U25 NextGen Champions Crowned in Edmonton

The future is bright for the next generation of Canada’s competitive curlers.  

Champions were crowned Tuesday in the U-25 NextGen Classic, which took place at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton. 

In the women’s event, the local team from the University of Alberta (skipped by Gracelyn Richards) squeaked out a last-rock victory over Winnipeg’s Team Shaela Hayward. 

“We knew it was going to be a battle against this team,” said Richards, who had a soft-weight draw to some backing for the win. “I just wanted to give my sweepers something to work with on the last shot.” 

The draw found the mark, and chipped the Team Hayward stone off the button, sticking around for a single, and a 7-5 win. 

Richards, Emma Yarmuch, Rachel Jacques, and Sophia Ryhorchuk, take home the championship belt, but also a berth in the National NextGen Program. 

“We really wanted to win this belt,” said Richards. “We’ve seen different [U of A] Pandas teams win it in the past, we lost the final two years ago. We were really excited to fight for it.” 

The NextGen berth comes with funding and access to Curling Canada coaches and resources. 

“We’ve seen what this program can do,” said Richards. “A lot of the NextGen teams are playing at the Olympic Trials and other big events. We’re looking forward to taking advantage of that coaching.” 

Team Richards and Team Hayward both finished pool play with 4-0 records, earning them a spot in the playoffs. 

On Monday evening, Team Hayward defeated Team Mahra Harris (Victoria, B.C.), 7-6, by stealing the extra end of the semifinal. Team Richards beat Fredericton’s Team Melodie Forsythe, 5-4, to reach the final.  

Teams Harris and Forsythe each took home $2,500 for their semifinal appearance.  

In the men’s division, Winnipeg’s Team Jordon McDonald defeated Toronto’s Team Daniel Hocevar in a somewhat one-sided final.  

McDonald (with Jacques Gauthier, Elias Huminicki, and Cameron Olafson) blanked the first end before scoring two in the second, stealing a single in the third, and stealing two more in the fourth. With a 5-0 lead after four, the event’s No. 1 seed was able to cruise to the finish with a perfect 7-0 record. 

“We played a really great game,” said McDonald of the 7-2 win in the championship final. “We got the lead early, and were able to really control the whole game from there.” 

With the win, Team McDonald extends his tenure in the National NextGen Program, and $7,500 in funding. After winning this event two years ago, his time in the program was set to expire. With this year’s victory, however, they too will have continued access to national coaches, and other Curling Canada High Performance resources. 

“It means a lot, it’s a big part of allowing us younger teams to compete and train, and to gain access to all the great resources that Curling Canada has to offer,” said McDonald. 

 “I’ve been in the NextGen program for the last two years, and it’s made a world of difference to our team. I think that’s shown in our results and the amount of success we’ve been able to achieve.”