The Canadian curlers are the first of around 1,500 collegiate athletes who are expected to compete in the Games on Jan. 12-22.

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Women’s curling

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The 10-team women’s curling field is expected to consist of teams from Australia, China, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.S. In the men’s tournament, Canada will be joined by Brazil, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.S.

The women’s team for Canada is slated to open play against South Korea on Jan. 13 and the men will play Switzerland that same day at the Saranac Lake Civic Center. The civic center is currently undergoing a $7 million expansion and upgrade.

The University of Alberta’s Abby Marks, of Red Deer, Alberta, along with teammate Paige Papley, of Edmonton, Alberta, have represented Canada in international competitions before. Catherine Clifford, of Cauvin, Alberta, Brianna Cullen, of Dauphin, Manitoba and Serena Gray-Withers, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, have not. The women will be coached by Amanda St. Laurent.

“Honestly, I was just super excited, especially for my teammates who have never had the chance to wear the maple leaf and represent Canada in international championships,” said Marks, skip for the Edmonton-based University of Alberta team, which went 6-0 in qualifying. “I was just extra excited for them.”

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Men’s curling

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For the men, Dalhousie University team members are Owen Purcell, Jeffrey Meagher and Caelan McPherson, all from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Adam McEachren and David McCurdy from Truro, Nova Scotia. Anthony Purcell is the coach.

“As a team, we are really looking forward to the atmosphere of sharing the experience with so many other athletes who also specialize in their sport from all over the world,” Anthony Purcell said in a statement. “The whole atmosphere of the event in Lake Placid will be amazing.”

In the men’s qualifying final, Halifax-based Dalhousie University defeated Wilfrid Laurier, 8-5. Wilfrid Laurier had beaten DU to qualify for the 2021 FISU Games in Lucerne, Switzerland which were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. DU is the first Atlantic University Sport conference school to ever qualify for curling in the FISU Games.

“A lot of us were really happy because — for most of us — it’s our first time getting to represent Canada,” Owen Purcell said. “But for the most part, it’s just a lot of relief. Just knowing that the long road that was ahead of us when we started the event is finally over and to leave with the gold medal is quite amazing.”

This is the second time Alberta’s Marks and Papley qualified for the FISU Games. They both earned a berth to the canceled 2021 FISU Games, but they found out less than a week before the flight to Switzerland that the Lucerne Games were canceled.

“Pretty devastating,” Marks said. “It was a pretty tough week.”

“To have the chance to get to compete in the University Games again, it’s just a dream come true,” Marks said.

Papley was an alternate in the 2019 FISU Games in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, where Team Canada wound up in fifth place after falling from a three-way tie for first. Canada lost out on a finals berth by just a couple of centimeters, according to Papley. The Canadian women will try to return to the podium after Canada won silver in 2015 in Spain and gold in 2017 in Kazakhstan.

Sweden, Switzerland and South Korea are expected to be Team Canada’s toughest competition in the 10-team FISU Games tournament. Because of curling’s growth internationally, “I don’t think we’re going to have any easy games when we’re there,” Marks said.

Owen Purcell said Switzerland, Japan and Sweden are among the top teams for the men. Canada won silver in 2019 in Russia.

“It’s just exciting more than anything because this will be unlike anything that I’ve ever played in,” said Purcell, who helped Canada win bronze in May’s World Junior Championship in Sweden. It is his first-time representing Canada in a multi-sport event and his first trip to Lake Placid. “It looks like a very nice place and I’m really looking forward to going there and seeing around.”