeeded. It’s setting them up for success this season as we count down the days to Gangwon 2024 where they’ll make history as the first Canadian mixed doubles team competing at the event.”

Mixed doubles curling will take place January 26 to February 1 (Day 8 to 14) at the Gangneung Curling Centre.

“Congratulations and welcome to Team Canada, Cailey and Simon,” said Lisa Weagle, Team Canada’s Gangwon 2024 Chef de Mission. “These athletes, who have earned the right to be Canada’s mixed doubles curling team, showed so much mental toughness in winning their qualifying series. Cailey and Simon’s support for each other and strength of character was inspirational, and they embody the Olympic values of excellence, respect, and friendship. I look forward to cheering them on in Gangwon!”

Team Canada’s curling team staff for the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games are:

Coaches
Helen Radford (Halifax, N.S.) – National Team Coach/Mixed Team Coach
Jeff Hoffart (Edmonton, Alta.) – Mixed Doubles Team Coach

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) are the world’s largest multi-sport event for high-performance young athletes aged 15 – 18. Gangwon 2024 will begin on January 19 and will end on February 1, 2024 and will feature 1900 athletes. Gangwon 2024 will be the fourth edition of the Winter YOG and the first in Asia. It will have a fully gender-balanced sporting program, and will feature seven sports, 15 disciplines, and a total of 81 events. 

Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organisations.