St. Catharines, Ont., hosting 2024 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship

The Canadian Mixed Curling Championship is returning to Ontario for the first time in eight years. The 2024 Canadian Mixed will be in St. Catharines, Ont., it was announced today by Curling Canada.

Fourteen provincial and territorial mixed teams will compete at the St. Catharines Golf & Curling Club from Nov. 3-9, 2024, for an opportunity to represent Canada at the 2025 World Mixed Curling Championship (dates and location TBA by the World Curling Federation).

“Bringing the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship back to Ontario has been overdue. There’s an excellent host committee at the St. Catharines Golf & Country Club, and we know all athletes competing for the Canadian championship will experience a wonderful time next year,” said Curling Canada’s interim CEO Danny Lamoureux.

The 2024 national mixed event marks its first time in Ontario since 2016 when Alberta’s Team Mick Lizmore captured gold at the Weston Golf & Country Club in Toronto.

“We are thrilled to welcome the 2024 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship to St. Catharines next November,” said St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe. “The St. Catharines Golf & Country Club will be the ideal setting to host this event and it will be a great way to celebrate the club’s 125th anniversary as part of the sports landscape in our community. We look forward to welcoming the athletes, coaches, volunteers and spectators from across Canada to our beautiful city for an exciting week of competition!”

St. Catharines is no stranger to hosting premiere national curling events. Most recently, the city hosted the 2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, when Ontario’s Rachel Homan won the Canadian women’s title in front of a home-province crowd at the Meridian Centre.

“The St. Catharines Golf & Country Club has a rich history of hosting the best curlers in Canada. Since 1995, we have been home to many significant curling events. Our club will celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2024 and we are very proud to punctuate that special year by hosting another Canadian curling championship.  We look forward to welcoming all competitors, coaches and spectators as we add a significant chapter to the wonderful sport of curling at the St. Catharines Golf & Country Club,” said St. Catharines Golf & Country Club President Brent Pym.

The St. Catharines Golf & Country Club has hosted two Canadian Under-21 championships: in 2007, won by Alberta’s Team Charley Thomas and Newfoundland & Labrador’s Team Stacie Curtis (n. Devereaux), and in 2001, won by Newfoundland & Labrador’s Team Brad Gushue and Prince Edward Island’s Suzanne Gaudet.

“Our club is privileged to have many members who are experienced in staging events. These volunteers are already working hard to ensure we realize our goal of providing the best possible experience to all competitors and attendees at the 2024 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship,” said host committee chair Michelle Scott. “We are proud of our hosting history and confident that collectively, we will stage a very successful event in this, our 125th year.”

The 2024 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship marks the 12th time the mixed has been within the boundaries of Member Association CurlON. In addition to the event at Toronto in 2016, past events include 1964 at Toronto (won by Manitoba’s Team Ernie Boushy), 1965 at Toronto (Alberta’s Team Lee Green), 1969 at Kitchener (Alberta’s Team Don Anderson), 1975 at Kitchener (Alberta’s Team Les Rowland), 1985 at Toronto (British Columbia’s Team Steve Skillings), 1995 at Point Edward (Nova Scotia’s Team Steve Ogden), 1998 at Owen Sound (Nova Scotia’s Team Steve Ogden), 2007 at Kitchener (New Brunswick’s Team Terry Odishaw), 2010 at Burlington (Nova Scotia’s Team Mark Dacey) and 2014 at Ottawa (Alberta’s Team Darren Moulding).

“The 2024 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship in St. Catharines will strike a perfect balance of spirited competition inside the rink and all sorts of beauty to explore outside. We look forward to welcoming all of Canada’s best mixed curling teams to the Niagara region next year,” said CurlON Executive Director Matt Allen.

Teams from Ontario have won four Canadian mixed championships. Team Mike Anderson is the last unit from the home province to win the title at the 2018 event in Swan River, Man. Previous winners from Ontario include Team Dave Van Dine in 1986, Team John Epping in 2006 and Team Cory Heggestad in 2013.

Saskatchewan and Alberta are tied for most mixed titles won, with 11 championships each.

The 2023 event wrapped up in Swift Current, Sask., earlier this month. Saskatchewan’s Team Shaun Meachem, of Swift Current, won the Canadian championship at its home club. The team, which includes Scottish-born Olympian Kelly Schafer, will represent Canada at the 2024 World Mixed Curling Championship at Aberdeen, Scotland, from Oct. 12-19, 2024.