Some of the best curlers in the world are coming to Kelowna.
The Kelowna Curling Club will be hosting the second annual Pan Continental Curling Championships from Oct. 29 to Nov. 4.
“We are very happy to take the second edition of the Pan Continental Championships to Kelowna in beautiful British Columbia,” said Eeva Roethlisberger, World Curling Federation Head of Competitions. “The excellent 12-sheet facility of the Kelowna Curling Club has successfully hosted our events in the past and would have been a great venue for our mixed doubles and seniors had they not been cancelled due to the pandemic. We are very much looking forward to being back in Kelowna and experiencing the great hospitality of the local organizers.”
The Pan Continental Curling Championships were created in 2021 and are split into two zones - the America’s and Pacific-Asia. Each zone had an A and a B division and provides a direct qualification route to the World Championships.
These championships give everyone more of an even playing field.
Last year, the first edition of the games took place in Calgary, where Canada won the inaugural men’s title and Japan won the women’s championship.
“The Kelowna Curling Club has had the privilege of hosting many great World and Canadian Championships, and we are over-the-top excited to show our city to the World,” said Kelowna Curling Club General Manager Jock Tyre. “Kelowna most recently hosted the World Mixed Championship in 2018 and were scheduled to host the 2020 World Mixed Doubles and Seniors Championships when COVID-19 hit. So, our amazing team of volunteers are fully prepped and ready to welcome the world to the second ever Pan Continental Championships. It’s always exciting to have the top countries in the world in Kelowna, but the true excitement will be the countries from Asia, Africa and South America that are new to curling, welcoming them to the curling family.”
On top of the 2018 Mixed Championship, in the past, the Kelowna Curling Club has also hosted the women’s world championships in 1986 and the world junior championships in 2002.
For this year’s championships, the teams are:
Men’s A Division
- Australia;
- Canada;
- Guyana;
- Japan;
- Korea;
- New Zealand;
- Chinese Taipei;
- United States.
Women’s A Division
- Australia;
- Canada;
- Japan;
- Kazakhstan;
- Korea;
- New Zealand;
- Chinese Taipei;
- United States.
The B-division championships will also be taking place at the same time.
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