VAL-D’OR (June 25th, 2013) – It is now official. The Belvédère Sports Centre in Val- d’Or will be the host of the 2014 Women’s « Scotties » Provincial Curling Championships and the 2014 Men’s « Tankard » Provincial Championships from January 12th to the 19th, 2014. Ten (10) men’s teams and eight (8) women’s team will be taking part in what are considered as the most prestigious events on Curling Quebec’s competitive circuit.
The winning teams will have the honor of representing Quebec at the « 2014 Tim Horton’s Brier » in Kamloops, BC and at the « 2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts ». The Scotties will be held in Montreal, Quebec from February 1st to 9th at the Maurice-Richard Arena.
“We have been waiting for an opportunity to host a Provincial Men’s or Women’s Championship for quite some time. Rest assured, the city of Val d’Or is ready and the organisation of the Championships will be top notch”, says Martin Adam, Curling Quebec’s Vice-President and potential President of the Championships’ Host Committee.
The Belvédère Sports Centre has been in operation for a little over six years and has already hosted two major competitions, namely the 2011 Senior Men’s Championships and the 2012 « Brosse Performance » Junior Championships.
“We want to make a happening out of the Tankard and Scotties Championships. We believe the North-West region will need to host Regional Playdowns due to the interest our curlers will have towards the event”.
To conclude, Martin Adam states that “Val d’Or will also be the host of Quebec’s Western Zone Eliminations that will be held from January 3rd to 5th, 2014. When we add up all those upcoming events, everything will be held within the span of a month. Those Championships, and the events leading up to them, will definitively be a major attraction in our city”.
As for which teams will be participating in these events, it is too early to start speculating. However, we can certainly hope to see Jean-Michel Ménard (last year’s champion), Philippe Lemay (last year’s finalist) and possibly the teams of Steeve Gagnon, Martin Ferland and Guy Hemmings.
On the Women’s side, we can expect to see last year’s champion Allison Ross, as well as Marie-France Larouche, Eve Bélisle and Julie Hamel.
The city of Val d’Or and its residents are in for a thrilling ride during the 2014 Provincial Championships.
Source : Pierre Fellice
