Sudbury to host three curling events in March

Sudbury -

Greater Sudbury will play host to three major curling events in March 2022.

Curling Canada announced Wednesday the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex will host the 2022 U SPORTS/Curling Canada Curling Championships, Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA)/Curling Canada Championships from March 15-19.

And the 2022 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship will be held here from March 22-27.

"The Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship is an up-and-coming event that's gaining more notoriety each season," Curling Canada CEO Katherine Henderson said in a news release.

"Sudbury has an incredible resumé when it comes to hosting premiere national curling events, and we're confident in the host committee's ability to provide a memorable experience for all competitors during these three championships."

Sudbury was scheduled to host the 2020 Canadian Under-18 Curling Championships, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19.

"I am tremendously excited to welcome these events to our community," Greater Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger is quoted as saying. "National curling events of this calibre are a huge boost to our local economy and are a sure sign that our lives are beginning to return to normal.

"On behalf of curling fans across northeastern Ontario, thank you to Curling Canada for awarding these events to Greater Sudbury and to the passionate volunteers of the Coniston, Copper Cliff and Curl Sudbury Curling Clubs for hosting these teams."

The U SPORTS and CCAA championships are being staged together in partnership with Curling Canada for the fourth time. The winners of this year's event in Sudbury will represent Canada in men's and women's curling at the 2023 FISU Winter World University Games in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Laurentian University serves as the host school for this event. Its women's team is coming off two gold-medal victories (2017 and 2019) and members of both winning teams represented Northern Ontario at the 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Calgary this past season.

"We are excited to bring our Curling Championships back to northern Ontario," Lisette Johnson-Stapley, chief sport officer at U SPORTS, said in the release.

"Laurentian and the Greater Sudbury community continues to leave its mark on the national stage, and we are confident the Voyageurs program will serve as a formidable host, as we prepare with our partners at Curling Canada for a safe return to university sport across the country."

"Together, Coniston Curling Club, Copper Cliff Curling and Curl Sudbury are honoured to join forces to welcome the best curlers in Canada as well as our next generation curling stars to Sudbury," said the host committee, led by Bryna Patman (Coniston Curling Club), Sandra Lahti (Copper Cliff Curling Club) and Kelly Irvine (Curl Sudbury).

"We believe the ground-breaking partnership between our three curling clubs will grow curling in Sudbury and will help lay the foundation for our community becoming a sport tourism destination as we come out of the pandemic."