Sault to host Canadian Senior Curling Championship next winter

Sault Ste. Marie and the Community First Curling Centre will host the 2021 Canadian Senior Curling Championship in December.

Curling Canada made the announcement Monday morning that the annual event, which was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be held locally from Dec. 6-11, 2021.

“The Soo Curlers Association is extremely proud to be named as the host organization for the 2021 Everest Canadian Senior Championships,” said Soo Curlers Association president, Tom McLean in a prepared statement. “Our community has a rich history in the sport, and we are thrilled at the opportunity to showcase Northern Ontario hospitality while featuring exciting championship curling at the Community First Curling Centre.

The 2020 event, which was scheduled to begin on March 16, 2020 in Portage la Prairie, Man., was among the first curling events to be cancelled due to the pandemic.

The 2021 tournament will mark the third time that the Northern Ontario Curling Association has hosted the event and the first time it has been held in Northern Ontario since it was held in Sault Ste. Marie in 1998.

“It’s been over 20 years since Northern Ontario has hosted the Everest Canadian Seniors Curling Championships,” said Bobby Ray, executive director of the Northern Ontario Curling Association. “Sault Ste. Marie takes a lot of pride in hosting premiere curling events and we look forward to welcoming Canada’s best senior curlers to the community this December."

“We’re excited to make this announcement after what has been a turbulent year for both our sport and in general,” said Mitch Minken, chair of Curling Canada’s Board of Governors added.