Sault Ste. Marie to host Canadian Seniors Curling Championships

The city of Sault Ste. Marie will welcome 28 teams next week for the 2021 Canadian Seniors Curling Championships.

The tournament will feature many former Scotties and Brier players, such as Cheryl Bernard, Mary-Anne Arsenault and Bryan Cochrane.

Event organizer Al Harnden said he's feeling good about the event, even though Sault Ste. Marie has seen a recent upsurge in COVID-19 cases.

"We're prepared," he said. 

"You know, it's been a labour of love for about the last nine months, but we've had a great executive group to work with who have been dedicated to making this the best event possible, despite some of the challenges that we've had and the limitations."

On Thursday, Dec. 2,  Algoma Public Health reported 371 active COVID-19 cases in the region.

To adjust to the high case counts in the region, Harnden said capacity for the event will be limited to 50 per cent. 

He said they also had to cancel their opening social and closing banquet events. 

Despite the challenges, Harnden said he hopes the event will be a stepping stone to help attract other major curling tournaments to the city.

"We have a great curling community here in Sault Ste. Marie," he said. 

"And it had been a while since we had hosted a national event. So we felt this was our opportunity to do this with the understanding that at the end of it all, I think we're looking for even hosting bigger events in the near future."