The B.C. Mixed Doubles Curling Championship is happening at McArthur Island in Kamloops until Sunday (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

MIXED DOUBLES CURLING

Mixed doubles trying to create buzz before Scotties, prepare volunteers and officials

Feb 8, 2023 | 3:16 PM

KAMLOOPS — It’s been a year since Curling Canada announced the Scotties Tournament of Hearts would be coming to Kamloops this February. The event starts next Friday.

In the lead-up, there has been a lot of promotion around the event, and with the women’s national championship a week away, Curl BC wanted to bring an event to the city.

“For us, it’s really important to come to Kamloops every year, especially leading into the Scotties happening next week,” said competitions manager with Curl BC Will Sutton. “It’s great to have a major event here under the Curl BC umbrella and great to be partnering with the City of Kamloops and the Kamloops Curling Club and the McArthur Island Curling Club to put this specific event on this week.”

The mixed doubles event this week has also been an opportunity for volunteers to have a trial run before the big event that runs from Feb. 17-26 at Sandman Centre.

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“We had 20 volunteers here learning to time and we’ll have people practicing their stats for the national championships. Events like this are really a stepping stone, not only for the competitors but also for the volunteers. They get a chance to practice their skills at the B.C. championships, then be a volunteer at a national event too, which is pretty cool,” noted Sutton.

Nick Atamanchuk is one of those officials who will make the jump next week to the Scotties. He’s been an official with Curl BC for the last six years, using this week’s mixed doubles as a timing supervisor to gain more experience.

“Oh it’s huge. It gives you all the confidence in the world for something bigger that may come up like the Scotties next week,” noted Atamanchuk.

Officiating at the Scotties in Kamloops will be his first time being part of a national curling championship.

“I think it’ll be just great. I can’t wait,” Atamanchuk said. “It’s going to be a huge thing for the community, for Kamloops, and for curling.”

As for the Scotties competition itself, the field is set with 18 teams coming to Kamloops next week, including the heavy hitters in the game — Kerri Einarson representing Team Canada, Jennifer Jones from Manitoba and Ontario’s Rachel Homan.

The one team missing from the field is Kamloops’ own Corryn Brown, who lost a heartbreaker last month in the B.C. final 10-9 to the Clancy Grandy rink.

Jim Cotter, who’s back in town this week for the mixed doubles event, coached Team Brown.

“It’s pretty awesome the Scotties is coming here next week. I’m still leaking a bit of oil a little bit from the provincials. Obviously I was coaching Team Brown there. The girls played unreal and really did everything they could, and unfortunately with curling sometimes things don’t go your way when you do the right things,” he said. “It’s sort of bittersweet. Obviously I would’ve loved to have been here as a coach and support the girls. But from a curling perspective, having the Scotties in Kamloops, the Tournament Capital of Canada, it’s pretty cool.”

It’s a tournament all young curlers aspire to play in, including Jim Cotter’s daughter Jaelyn.

“I’m going to try [and come to watch]. Definitely going to try. I want to so bad. It’s my dream to go in the Scotties, so being able to watch in person, especially in a city I kind of grew up in, is super cool to me,” noted Jaelyn Cotter. “I definitely will be catching a game or two.”