Northern Ontario curlers slide into action for regional playdowns this week
CBC
Curlers from across northern Ontario will be competing for the chance to represent the region at the national curling championships this week.
The Northern Ontario Curling Association (NOCA) provincial playdowns run from Jan. 21 to 26 at the Port Arthur Curling Centre.
And there's a lot on the line.
The top women's team will represent northern Ontario at the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, which runs from Feb. 14-23 at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay.
The winners of the men's side, meanwhile, will go on to compete in the 2025 Montana's Brier, which is scheduled for Feb. 28 to March 9 in Kelowna, B.C.
"It's a very exciting week, especially given the Scotties is going to be in Thunder Bay, as well," said Laura Forget, NOCA executive director, and member of Team Mann. "We've got a a strong women's field of seven teams. We had eight, unfortunately lost a team due to some injuries."
"The men's field's got 13 men's team playing a triple knockout."
Thunder Bay is well-represented on the women's side, with the Krista McCarville, Robyn Despins, and Ashley Palmer teams all competing this week; all three curl out of the Fort William Curling Club.
The Kakabeka Falls Curling Club, meanwhile, will be represented by the Clair Dubinsky team, which is top seed for the playdowns.
Rounding out the women's category are the Emma Artichuk (Northern Credit Union Curling Club), Laura Johnston (North Bay Granite Club), and Mann (McIntyre Curling Club) teams.
McCarville, seeded number two this week, is the defending NOCA champion; the team finished the 2024 Scotties with a 4-4 record.
The winner of the 2025 Scotties will go on to compete in the Women's World Curling Championships in South Korea.
The men's division also boasts plenty of Thunder Bay curlers: the Dylan Johnston, Chris Silver, Frank Morissette, and Zach Warkentin rinks all curl out of Fort William, as does defending NOCA champion Trevor Bonot.
The Port Arthur Curling Centre will be represented by the Gary Weiss and Brian Adams Jr. teams.
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