Curling Canada this morning announced a pair of new events, both which will directly impact the qualifying process for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.The Canadian Curling Trials Direct-Entry Event and Canadian Curling Pre-Trials Direct-Entry Event will occur simultaneously, from September 22 to 26. Both qualifiers will take place at the Curling Centre of Excellence, in Ottawa.

The events, which open an Olympic path to a wider number players than in previous years, come after a difficult year-and-a-half of COVID-19, and a cancelled 2020-21 season.

“These are new events that fit our mandate of trying to be as inclusive as possible for as many teams as possible to be part of the Olympic qualifying process as we come out of the pandemic,” said Curling Canada Chief Executive Office Katherine Henderson. “These unique circumstances—especially still not knowing definitively how the competitive landscape will look in the fall—demanded a unique approach, and we believe it will, in the end, produce teams worthy of wearing the Maple Leaf in Beijing.”

For the direct-entry event, ten teams will be competing for a total of five berths (three for women’s teams, two for men’s teams) in the 2021 Tim Horton’s Curling Trials, to be held November 20-28 in Saskatoon, SK.

Representing BC in the direct-entry event is Team Corryn Brown, of Kamloops, B.C.

The second event, the pre-trials direct-entry contest, will see eight teams competing for four berths (two for men, two for women) in the upcoming Home Hardware Pre-Trials in Liverpool, N.S., on October 26-31.

Team Sarah Wark, of Abbotsford will be representing B.C. in the Ottawa Pre-Trials Direct Entry Event. Team Tyler Tardi, of Penticton, has already qualified for October’s Home Hardware Pre-Trials.

For a full list of competitors, please see https://www.curling.ca/blog/2021/08/10/big-events-in-ottawa/