Victoria to host women’s curling provincials
2018 B.C. Scotties Championship to be played at Victoria Curling Club
Curling continues to thrive on an Island otherwise defined by Summer Games-oriented sports.
The best female curlers in the province are headed to the capital Jan. 2-7 for the 2018 Scotties B.C. women’s championship at the Victoria Curling Club.
It is the second consecutive year the B.C. Scotties will be held on the Island. The 2017 B.C. Scotties was won by Marla Mallett of Golden Ears in January at the Glen Harper Curling Centre in Duncan.
The timing of next year’s provincials comes at a moment, just one month before the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, when winter sports will be top of mind.
The B.C. champion will advance to the 2018 Scotties national championship to take place at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton from Jan. 27 to Feb 4.
“With this event in the provincial capital, the Winter Olympics taking place in South Korea, and the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts happening in Penticton, it’s a great time to be a curling fan in B.C.,” said Scott Braley, CEO of Curl B.C.
The B.C. Scotties in Victoria will feature an eight-team roundrobin followed by a four-team page playoff, with the winner advancing to the national Scotties in the Okanagan.
“We’re extremely pleased [by the announcement] because we want to make the Victoria Curling Club the home of curling excellence,” said Mark Stefanson, president of the club.
“We have the Curling Academy of Greater Victoria, which is growing and developing what will be top young talent over the next couple of years. This [hosting the B.C. Scotties] fits part and parcel with what we are doing at the club.”
It also has people eyeing the bigger building, Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, across the parking lot. That venue has already hosted two world men’s curling championships and the 2009 Scotties Canadian women’s championship.
The local organizers clearly see the 2018 B.C. Scotties as a building block.
“We would like to host another big event and bid for the Brier [Canadian men’s championship],” said Stefanson.
“St. John’s hosted the Brier this year with a similar-size building as our Memorial Centre. Mid-size cities are now being looked to for the Brier and are in the running.”
Meanwhile, the two B.C. women’s teams ranked highest in the world will be guaranteed berths into the 2018 provincial Scotties at the Victoria Club. The other six rinks will be decided through provincial playdowns, with the final stages to be held in Hope and at a venue in the Thompson/Okanagan to be decided. There will be no defending champion berth in 2018.