Play gets underway this morning in the triple-knockout Pepsi Provincial Junior Curling Championships, for curlers age 20 and under, at the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary, with seven junior men’s teams, and six junior women’s rinks taking part.  Three Cornwall teams are entered, all on the junior women’s side.

Defending junior men’s champ Brett Gallant will be looking for his fifth consecutive title, and his sixth overall. Gallant, who also won the Canadian championship and the world silver medal last season,  is back with long-time teammates Adam Casey, Anson Carmody, and Alex MacFadyen. Other contenders include host club favourites Parker Clements, and Matthew MacLean, winner of the 15 and Under championships last year, and a participant in the recent PEI Canada Games Trials. Also in the running are Shawn and Spencer Pitre, from the Alberton area, with Spencer skipping a team out of the Charlottetown Curling Club, and Shawn skipping a team from the Western Community club.  Summerside’s Sam Ramsay, last year’s runner-up, is back with a combined Charlottetown/Silver Fox team. Cody Dixon from Montague rounds out the junior men’s field.

There will be a new junior women’s champion this year, as defending champion Erin Carmody has graduated from the Junior ranks. Last year’s runner-up, Anita Casey, is back, with a new team out of the Charlottetown Curling Club, including former New Brunswicker Abby Burgess at third, Hillary Thompson of Charlottetown at second, and Jessica van Ouwerkerk, who was formerly with the Carmody rink, at lead stone. Cornwall’s Sarah Fullerton rink, three time 17 and Under champs, are entered, along with last year’s PEI women’s representatives at the CIS/CCA university championships, the Sarah Clow rink, also from Cornwall.  The Tricia Sanderson rink rounds out the Cornwall entries. The host Maple Leaf club has two teams entered on the Junior Women’s side, including the Amanda MacLean rink, PEI’s 2011 Canada Games women’s curling representives, along with the Tiffany Sweet team.

Draws go Friday at 10 am and 1, 4:30, and 8 pm, Saturday at 9:30 am and 1, 4:30, and 8 pm, Sunday at 10 am and 1 and 6 pm, Monday at 1 and 6 pm, and Tuesday at 3 pm. If the same team sweeps all three sections of the triple-knockout draw, they would win the championship, and the  two championship round draws in their section would not be needed.

The winning junior men’s and women’s rinks will advance to the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Championships, January 16-24 in Sorel-Tracy Quebec.