Provincial curling championships are coming to Langley Jan 21 - 26, when George Preston arena will be the site of the B.C. playdowns for Brier men's and Scotties women's tournaments.
"We're going to be hosting the best curlers in the province competing to go to the national events," said Langley Curling Centre past president Wayne Moore, the host chair, who has been working on the B.C. Men’s and Women’s Curling Championships for a year.
Moore told the Langley Advance Times the original goal was to host the top provincial curling competition in 2023, on the 50th anniversary of the Langley Curling Club, but it just didn't come together.
When it was clear it wouldn't be happening last year, "I basically at that point said, 'I'm putting all on notice that we we intend to put an application for next year, so let's start the ball rolling now to get all the pieces in place so that we're well ahead of the scheduling," Moore recalled.
"We basically started our conversations with the Township about getting the venue and the funding for it, and once we kind of got that confirmed, then we were able to go to Curl B.C. and say, y'ou know, we've got this all in place, we're ready to host it for 2025.'"
Because the whole thing is being held in the George Preston arena, not in the curling club, coordination with the Rivermen hockey team was needed.
"The planning around their home schedule had to be worked out with the [league] so that they're on a road trip that week. And it's more than just a week, because we need four days to put the ice in for curling, and then another two days to dig it out."
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Playing on arena ice will be good preparation for the national competition, Moore said.
"There's a big difference between arena ice and club ice," Moore explained.
"Whoever wins this, they're going into the Brier and the Scotties and that'll be all on arena ice, so it's really good to host the event so that they're prepared. Because the next level, you're up against the top tier teams in Canada. And, these guys, they're all playing on arena ice on a regular basis."
Some of the rival teams in the rest of Canada are playing on arena ice only, Moore said,"so it's really good for the B.C. teams to have that competition on arena ice to help them prepare. "
Langley has hosted major curling championships before, including the BC Men's championship, but it's the first time they have done the men's and women's tournaments together, Moore said.
There have been some upgrades to the arena since the last major curling competition, changes Moore predicts will make a more pleasant viewing experience.
"What we're really excited about, actually, is we've got two sides to that building now," Moore elaborated.
"George Preston has general seating on the north side of the building, and then there's suites and private table options on the south side of the building."
Anyone interested in volunteering for the event can do so through the Curl BC website.
"There's lots of different positions that we need to fill," Moore said.
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