(HALIFAX, N.S.) – Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce that men’s and women’s curling has been added to the complement of 2014-15 championships that AUS will be awarding.
The first AUS curling banners will be awarded this winter, with the University of Prince Edward Island scheduled to host the 2015 Subway AUS men’s and women’s curling championships at the Montague Curling Club from February 13-15, 2015.
“We are extremely excited to make this announcement,” says Phil Currie, executive director of AUS. “We have been in discussions with Curl Atlantic for some time now and it is great to be able to provide more young men and women the opportunity to represent their institutions and compete for AUS championships.”
AUS regulations allow for any sport that leads to a CIS championship to be included among the list of sports and championships offered by the conference. AUS rules also require a minimum of three member schools to declare in order for any sport to be sanctioned.
For budgeting and scheduling purposes, members are normally required to declare a year in advance for the sports in which they intend to participate in for the following competitive season.
This past summer, the AUS management council approved a process specific to the sport of curling where a secondary declaration deadline of Nov. 1 was implemented in order to allow members additional time to determine if they will be able to participate that year.
“It makes perfect sense that the pathway for our members to qualify for any CIS championship should flow through an AUS championship,” added Currie. “Curling is a sport that is incredibly popular in Canada and one that continues to grow and we look forward to working with Curl Atlantic to deliver an outstanding championship.”
For the 2014-15 season, the University of Prince Edward Island, the University of New Brunswick, St. Francis Xavier University and Memorial University have declared and will now compete for the 2015 AUS curling titles.
“We are thrilled that curling is now recognized as an AUS championship sport in Atlantic Canada and look forward to partnering with Atlantic University Sport,” said Helen Radford, executive director of Curl Atlantic. “The athletes in Atlantic Canada will be honoured to display an AUS banner in their school and will continue to represent our region well at the CIS championship.”
The CIS curling championships are operated in conjunction with the Canadian Curling Association (CCA) and have been taking place since 2007-08. Memorial University is the only AUS school to have captured a CIS curling title, with the women’s squad winning gold in 2010-11.
“Expanding Canadian university curling from coast to coast is a significant step forward for our sport, and we’re delighted to see Atlantic University Sport support curling,” said Greg Stremlaw, chief executive officer of the Canadian Curling Association. “The Canadian university championships have grown significantly in popularity and importance in the past few years, and having curling in the AUS will take it to another competitive level heading into the 2015 CIS/CCA championships at Wilfrid Laurier University.”
The 2015 CIS/CCA curling championships are scheduled to be hosted by Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont., from March 18-21. The AUS will be sending two men’s teams and two women’s teams to the national championship.
With the addition of men’s and women’s curling, the number of AUS championships increases to 18.