The Duncan Curling Club is hosting the provincial under-21 curling playdowns Jan. 25-29 at the Glen Harper Curling Centre on Sherman Road.
“We will see five boys teams and seven girls team curling in the championship week,” said club chair Jen Woike. “These young women and men are athletes, students and community volunteers. At the U21 competitive level, most have been involved with curling from a very young age. In the Cowichan Valley we have so many former and recent national and world champions, at the junior men and women, seniors and master levels.”
The week-long event will be broadcast online and the semi-finals and finals will stream on CBC Sports across Canada and stream through CBCSports.ca around the world.
There has been an 85 per cent increase in viewership since 2020, Woike said, adding that in 2022, Curl BC’s YouTube channel alone was watched by 18,300 viewers throughout the week for regular games.
“These young curlers are the best of the best in B.C.,” Woike said. “Their coaches, their families, friends and fans will be taking up residency in the Cowichan Valley. They will be staying at our hotels, Airbnbs, they will be eating in our restaurants, exploring our shops and businesses. We hope to encourage them to come back to enjoy our stunning scenery, trails and summer events.”
Participants are curling for the opportunity to represent B.C. at the Canadian nationals and at the World Junior levels later on in 2023.
“Come and watch in person at the curling club, you may be watching the next World Junior champions,” Woike said.
