Curling Canada programming targets next batch of elite curlers

In a few short weeks, the eyes of the world will be focused on Paris as the 2024 Summer Olympics get underway. While Canadians will cheer on runners, swimmers, and basketball players, curling fans must wait until the 2026 Winter Games in Milano-Cortina to see the next edition of Canada’s Olympic squad on the ice. 

Helen Radford, however, is looking even further down the road – to 2030 and beyond. As Curling Canada’s Manager of Youth Curling and NextGen programming, her mission is to create a competitive landscape to help teams that may develop into elite performers in future Olympic cycles. 

“Pretty much every U-25 team is already looking at 2030 and beyond,” said Radford. “They’re taking these opportunities to play against their peers to see how they stack up.” 

The influx of U-25-focused events, including Curling Canada’s U-25 NextGen Classic and Saskatoon’s Best of the West, along with Canadian College and U SPORTS curling, has increased the opportunities for young adult curlers to face off against their counterparts. 

“It’s a pivotal time as they see how they compete against their peers, how other teams perform, and ask themselves where they want to be in six or eight years,” said Radford. 

“If we have more U-25 events, we’re going to have stronger younger teams getting the experience and training they need.” 

This year’s U-25 NextGen Classic, slated for Aug. 27-Sept. 2, will once again take place at Edmonton’s Saville Community Sports Centre. Teams will compete in men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles competitions for prize money and entry into the National NextGen Program. 

The event is already fully booked. 

“We’ve got 12 men’s, 12 women’s, and 20 mixed doubles teams. We have teams from B.C. to Newfoundland, all across the country,” said Radford. “We had a huge waitlist, which was fantastic. We filled it with no problem.” 

The event will feature reigning New Holland U-21 Canadian champions – Team Kenan Wipf of Calgary and Team Ally MacNutt of Halifax. The rest of the field was selected based on ranking points and other Curling Canda criteria. 

“It’s tricky at the U-25 level,” said Radford. “Teams are trying to find four people with the same commitment to training – on the ice and off, funding and sponsorship, and a schedule for competition and training. We’re trying to put the focus back on training. We frequently have teams over-compete and under-train.” 

To that end, Curling Canada is once again hosting a technical update with Member Associations and national NextGen teams before the U-25 bonspiel. 

“We want to get all the MAs up to speed technically, focusing on brushing and delivery,” said Radford. “At the same time, we’re going to bring in our National NextGen teams – including our U-21 champions and six more U-27 teams.” 

Some of those teams will stay for the rest of the week and compete in the U-25 NextGen Classic. 

“We don’t want our teams to get burnt out halfway through the season before you even get to the playdown season. One thing [High-Performance Director] David Murdoch stresses is technical practice and focused training – and a little less emphasis on playing more and more events.” 

WORLD JUNIOR UPDATE 

World Curling announced this week that the 2025 World Junior Curling Championships will be in Cortina, Italy, as a test event for the 2026 Olympic Games.

The announcement confirms both Team MacNutt and Team Wipf will compete at the event next season.

As the host nation, Italy is guaranteed a spot – along with the top six finishers from the previous year’s championship. Edmonton’s Team Myla Plett earned a fourth-place finish, which guaranteed Canada a spot in the women’s event. Team Johnson Tao, also from Edmonton, finished with a 4-5 record, good enough for seventh place. 

With Italy confirmed as host, Canada will grab the sixth-place berth and avoid having to qualify through the World B championship. 

“Obviously, we’re happy that we don’t have to go through Junior Bs, but we recognize the importance of the event in getting more teams involved in World qualifying,” said Radford. “It would be great – and World Curling has discussed it as a proposal – to open up more teams to the World Junior Men’s and Women’s.” 

Ten teams compete at the World Championship (A-Group). As many as 25 teams participate in the B-Group championship, with the top three or four advancing to the A-Group championship. 

The Canadian teams had to qualify for the A-Group championship last season through the B-event, with Team Tao winning gold and Team Plett winning silver.