Kelowna will be well represented next week at the Canadian senior curling championships in Digby, Nova Scotia.
Bob Ursel’s Kelowna Curling Club rink will carry Team B.C.’s colours in the men’s draw at nationals, while the Diane Foster team will compete for B.C. on the women’s side.
Ursel, who won the provincial seniors title last month in Richmond, is joined by Dave Stephenson, Don Freschi and Fred Thomson.
Foster is based in White Rock, but the team calls Kelowna home. A former world senior champion playing out of Alberta, Foster is joined by Kelowna’s Leeanne Ursel, Cindy Curtain from Penticton and Vernon’s Sherry Heath.
Fourteen men’s and 14 women’s teams from across the country—each split into two pools of seven—will open play at nationals on Monday.
A former world junior champion and three-time B.C. men’s champ, Bob Ursel has been to his share of national championships during his career, but this is his first trip to the Canadian seniors.
“I think it’s going to be a great experience,” said Ursel. “It’s going to be a bit more relaxed than other events like it, pretty competitive on the ice, but once the games are over I think you’ll see people getting along and just having fun.”
As one of the youngest foursomes at nationals, Ursel expects his team to be competitive against the country’s best. Among the familiar names competing and teams Ursel has played in the past include Alberta’s Ed Lukowich, Brad Heidt from Saskatchewan and Mark Noseworthy from Newfoundland.
The women’s field includes the likes of Nova Scotia’s Colleen Jones, Saskatchewan’s Sherry Anderson, Cathy King from Alberta, and New Brunswick’s Heidi Hanlon.
The finals of the Canadian seniors championships will be played on Saturday, April 2.
