British Columbia School Sports Curling Provincial Championships are underway with teams taking to the ice to practice today. 

Organized by B.C. School Sports, Mount Elizabeth Secondary School is hosting the event this week in partnership with the Terrace Curling Club. 

Dave Durrand, coach for Kitimat’s junior girl's team and coordinator of the event, says that since Kitimat hasn’t had curling ice for over the past year, they’ve been practicing at Terrace’s club. 

After being approached at last year’s tournament, Durrand decided to apply for the opportunity and hold the event in Terrace due to Kitimat’s lack of curling ice. 

In total, six girls teams and seven boys teams out of a total of nine zones will be competing in a round-robin style tournament, with any tie-breaker games happening on Feb. 25. “In terms of getting here and the expense involved,” Durrand said of the struggle to have all of the eligible teams able to participate.  

According to Durrand, this year also marks the first time in 10 years that Terrace’s Caledonia Senior Secondary School will be in the running. 

Even though four teams are currently dealing with delayed flights, Durrand says that if all goes according to plan, the first draws will happen tomorrow at 12 p.m.  

Listen to the CFNR story with Dave Durrand below: