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U-21 DOUBLES QUALIFIER

Cailey Locke and Simon Perry represent Canada at the Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon. South Korea. This week they’re trying to qualify for the chance to compete for a national title. (Photo – World Curling)

73 TEAMS FIGHTING FOR EIGHT SPOTS AT MIXED DOUBLES NATIONALS

Sixteen young curlers will be a step closer to becoming national champions by the end of the weekend.  

For the first time, in March, Curling Canada will hosting a U-21 National Championship in the Mixed Doubles discipline. Not all provinces and territories have a mixed doubles provincial championship for that age group, so an open invitation was sent to all juniors to participate in either of two regional qualifiers this week – one in Brandon, Man. and the other in Moncton, N.B. 

“It’s an interesting field,” said Helen Radford, Manager of NextGen and Pathway Programming for Curling Canada. “There were no residency restrictions, so teams have paired up from all over, different provinces.” 

A total of 73 teams entered – 40 in Brandon and 33 in Moncton – to earn the eight final berths for the nationals, which will be held in Summerside, P.E.I in March. The winner of that event will represent Canada at the World Championship, which is to be held in Edmonton in May 2025. 

“Most of the western teams went to Brandon, and the eastern teams went to Moncton,” said Radford. “The central teams, like Ontario, chose one or the other, and ended up about half and half.” 

Both events are triple knockout format, which will lead to four qualifying teams. The Moncton event begins Tuesday, while the Brandon qualifier will start Wednesday. 

Many – if not most – of the participants in both locations have experience at the New Holland U-20 Canadian Championships or the national U-18 event.  

In Moncton, last year’s U-20 winner Myla Plett (Edmonton) is playing with Evan Hennigar – originally from Nova Scotia, but now living in Edmonton.  Newfoundland’s Cailey Locke and Simon Perry, Canada’s representative in the 2024 Youth Olympics mixed doubles, are also playing in Moncton. 

In Brandon, Plett’s teammates are also participating. Alyssa Nedohin and Jaxon Hiebert (Sherwood Park, Alta.) could be counted among the favourites, along with Allie Iskiw and partner Peter Hlushak. Winnipeg’s Jace Freeman, who took bronze at the 2024 New Holland U-20 Championship is teaming up with Shaela Hayward – fresh off her appearance at the Canadian Mixed Championship last week. 

The Moncton event will wrap up on Saturday, while the finals in Brandon will take place on Sunday. For schedules and scores, visit http://curling.ca/scoreboard.