Trips to the 2017 Winter Universiade in Almaty, Kazakhstan, will be on the line when Canadaâs best university curling teams gather in Âé¶čAV for the 2016 CIS/Curling Canada Canadian University Curling Championships.
The championships, beginning Sunday, will be staged March 20 to 23 at the it was announced jointly today by Curling Canada and Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
The winning teams will represent Canada at the 2017 Winter Universiade, scheduled for Jan. 28 to Feb. 8 in Almaty.
âWeâre thrilled to see the CIS/Curling Canada championships return to British Columbia for the second time in four years,â said Graham Brown, who was named earlier this month the new chief executive officer of CIS.
âThe City of Âé¶čAV has a long tradition of curling excellence and there is no doubt the organizing committee will offer our CIS student-athletes an unforgettable experience, especially with this yearâs championship teams earning the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2017 Winter Universiade.â
The teams play a round robin ending Tuesday evening, with the top four finishers qualifying for the semifinals pitting 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 on Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m. The winners then advance to their respective finals in the afternoon at 2:30 p.m. local (PT), while the losers meet in bronze-medal games at the same time.
It will be the ninth edition of the CIS/Curling Canada university nationals, and it will be the first time the event has been staged in Âé¶čAV. Itâs the second time the championships have been decided in B.C. after Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops hosted in 2013.
âWeâre thrilled that the next generation of Canadian curling stars will be coming to Âé¶čAV for the CIS/Curling Canada nationals,â said Peter Ellison, president of the Âé¶čAV Curling Club.
âWe have a world-class facility that will allow these athletes to put on a great show, and the enthusiastic curling community of Âé¶čAV will be in for a treat.â
At the 2015 CIS/Curling Canada championships in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., the University of Alberta became just the second school to sweep both the menâs and womenâs gold medals.
The Golden Bears menâs team, skipped by Thomas Scoffin, along with the Pandas womenâs team, with two-time world junior champ Kelsey Rocque calling the shots, went home with gold medals.
Wilfrid Laurier University has won four womenâs gold medals at the CIS/Curling Canada nationals, with the University of Alberta, Carleton University, University of Manitoba and the University of Regina all having won once apiece.
On the menâs side, the University of Alberta leads the way with two gold medals, while the University of Manitoba, University of Waterloo, Memorial University, Queenâs University, Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Regina all have a single victory.
âUniversity curling has continued to grow in Canada and weâre excited to see this event move to the Okanagan Valley,â said Pat Ray, Acting Chief Executive Officer for Curling Canada. âConsidering whatâs at stake in Âé¶čAV, weâre expecting a wonderful display of curling from Canadaâs best university players.â