The Heather Curling Club in Saint Andrews is hosting the 2025 New Brunswick Provincial Women’s Curling Championship this week.
Roger McNabb and the many volunteers have been preparing for the five-day tournament since it received the invitation in March.
“In the last couple of weeks, we’ve been at quite a hectic pace here getting everything ready,” he said in an interview. “But of course, our 100-plus years here at the Heather Curling Club equips us quite well to put on these events. We think we’ll have everything in place so the competitors can focus on one thing only, and that’s their curling game.”
This tournament is in the format of a TKO, which means on Wednesday teams will practice and on Thursday teams will begin the competition. The opening ceremonies are at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
Each team will play two shifts a day until Saturday, McNabb explained.
“Certainly, if required, they’ll play two more shifts on Sunday in the finals,” he said.
The tournament comes at a time when Saint Andrews is in its shoulder season for tourism, meaning this will draw people into the community.
“It is certainly exciting to have a provincial tournament like this coming to Saint Andrews this time of year when things are pretty slow,” he said. “We hope that the town will appreciate having this event.”
McNabb said the feedback from competitors is usually very positive.
“We are known for our hospitality and we have the greatest ice here east of Montreal,” he said, laughing.
The Heather Curling Club has hosted several large tournaments in the past and has a significant history for 102 years.
Seven teams are expected to take part in the tournament including the defending champions, captained by Melissa Adams, two teams from the Capital Winter Club, three teams from Curl Moncton, and one from the Gage Curling Club.
