Best U18 curlers in Canada are in Timmins this week
The U18 Canadian Championship curling event has been a long time coming to Timmins.
Postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event is now officially underway and runs until Saturday (Feb. 11) at the McIntyre Community Centre.
Organizers said it is a dream come true.
"It’s just amazing, I can’t describe it any other way," said Steve Meunier, the president of the McIntyre Curling Club.
"We have nine sheets going at one time, so it’s both sides. It’s impressive because everything’s under one roof."
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Every province and the Northwest Territories are represented. There are a total of 42 teams competing. More than 170 athletes along with 42 coaches and many family members have descended on northern Ontario.
Organizers told CTV News this is the biggest curling event Timmins, Ont. has hosted. It's bringing more than $4 million to the local economy and is showcasing the future stars of Canadian curling.
“These are the best U18 curling athletes the country has to offer bar none," said Andrew Denny, a writer and editor for Curling Canada.
"They’ve earned their right to represent their province or their territory and they're here and it’s the best youth curling that you’re going to find.”
Whichever team wins this championship will be crowned the best of its age group in the country.
"In the near future you will see these young men and women playing in the Tournament of Hearts; the Brier,” said Meunier.
“This experience gives them what it would feel like if they were playing in those particular tournaments cause the ice is set up exactly in the same fashion."
A competitor from Edmonton, Alta said she's been playing since she was seven or eight years old.
"I hope to go to the Olympics you know become a professional, go all the way," said Allie Eiskiw.
Tourism Timmins is taking advantage of the opportunity to connect with people from all over the country and has a booth set up for the week.
Lacey Rigg with the City of Timmins is operating a tourism both at the McIntyre Community Centre during the U18 curling championships. (Lydia Chubak/CTV News Northern Ontario)"If I have an opportunity to talk to people who are interested in whether it’s snowshoeing or dogsledding, skiing, tubing, you know, I’ll do that so I’m going to continue pushing Timmins, to our great outdoors, and more and I hope people will come back in the summer," said Lacey Rigg, coordinator of meetings, conventions and sports tourism with the City of Timmins.
Organizers said they hope after showcasing their ability to host a sporting event of this size that they can bring in more and larger scale competitions in the future.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Ontario reveals highest public sector salaries in sunshine list
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.