The Men’s and Women’s BC Curling Tours get started this weekend – with increased safety measures because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Successful tours were held in 2018-19 and 2019-20 and the tours have been reprised this year – however there are fewer events and the teams will play a modified game.
Will Sutton, Curl BC Competitions Manager, said: “We are extremely grateful to all the bonspiel organizers who have put in so much effort to ensure these events could run. We wish the teams the best of luck this season.”
The annual tour has been designed to help competitive teams sharpen their skills and prepare for competition at the provincial and national level.
Athletes from this tour are also able to, through gaining the most BC Curling Tour (BCCT) points, qualify for BC championships. Three men’s teams and three women’s teams will earn berths through the tours (as long as at least two tour events are able to go ahead).
NOTE: As the Canadian Team Ranking System is not awarding points until at least Nov. 30, 2020, the Provincial Team Ranking System (PTRS), based on money won, will be used to rank teams to qualify directly for the BC Men’s and Women’s Championships for both the BCCT berths and what was formerly called the CTRS berths. Details on the PTRS can be found at this link https://www.curlbc.ca/curl-bc-joins-new-ranking-system/
The 2021 Scotties BC Women’s Curing Championship, presented by Best Western, and the 2021 BC Men’s Curling Championship will take place from Jan. 26-Feb. 1, 2021 in Kamloops. The defending champions, Team Corryn Brown and Team Jim Cotter, have already secured their berths.
Players are being asked to follow the modified rules of four-person curling. This means that there can only be one sweeper at a time and everyone must play while physically distant.
For the Men’s BCCT, the following events are planned to qualify for BCCT/PTRS points for the 2021 BC Men’s Championship:
* Raymond James Double Cash – Kelowna Curling Club – Nov. 6-8
* Ashley Home Store Classic – Penticton Curling Club – Nov. 13-16
For the Women’s BCCT, the following events are planned to qualify for BCCT/PTRS points for the 2021 BC Scotties Championship:
* Raymond James Double Cash – Kelowna Curling Club – Nov. 6-8
* Kelowna Women’s Cashspiel – Kelowna Curling Club – Nov. 20-22
Earlier today, the Golden Ears Winter Club made the difficult decision to cancel their King Cash event planned for Dec. 4-6. Shannon Joanisse said: “Golden Ears Winter Club looks forward to bringing back this event to its competitive curlers next season. This was a decision that the GEWC Board of Directors and management team did not take lightly. We look forward to playing host to BC’s best next season.”