Curling teams from across the conference will be ready to rock and roll this weekend as they descend on Edmonton for the 2024 Canada West Curling Championships.
The event will be hosted by the University of Alberta at the Saville Community Sports Centre from Jan. 19 to 21. A complete event schedule and additional information is available here. ?
The host Golden Bears and Pandas will look to defend home ice against competitors from Calgary, Brandon, Regina, Victoria and Lethbridge. Alberta head coach Rob Krepps says his student-athletes are excited for the opportunity to perform in front of their home supporters.
The top two teams from both men’s and women’s competitions will qualify for the 2024 U SPORTS/Curling Canada University Championships, which will be hosted in Fredericton, N.B. from March 12-16.
This year’s women’s draw will be filled with plenty of intrigue, including a highly anticipated showdown between Victoria and Alberta.
Victoria provided one of the best feel good stories of the Canada West calendar last season, as CW all-star skip Kayla Wilson led the Vikes to the conference title on home ice after sweeping away the competition with a 4-0 record.
While the Vikes claimed conference gold, it was the Pandas who went on to achieve national glory. Led by skip Serena Gray-Withers, the Pandas defeated Dalhousie in a dramatic national final to earn their fifth U SPORTS Championship in program history – the most of any program in the country.
With their full team returning, the Pandas will enter with high expectations, especially given the success they’ve experienced beyond the U SPORTS circuit.
“Our Pandas are currently ranked 10th among all women’s teams in Canada, which is an unprecedented accomplishment for a university team,” says Krepps. “They are also the second ranked team heading into next week’s Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts.”
Meanwhile, the Alberta Golden Bears will look to extend their reign atop Canada West as they seek a fifth straight conference championship.
Alberta rolled to a 4-0 record at last year’s championships in Victoria, led by skip Johnson Tao, who returns to lead the team.
“Our Golden Bears have also done quite well this season, pre-qualifying for the Alberta Boston Pizza Cup, which will be held in early February. Two of our team members (skip Johnson Tao and third Jaedon Neuert) also won gold at the recent World Junior B Curling Championships in Finland. We will be heading back to Finland for the World Junior A’s in mid-February.”
The Calgary Dinos, who finished second at last year’s CW championships, are also coming off a U SPORTS nationals appearance and will be keen to dethrone the host Golden Bears.
Fans can ensure they don’t miss a minute of the action by purchasing a streaming pass for the 2024 Canada West Curling Championships on Canada West TV. There’s more information at Brandon University Athletics – Official Athletics Website (gobobcats.ca)
The action kicks off with the first draw at 2 p.m. MT on Friday, Jan. 19.
(Article courtesy of Brandon University Athletics)
