(HALIFAX, N.S.) - The 2018 Subway AUS curling championships get underway Thursday, Feb. 8, and are being hosted by the University of New Brunswick and Curling Canada at the Capital Winter Curling Club in Fredericton, N.B.
There will be a total of 13 teams participating in this year's event, which includes seven women’s teams and six men's teams. This marks the fourth year that Atlantic University Sport has sanctioned a championship in the sport of curling.
The inaugural AUS curling championship was hosted by UPEI in 2015 and saw 10 squads participate (five men's and five women's teams). The 2016 event hosted by StFX attracted 14 teams (eight women's and six men's teams) and last year in Truro, N.S., there were once again 14 participating teams (seven women’s and seven men’s teams).
The teams will compete in a round robin schedule where each squad will face each other once, with the top four teams advancing to Sunday’s playoff bracket. Both the women’s and men's semifinals scheduled for 9 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 11, followed by the finals which take place Sunday at 1 p.m. (all times AST).
“Working with Curling Canada these past four years to showcase university curling in Atlantic Canada has been a great experience and proven to be a recipe for success,” says Phil Currie, executive director of Atlantic University Sport. “We are also excited that our member institutions continue to support this event by sending their student-athletes to compete for the honour of claiming an AUS banner and representing the conference at the U SPORTS championship."
The three previous conference championships have seen three different schools take home their respective banners.
The 2015 championship saw the Saint Mary's women and the UNB men claim the first ever AUS banners awarded in this sport. In 2016, the Dalhousie men's and women's teams swept both titles and last season, the Memorial men’s team and StFX women’s team were victorious.
The 2017 Memorial men’s team also went on to capture Gold at last year’s U SPORTS championship.
The men’s event includes teams from Acadia University, Dalhousie University, Memorial University, StFX University, Saint Mary's University and the host University of New Brunswick. The men’s teams and participants are listed here: http://www.atlanticuniversitysport.com/sports/curling/2017-18/teams/men
The women’s field includes Dalhousie, Memorial, Mount Allison, Saint Mary's, StFX, UNB and UPEI. The women’s teams and participants are listed here: http://www.atlanticuniversitysport.com/sports/curling/2017-18/teams/women
For the full schedule and championship information, visit: http://www.atlanticuniversitysport.com/sports/curling/index
Two sheets from each draw, including both of Sunday's championship games, will be available via live webcast at http://www.austv.ca/
Live scoring will also be available for all draws at the following links on the Curling Canada website:
- Women: http://www.curling.ca/scoreboard/#!/competitions/3450
- Men: http://www.curling.ca/scoreboard/#!/competitions/3449
Two men's and women's teams from this year's event will represent the Atlantic conference at the 2018 U SPORTS / CCA Curling Championships hosted by the University of Alberta, March 24-28 in Leduc, AB.
For more information on the 2018 U SPORTS Curling Championship, visit the event website at: https://usports.ca/en/championships/curling/x