The Northern Alberta Curling Association senior 50-plus men’s playdowns are under way in Leduc for Dan Holowaychuk with Wade White’s national bronze-medal winning rink.
Holowaychuk is a St. Albert curler who was White’s second last year at both the senior and men’s provincials and senior nationals.
At the senior level, Holowaychuk and lead George Parsons are joined by newcomer Dean Ross at third on White’s rink from the Crestwood.
Visit www.northernalbertacurling.com for draw times and results.
Provincials are Feb. 12 to 16 in Calgary and nationals are March 22 to 30 in Yellowknife.
White’s men’s rink from the Avonair of third Kevin Tym, Holowaychuk and lead George White won the NACA B final for a berth at provincials, Feb. 5 to 9 in Lacombe. The Brier is March 1 to 9 in Kamloops.
The third annual Skyhawks Invitational Tournament tips off Thursday morning in St. Albert.
The 12-team women’s draw features two teams ranked top-10 in 4A – Skyhawks at No. 4, down two notches from the first rankings, and Bev Facey Falcons at No. 7 – plus the Paul Kane Blues, a 4A honourable mention at 5-0 for second place in metro Edmonton division one, and the Edmonton Christian Lions, ranked No. 2 in 3A.
The Louis St. Laurent Barons, Archbishop Jordan Scots, Jasper Place Rebels, St. Francis Xavier Rams, Grande Prairie Composite Totems, Bishop O’Byrne Bobcats of Calgary, Medicine Hat Kwahommies and Sturgeon Heights Huskies of Winnipeg are also entered.
The 20-game schedule includes four games at Paul Kane High School on Thursday at 10 a.m., 12 noon, 2 p.m. (Blues vs. ABJ or Jasper Place) and 4 p.m. (Facey vs. SFX or Bobcats).
The rest of the tournament will be played at the SkyDome, starting with Thursday’s games at 12 noon (Skyhawks vs. Barons), 2 p.m., 4 p.m. (Kwahommies vs. Skyhawks or Barons) and 6 p.m. (Huskies vs. Lions or Totems).
Friday’s A-side semifinals are 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Saturday’s finals include the 3 p.m. consolation, 5 p.m. third-place game and 7 p.m. championship.
The Skyhawks – 3-1 in metro Edmonton division one and 11-2 overall as winners of two tournaments and finalists once in their first season in 4A after winning an unprecedented four-straight 3A provincial titles – and Blues are on opposite sides of the draw and if the moons align the rivals would duke it out in the final.
