Macnutt rink wins women’s title
Macisaac foursome captures men’s silver
Ally Macnutt's Nova Scotia No. 1 rink ran the table at the New Holland Canadian Under-21 curling championships in Fort Mcmurray, Alta.
The Halifax Curling Club foursome of Macnutt, third Maria Fitzgerald, second Alison Umlah and lead Grace Mccusker defeated Ontario No. 1 Julia Markle 9-5 to capture the gold medal on Sunday night.
The Nova Scotia rink finished the competition with 10 straight wins.
“Really incredible,” said Macnutt in a Curling Canada news release. “I’m so in shock right now. I don’t even know what to think.”
The unblemished record by the Macnutt team marked the third-straight year that the U-21 women’s title was won by an undefeated team. Nova Scotia’s Taylour Stevens accomplished the feat in 2022 and Alberta’s Myla Plett did the same in 2023.
“I knew if we played our best, we could do really well this week,” said Macnutt. “I’m just so proud of my team. We were really focused on the process of getting here and took it game by game, shot by shot. We really supported each other through the whole week.”
Nova Scotia No. 1 took an 8-5 lead into the tenth and Ontario’s Markle's difficult angle-raise takeout onto a stone in the four-foot to tie the game was unsuccessful.
“It’s always nice to win the game on a made shot and not on a loss,” Macnutt said. “But it’s an incredible feeling right now.”
The Macnutt rink will represent Canada at the 2025 Under-21 world championship.
The Canadian title was the second in three years for Nova Scotia, following Stevens’ win in 2022. Macnutt credits the strength of the province’s curling scene with adding to her success on the national level.
“We have such great competition in Nova Scotia and such great support,” said Macnutt, whose team is coached by Theresa Breen. “There’s such an amazing community and great coaches all around.”
Nova Scotia has won seven women's titles since the event’s inception in 1971, trailing only Manitoba (10), Saskatchewan (11) and Alberta (11).
In the women's bronze medal game, Alberta No. 2 Grace Beaudry downed Nova Scotia No. 2 Cassidy Blades.
The Truro Curling Club rink of Blades, third Stephanie Atherton, second Kate Weissent and lead Anna Macnutt lost their semifinal matchup 7-4 to Ontario's Markle.
MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Alberta No.1 Kenan Wipf edged Nova Scotia No. 1 Calan Macisaac 7-6 to capture the men's championship on Sunday afternoon.
Macisaac scored a pair in the ninth end to tie the game at 6-6, but Wipf, with the hammer, drew the four-foot to win the Canadian title.
The Truro Curling Club team of Macisaac, third Nathan Gray, second Owain Fisher and lead Christopher Mccurdy, rolled off eight straight wins to advance to the final.