A familiar rink has a new temporary look.
The McIntyre Curling Club is hosting the Under 18 Canadian Curling Championships in Timmins from Feb. 5-11.
It's been an interesting ride getting to this point.
The local club was named the host city for the 2021 championship, but COVID-19 restrictions saw the event cancelled for a couple of years.
With teams now arriving in the city, event chair Steve Meunier is excited to see the arena turning into a curling stadium.
“For us this is the absolutely biggest curling event we’ve ever done and we’re excited about it. To see it actually come to fruition is very gratifying and satisfying for our committee because we’ve been revving our engines on pause for a couple of years now,” he said.
To allow for enough space for play, the arena now boasts five sheets of ice, with the rest of the games being played on the existing surface in the McIntyre Curling Club.
Curling Canada only started the U18 tournament in 2017.
With 42 teams — 21 of each gender — director of curling experience Danny Lamoureux said it's the biggest event for Curling Canada. Other tournaments, he said, have draws with 28 or 14 to 16 teams.
By hosting the event, Meunier hopes to grow the sport with the younger age group and schools are invited to take in the action.
For years, he said junior curling was for the youngest age group up to people who are 21.
"Curling Canada realized that they maybe need to split it to an under 18 to have those kids play more of their own age and have … a better experience curling. It just gives them an opportunity to have a podium finish. These kids that come here will feel like they’re playing in a Brier, a Tournament of Hearts and that hopefully will get them the bug to keep curling at that level,” he said.
The players competing next week are the next generation of Canadian curlers.
Sudbury's Jacob Horgan won the first U18 championship back in 2017 and is competing at the 2023 Tim Hortons Brier in March.
The field on the ice in Timmins also includes names that curling fans will recognize.
Alyssa Nedohin is part of Alberta's Team Plett, who is in town defending their U18 title they won last year. She's the daughter of four-time Brier champion David Nedohin and Tournament of Hearts champion Heather Nedohin.
Olympic and World champion curler Brad Gushue's daughter is on Newfoundland and Labrador's Team Locke.
The daughter of Krista McCarville, who is representing the north at this year's Tournament of Hearts, is on Team Dubinsky representing Northern Ontario. Kerry Galusha's daughter Sydney is one of the youngest competitors in town and is playing on for the Northwest Territories.
Paralympic gold medallist Mark Ideson will also be in town cheering on his daughter, who's playing for one of the Ontario teams in her second consecutive year.
Organizers are looking for a crowded house to cheer on the teams throughout the week.
The action starts on Sunday, Feb. 5 and the gold medal game is on Saturday, Feb. 11. For the opening ceremonies, Timmins' Team Chilton, who won the bronze medal at the Northern Ontario qualifiers, will throw out the ceremonial first rock.
An adult pass for the week is $100 and it's $60 for seniors. Single-day passes are also available. They're available online or at the arena box office.
Some games will also be streamed live on EastLink. Curling Canada + is also carrying some games on its new streaming platform.
The full schedule and details of the Timmins event are available here.
