The Northland Power Curling Centre will be host to some of the best curlers in the province later this month.
North Battleford is hosting Saskatchewan's Junior Provincial Men's and Women's Curling Championship Dec. 27 to Dec. 31.
Twelve junior men's and 12 junior women's teams will be in competition over the four days. They have been chosen at various events around the province over the last five weeks.
The Battlefords will be represented in the men's draw by a team skipped by Cole Tenetuik. Other members of the team are lead Aaron Verbeem, second Garret Springer, third Travis Tokarz and coach Jared Schlechte. It is the second year in a row Team Tenetuik have qualified for the provincial championships.
"What we are going to see here in the Battlefords is the best of Saskatchewan's young adult curling," said Northland Power Curling Centre manager Len Taylor.
The ages of the curlers range from 17 to 19, many of whom have been curling for a long time and have developed "tremendous" skills.
Taylor anticipates 300 to 400 people a day in the facility, based on the number of curlers, their friends and family and how the Battlefords supports the event.
"This is a significant event not only in curling circles, but in sporting circles across Saskatchewan."
The Northland Power Curling Centre opened last year and is currently in its second season of curling. It is a six-sheet curling rink and every one will be occupied right until the finals on Dec. 31.
The curling rink had a failure at its plant Nov. 24, causing the centre to be without ice for 10 days. After the breakdown, the centre installed some of the best curling ice for the upcoming event.
"We put the ice in recognizing we want first class, provincial-calibre ice for this curing event," said Taylor. "These young folks are going to be challenged by ice that has a lot of speed in it and a lot of curl to it. People who watch a lot of curling on TV are going to see very similar curling here at this facility."
The opening ceremonies, where all the teams will be introduced, will take place Dec. 27 at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased at the Northland Power Curling Centre prior to the event or at the door.
The winners of each tournament will qualify for the National Junior Championship in Liverpool, NS in January.
