EDMONTON (660 NEWS) — We now know who will be wearing the blue and yellow at the upcoming curling bubble in Calgary.
Because 2021 provincial championships were not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Curling Alberta’s Board of Directors named Team Brendan Bottcher, Team Laura Walker, and Team Brittany Tran/Aaron Sluchinski as the rinks representing Alberta at the Brier, Scotties, and Mixed Doubles Canadian Curling Championships, respectively.
We are thankful for the opportunity to head back to @CurlingCanada Scotties Tournament of Hearts, and honoured to represent @Curling_Alberta! pic.twitter.com/U8wKny9DlS
— Team Walker (@TeamLWalker) January 18, 2021
“This was an extremely difficult decision for Curling Alberta’s Board of Directors,” Steven Young, president of Curling Alberta, said in a release.
“As a province, we were faced with a unique set of circumstances in unprecedented times. No one could predict that we would be forced to make a decision like this, which we tried to avoid by pushing hard to host our championships.
“The Board considered a full range of options in making this decision. Alberta is fortunate to have some of the world’s best curlers reside here. In all categories, we have several teams who are previous champions and are immensely deserving.
“Most importantly, we are fortunate that Curling Canada is proceeding with the hub city, giving our athletes an opportunity to play this season and our fans an opportunity to stay engaged. We will consider all our Alberta-based teams to be Team Alberta, and we look forward to supporting them in their preparations and cheering them on in Calgary.”
RELATED: Curling Canada adds wild-card teams to field for Scotties, Brier in Calgary bubble
Kevin Koe’s Calgary-based rink will head to the Brier as a wild-card team.
Whatever uniform we'll be wearing we're motivated and excited to go compete for another Canadian championship and represent all our sponsors and fans at the Brier as Team Koe. See you in March from the Calgary bubble! pic.twitter.com/hPoqAVM8Oj
— TeamKevinKoe (@TeamKevinKoe) January 18, 2021
The Scotties is slated for Feb. 19–28, the Brier from March 5-14 and the mixed tournament goes late March.
All three events are being held at WinSport’s Markin MacPhail Centre in a bubble setting with no fans.
– with files from The Canadian Press
