The top curlers in Ontario will be competing nearby.
The Cobourg Community Centre is hosting the Ontario Men’s and Women’s Provincial Curling Championships, starting Sunday night. Organized by the West Northumberland Curling Club, the championship will showcase teams vying for provincial titles and a chance to represent Ontario on the national stage.
The women’s champions will advance to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay, taking place from February 14th to 23rd. Meanwhile, the men’s winners will head to the Brier in Kelowna, scheduled from February 28th to March 9th.
We caught up with organizing committee member Jeff Kilmer who, with the help of ice technicians from Curling Ontario, the CCC’s GM Jason Johns, and a team of volunteers, will be responsible for transforming the ‘Bowl’ into four professional curling rinks.
Kilmer says a lot of folks think the hockey ice is removed, but that’s not how it works.
The process began Thursday morning, when the crews at the CCC completed work removing the glass and netting from around the hockey rink. Kilmer tells us the difference between hockey ice and curling ice is subtle.
We asked Kilmer if curling has changed much since the early 16th century when it began in Scotland.
In addition to making certain that the ice is just right for teams coming from across the province, Kilmer is the events operations coordinator and he’ll be overseeing the scoring and timing for all games, supported by some of the nearly 200 volunteers who’ll help the tournament come to life.
Tickets for the 2025 championships, including wheelchair-accessible options, are available at https://wncc.ca/ ontariocurlingchamps.ca or by contacting the ExperienceCobourg box office at 855-372-2210.
(Written by: Joseph Goden)
