U-18s in Ottawa!

Canadian Under-18 Championships kick off Sunday in Ottawa

Canada’s next generation of curling stars will be on display beginning Sunday in Ottawa when the 2024 Canadian Under-18 Curling Championships kick off at the RA Centre and the Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club.

A total of 42 teams — 21 female and 21 male entries — will be competing for the national championships, which will be decided on Saturday, Feb. 10 in the medal-round games that will take place at the RA Centre.

The 21 teams were distributed to all 14 Member Associations, with additional spots awarded based on a two-year ranking of results from the Canadian Under-18 Championships. If any province or territory declined an entry, additional teams were accepted from the next highest ranked Member Association.

As a result, many provinces will be represented by two teams.

Teams are separated into three pools of seven teams and will play a round-robin schedule within each pool. 12 teams — the top four in each pool — advance to the playoffs for an opportunity to win a gold medal on Feb. 10.

Live-streaming coverage of selected games at the 2024 Canadian Under-18 Curling Championships will be available on Curling Canada +, Curling Canada’s streaming platform. You can access the broadcast schedule by CLICKING HERE.

The Canadian Under-18 Curling Championships made their debut in 2017 in Moncton, N.B., and given of today’s top men’s and women’s players their first exposure to national championship competition.

It’s also been an event where the kids of some of Canada’s most accomplished curlers show that curling talent runs in the family.

Last year at Timmins, Ont., Team Myla Plett of Alberta — featuring Alyssa Nedohin (daughter of former Scotties and Brier champions Heather and David Nedohin) and Allie Iskew (daughter of former Scotties champ Beth Iskiw) — won the female championship as part of an historic season that saw them also win the New Holland Canadian Under-21 Championship.

This year, notable names include two Gushues (Brad’s daughters Hayley and Marissa, playing vice-skip and lead respectively for Cailey Locke’s Newfoundland/Labrador #1 team from St. John’s) along with an Ideson (three-time Paralympic medallist Mark’s daughter Brooklyn, playing vice-skip for the host Ontario #1 team from Ottawa skipped by Dominique Vivier) and a McCarville (Krista’s daughter Bella playing second for Northern Ontario #1 skipped by Claire Dubinsky, from Kakabeka Falls).

The RA Centre’s Curling Centre of Excellence has hosted major Canadian curling events over the past two years, including the Trials & Pre-Trials Direct-Entry events in September 2021 and, most recently, the FISU World University Games Qualifier in September 2022.

The Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club has hosted numerous Canadian curling championships. Most recently, it was home to the 2021 Everest Canadian Curling Club Championships. The venue has also hosted the 2010 Canadian seniors and the 2014 and 2015 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championships.

Teams from Alberta (Team Plett and Team Zachary Davies respectively) swept the gold medals last year in Timmins.

Schedules, team lineups and other information are available on the official event website: www.curling.ca/2024u18. Live scoring is available by CLICKING HERE.

Ticket information is available by CLICKING HERE.