The road to the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George BC begins Thursday for PEI junior curlers, when the Curl PEI Selection Trials, which will continue until February 2, begin at the Charlottetown Curling Complex. The Trials will qualify two men’s and two women’s teams as the Canada Games Training Teams. These teams will then square off in best of three series in November to select the men’s and women’s Canada Games Curling teams, to compete in the national event, from February 13—March 1, 2015 in Prince George.. The national men’s curling event will take place during Week 1 (Feb. 13-21) and the women’s will follow in Week 2 (Feb. 21-Mar. 1). Canada Games curlers have to be a maximum of 17 years of age on December 31, 2014 (born on or since January 1, 1997).

Tyler Smith at the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax (Photo courtesy T. Smith)

Six men’s and four women’s teams have signed up for the Selection Trials. Due to the age restrictions, and the fact that the Winter Games are only held every four years, it is unusual to have a defending provincial representative at this event. However, Tyler Smith, who skipped Team PEI Men at the Games in 2011 at the age of 12, is back, looking to represent PEI again, this time with a team from the Montague Curling Club. Smith was recently featured in an interview with the Canadian Curling Association (click to read), and his team were runners-up in this season’s provincial junior men’s championship. Other men’s teams entered are the Donald DeWolfe, Cameron Jenkins, and Devin Schut foursomes from the Cornwall Curling Club, the Alex MacFadyen team from the Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club in Summerside, and the Leslie Noye rink from the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton.

The four womens teams are the Meghan Ching rink from Cornwall, the Karlie Lewis team from Western, the Kaleigh MacKay squad from the Montague and Crapaud Community clubs, and the Lauren Moerike foursome from the host Charlottetown Curling Complex.

At the Selection Trials, the four women’s rinks will play a double round robin format, while the six men’s teams will compete in a single round robin. The top two men’s and women’s teams out of the round robins and any tiebreakers will then advance to the November event to choose PEI’s representatives at the Games.

Five sheets of ice at the Charlottetown complex means that all ten teams will be on the ice for each draw, with round robin action beginning Thursday at 7 pm, continuing Friday and Saturday at 2 and 7 pm, with the final women’s double round robin draw and men’s tiebreaker, if needed, Sunday morning at 9. If a women’s tiebreaker round is required, it will go Sunday at 2 pm, and a second men’s tiebreaker round, if  necessary would go at 7 pm.

The draw, and end by end results from the Selection Trials are available at the event website, PEICurling.com/canadagames.

Team Rosters