CURL: CW teams hit the ice for Championship weekend

By Brian Swane, special to CW

REGINA - The roaring game comes roaring back to life this weekend in Regina where the Caledonian Curling Club is hosting the 2022 Canada West Curling Championships, Feb. 4 – 6.

After the championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic last season, rinks from across the conference have come together to curl for the Canada West crown for the first time since 2020.

The men’s and women’s tournaments both include teams representing the University of Alberta, Brandon University, and the University of Regina. The men’s draw also features an entries from the University of Lethbridge and the University of British Columbia.

Competition over the three days will consist of a round-robin format which sees the five men’s rinks take on the other four once each, while the three women’s teams will have two meetings against each of their two opponents.

This is the third staging of the Canada West Championships since curling was added as a conference sport for the 2018-19 season. Prior to curling’s return three years ago, the sport had gone nearly four decades without being formally contested in Canada West, dating back to 1980-81 (men) and 1983-84 (women).

With Alberta’s rinks having swept to victory in both the men’s and women’s championships in 2019 and again in 2020, the Golden Bears and Pandas are shooting for a two-team three-peat that’s two years in the making. And as much as that’s a mouthful, it’s still much easier said than done against a field of talented student-athlete leads, thirds, seconds, and skips from each of the four provinces that comprise Canada West.

Brandon and Regina, 2020’s runners-up in the men’s and women’s tournaments, respectively, will be looking to improve after finishing in second place two years ago.

Home ice advantage goes to the host Cougars, who know every inch of the sheets inside the “Callie”, as it’s affectionally known in Regina. One of the oldest curling clubs in Canada, the Caledonian has been home to some of curling’s greatest rinks, including the 1998 Olympic women’s gold medalists skipped by Sandra Schmirler.

Lethbridge’s men’s curling team draws on a decorated history in varsity curling, having won the men’s tournament in 1981, the last time that championship would be contested in Canada West for 38 years. Meanwhile, UBC is making its modern-era debut at the Canada West Curling Championships, returning to an event where the T-Birds once excelled, with four women’s and one men’s title over a span of 10 seasons from 1973-74 to 1982-83.

Normally, the top-performing rinks would advance to the U SPORTS/Curling Canada Championships where Canada West’s best would join qualifying rinks from the OUA and AUS conferences in pursuit of a national title. However, this year’s U SPORTS Championships have been cancelled, adding even more significance to the 2021 Canada West Championships as it represents the culmination of the university curling season.

Draws are at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. CST on Friday (Feb. 4); 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. CST on Saturday (Feb. 5) and 9 a.m. CST on Sunday (Feb. 6). Spectators are required to be fully vaccinated and will need to provide proof before admission.

Find daily recaps and tournament updates here.