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WORLD JUNIORS START SATURDAY 

Fort McMurray Ab,March 31, 2024.Suncor Community Leisure Centre.New Holland Canadian U-21(L-R) Gold Medal winners, team Nova Scotia (L-R) lead Grace McCusker, 2nd.Alison Umlah,3rd.Maria Fitzgerald, skip Ally MacNutt, Team Alberta (L-R) skip Kenan Wipf,3rd.Ky Macaulay,2nd.Michael Keenan, lead Max Cinnamon.Curling Canada/ Michael Burns Photo

CANADA’S U-20 CHAMPIONS HEAD TO ITALY FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 

Just under a year from now, the Olympic Games will take place in Italy. But the athletes representing their respective countries won’t be the first curlers to step on the ice in Cortina d’Ampezzo when they compete next winter. 

That honour will go to the competitors in this week’s World Junior Curling Championship, which will be a test event for next year’s Olympics. 

Twenty teams (ten men’s, ten women’s) will compete in the Olympic venue, playing a nine-game round robin, with the top four teams advancing to the playoff round.  

Representing Canada will be an Alberta team skipped by Kenan Wipf and a Nova Scotia squad skipped by Allyson MacNutt. Both teams won their right to wear the Maple Leaf at last year’s New Holland U-20 Canadian Championship in Fort McMurray, Alta. 

Wipf – along with teammates Ky Macauley, Michael Keenan, and Max Cinnamon – play out of the Glencoe Club in Calgary. They are supported by alternate Adam Naugler, and coaches Laine Peters and Derek Bowyer.  

MacNutt, playing out of the Halifax Curling Club, has Maria Fitzgerald, Allison Umlah, and Grace McCusker throwing in front of her, while Cailey Locke will fill the role of alternate. Teresa Breen is the coach, while Helen Radford will join the contingent as Team Leader. 

“We are really excited,” said MacNutt. “It’s been a long year of waiting, and we have put in a lot of hard work both on and off the ice. We are thrilled to represent Canada at the World Juniors and can’t wait to get started.” 

The current Canadian system sends the U-20 champions to the following year’s World Championship in an effort to allow teams more time to prepare. In the past, the quick turnaround from the Canadian nationals to the World Championship (often involving a trip around the world) seemed rushed, and didn’t leave players much time to recover or properly get ready for the second event. 

Team MacNutt, however, had to wait one extra day for their trip to the World Championship as a flight delay left them stranded at Newark Airport overnight. The team made the best of it, however, and enjoyed a day exploring New York City. They travelled to Venice on Wednesday. 

The teams will have a competition meeting on Friday, followed by pre-event practice. Games will begin on Saturday, with the women facing Switzerland at 9:30 am local (3:30 am ET) and the men taking on Denmark at 2:00 pm local (8:00 am ET). 

For scores and schedules, visit the World Curling site here: https://livescores.worldcurling.org/wjcc/default  

Streaming is available through a paid subscription on CurlingChannel.tv.