CURLING ALBERTA CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

Introduction

Every year, the curling club community in Canada gets to participate in the Curling Club Championships. This is as close to the Brier or Scotties as non-elite curlers get. The goal is to get "real" club teams in the men's and women's divisions involved in a Canada-wide championship. Experienced curlers may remember this competition when it was variously called the "Dominion" and then the "Travelers" (named after the title sponsor insurance companies at that time; the national sponsor is now Original 16).

Through a series of qualifiers (club-regional-provincial), provinces end up sending representatives to a national championship. But the glory doesn't stop there: the national men's and women's champions get to play with the pros, as they qualify for a spot in the PointsBet Invitational, a nationally-televised tournament featuring the best teams in Canada. In September 2024 when the men's team representative was from the Crestwood Curling Club (Alberta), their opening game in the single-knockout PointsBet was against Brad Gushue; the women (New Brunswick) played against Chelsea Carey! 

Key Dates

Are you interested in going down this path? Here's the schedule. Note that due to our membership size, the GCC can send up to two (2) teams in each of the men's and women's divisions to the Regional Qualifier.

• GCC Qualifier: Jan 4-5, 2025 (Garrison Curling Club)
• Regional Qualifier: Mar 6-9, 2025 (Men: Acadia Curling Club, Calgary; Women: SLS Centre, Cochrane)
• Provincial Championship: Apr 2-6, 2025 (Okotoks)
• National Championship: November 2025 (TBD)

If you participate in this process, you should ensure that you're available to carry on to the nxt step, if you're successful.

Note that our own GCC Club Championships take place on March 15-16, 2025; so the historical conflict with the Regional Qualifier has been eliminated.

Qualification Requirements 

There are some very specific qualification requirements, the key elements of which are as follows:

• A team must register a minimum of 4 and a maximum of five curlers. If you name a 5th, then you're committed to that person and can't use a spare. If you don't name a 5th and need a curler, then you can bring in a spare (provided they qualify).
• All team members must play in a GCC league (they can't be "Associate Members"). New for this year: there's no obligation that the curlers play on the SAME team; so "all-star teams" comprised of GCC members playing in different leagues is permitted.
• A curler can participate for only one club; so you can't hedge your bets by entering the qualifiers at other clubs.
• Although this championship is intended for "true" club curlers, there are some exemptions that allow one (1) player who has pro experience during the last three curling seasons to be on the team.

It is up to individual teams to ensure their curlers meet the qualification requirements when they register.

See these important documents for details:

• Curling Canada: Curling Club Eligibility for 2025 National Championship (the "Eligibility Requirements")
• Curling Alberta: What Clubs and Curlers Need to Know
• Curling Alberta: Original 16 Mens & Womens Curling Championship FAQs  

Next Steps for GCC Teams

Because the protocols for this year's Curling Club Championships came out on November 20, 2024 after our annual Information Circular was published in the spring, we've needed to modify our internal process a bit. Here are the next steps if you want to register a team:

• There is no fee to participate in the GCC Qualifier.
• A maximum of eight (8) men's and eight (8) women's teams will participate in the GCC Qualifier. 
• By submitting an expression of interest to participate in the GCC Qualifier (the "Expression of Interest"), teams are certifying that that their roster complies with the Eligibility Requirements.
• Teams may submit an Expression of Interest from December 1, 2024 up to and including December 10, 2024 at 500p by sending an email to info@garrisoncurling.com. The Expression of Interest must include the names of the curlers competing in the GCC Qualifier.
• If more than eight (8) teams submit Expressions of Interest for either the men's or women's divisions, a random draw will be conducted by the GCC office to select the teams. Teams will be notified on December 11, 2024.