Fort McMurray, Alta. – Competing at the 2024 New Holland Canadian U-21 Curling Championships, Team Wipf and Team Beaudry – both of whom compete for the University of Calgary during the U SPORTS season – each brought home medals, headlined by a national championship by Team Wipf.
Led by skip
Kenan Wipf, Team Alberta's top squad was crowned Canadian champions on Sunday at the Suncor Community Leisure Centre in Fort McMurray.
Wipf and his Calgary-based team of vice-skip
Ky Macaulay, second
Michael Keenan, lead
Max Cinnamon and Coach
Derek Bowyer, who hail from the Glencoe Club, defeated Team Nova Scotia #1's Calan MacIsaac (8-3; Truro) 7-6 in the gold medal final.
"It's an amazing feeling," said Wipf after earning the Canadian title. "Nothing compares to it. You live your whole trying to win this event and you can't do any better than that. It's a dream come true in every way."
Team Alberta #1 posted a near-perfect 9-1 record on route to the gold medal victory, where Wipf says being the host province representative at the New Holland U-21 championship had some advantages.
"It's definitely nice from a time-zone perspective," Wipf said. "But the crowd has been fantastic this week and having our parents and our coaches here. The support staff is amazing."
The final was a thriller, seeing the score tied at 6-6 entering the tenth end of play. Team Alberta #1, with hammer, would have an opportunity to draw the four-foot to win the Canadian title with the final stone of the game where Wipf made no mistake on his offering, stopping in the back of the four-foot.
It's exactly the situation the skip said he's dreamed of facing with a chance to win.
"I've always loved drawing," said Wipf. "So, if there's a shot I could choose to win it, that's the way I would do it."
The win for Alberta marks the second New Holland Canadian U-21 men's title in as many years for the province after Johnson Tao carried the title in 2023 at Rouyn-Noranda, Qué., and Alberta's 18th men's national U-21 title since the event's inception in 1950, leading the next closest total title holder Saskatchewan (14) by four.
On the women's side, Team Beaudry – made up of
Grace Beaudry,
Carley Hardie,
Keelie Duncan,
Claire Booth and
Kate Ector – brought home the bronze medal on the weekend.
Coached by
Tyson Toews, Team Beaudy opened the tournament with a pair of wins before suffering their first loss in a tight 10-7 contest to Alberta's top squad. They followed that up with a thrilling 8-7 win over Ontario's #1 squad before also taking down the top teams from the Northwest Territories and New Brunswick.
In the bronze-medal game, Beaudy's group earned a decisive 7-3 win over Team Blades from Nova Scotia, finishing the tournament with a 8-3 overall record.
-UC-
