CURLSASK President Jim Wilson helped deliver good news to curling fans in Prince Albert. (Rob Mahon/paNOW staff)

By Rob Mahon

Curling Mixed Championships

Provincial Mixed Curling Championship coming to Prince Albert in October

Aug 21, 2021 | 11:00 AM

Curling championships are on the way back to Saskatchewan, and one of the biggest of them for the year ahead will be stopping off in Prince Albert.

At the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Centre Friday, CURLSASK announced the 2021 Provincial Mixed Championship would take place in the city October 13 -17 this fall. The event will be sponsored by Mont St.Joseph Foundation.

After a year in which curling, like most other sports, saw their events shut down left and right due to the pandemic, it was no small relief for CURLSASK to be able to announce another major event, this one just a couple of months away.

“As of Monday, we have our high-performance program starting in Saskatoon,” said CURLSASK President Jim Wilson. “The ice is in, and curling will be on full-tilt.”

During a press conference, Wilson detailed some of the history CURLSASK has with Prince Albert in hosting events. Given that history, he had reason to believe the city would step up once again.

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“That’s why we reached out to Prince Albert to host this provincial mixed,” he said. “Because their track record is amazing.”

As title sponsors, Mont St.Joseph Foundation is thrilled to be able to put their name behind events again.

“It’s a really great opportunity,” said CEO Wayne Nogier. “Mont St. Joseph Foundation has a longstanding history with the golf and curling club. We have an annual event that they’ve supported us through for almost the last 30 years. We have a significant linkage with the curling club and the community as a whole, so given the opportunity to get our name out there, and be part of this event, it was really important to us.”

Mixed curling has risen from a relatively unknown event in the curling world to one of its premier attractions in just a few years. Because of that rise, the expectation is there will be strong competition at the event in October.

“I think it’s more oriented to family now,” said Wilson. “There’s more opportunity… The world championships are going to be in Aberdeen, Scotland. What a way to try and get there, by curling with either your spouse or your girlfriend.”

Mixed curling was held at the Olympics for the first time in 2018, with Canada defeating Switzerland for the gold medal.

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Rob.Mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP