Winter sports fans in Lethbridge are enjoying world-class competition as the year’s biggest event in men’s curling comes to their hometown.
The Men’s World Championship will feature teams representing countries from around the world competing for international supremacy. Veteran curler Kevin Koe won the right to wear the maple leaf by winning the Brier in early March, and will lead a team representing the Glencoe Club from nearby Calgary. Koe has previously won the tournament in 2010 and 2016, and will be a top contender on home soil.
The tournament will begin with round-robin play between the 14 qualified teams, including the rival United States and last year’s champion Sweden. One of the chief attractions of curling is the ability to see multiple games taking place at the same time, and that will be the case in this stage, with each one of 20 sessions (or “draws”) featuring four simultaneous match-ups. The top six teams will qualify for the knock out rounds, with the top two receiving a bye to the semifinals.
Curling is popular across Canada, but particularly in the western provinces where it’s a popular way to pass the long winters. Local curling clubs generally operate on a much more personal scale, recording their history through poster printing and banner printing, but are as important for keeping the game alive as big tournaments. For those who cannot get a ticket, the World Championship will be televised on TSN.
The World Championship is at Lethbridge’s ENMAX Centre and began on March 30, continuing to this Sunday, April 7.
