Close to a hundred athletes will be throwing rocks next week in St. Albert to determine Alberta’s next stick curling champion.
About 92 athletes will be at the St. Albert Curling Club this March 25 to 28 for the 2024 Alberta Stick Curling Championships. Around a hundred guests will watch 46 two-person teams from across the province compete for medals, banners, fancy jackets, and a guaranteed spot at the national stick curling championship this April in Toronto.
Stick curling is regular curling adapted for those with mobility issues, explained Randy Olson, St. Albert resident and president of the Alberta Stick Curling Association. Instead of getting down on the ice to throw rocks, stick curlers use a stick to do so from a seated or standing position — handy if you have bad knees or use a wheelchair.
“There’s no age restriction whatsoever, but most of the individuals are seniors,” Olson said.
This is the third time that St. Albert has played host to provincials since they started in 2017, Olson said. About half of next week’s competitors are from St. Albert, which is also home to Canada's largest stick curling league. (The Alberta championship is open to anyone who pays the entry fee.)
Growing game
One of those local competitors is Tom Steele, who has been curling at the St. Albert club since he was 12 and still shows up there to play five times a week. Fresh off his gold-medal performance at the Alberta 55+ Games last month in sturling (a stick/regular curling mashup), Steele will be competing at provincials with St. Albert’s Rod Chmiliar, as his usual partner (his wife, Barbara Palmer) is out with a shoulder injury.
Steele said stick curling appeals to him as a senior as it gets tough to get down on the ice as you age. It’s a faster-paced game, as you throw 36 rocks per game instead of 64, and requires much more accuracy, as you have only one sweeper, and you can’t start sweeping until the rock has passed both hog lines.
“It’s fascinating to see the accuracy of stick curlers who throw rocks without sweepers and make some really terrific shots,” he said.
Stick curling is taking off across Canada as a way for seniors to stay in the game as they age, Olson said. There’s plenty of local interest in the stick curling clinics he runs during the curling season, and a waiting list to get into the St. Albert stick curling league.
Olson said no one from St. Albert has won the national stick curling title as of yet, but a few have won provincials. He and other organizers hope to someday launch an international stick curling championship.
Olson said the championship games are free to watch, with the final match set to be streamed online. Visit albertastickcurling.ca for the match schedule.
