Canada U21 squad returns to Finland for Group A World Championships
Canadian curling fans may feel a bit of deja vu next week as the reigning Canadian U21 champions head to Lohja, Finland for the 2024 World Junior Championship.
If this looks familiar, that’s because the same group competed in the same location just two months ago at the World Junior B Championships.
Skips Johnson Tao and Myra Plett are based in Edmonton and will now return to Finland as skips for Team Canada with a shot at prize money. Tao’s Alberta champion team won gold in Group B in December. Plett and others had to settle for silver.
However, both results were good enough for the Canadian to advance to the top level of world junior competition.
“I’m really excited to be back in Finland,” Plett said. “I believe that being already in the World B Championship will be of great benefit to our team.”
Plett, along with Alyssa Nedohin, Chloe Fediuk and Aly Iskew, won the 2023 New Netherlands Canadian U21 Championship in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., last April, earning them the right to represent Canada at the world level. Obtained. The last Canadian team, skipped by Emily Deschenes, finished 2-7 at the world championships, so Plett, like Deschenes last year, will first have to battle through Group B to reach next week’s championship. was there. The top four teams from that championship advanced to the A group tournament.
“We know what the facility is like, so we can get more comfortable and familiar with the environment,” Plett says. “It’s a very well-maintained facility, so it’s a really enjoyable experience.”
Pret front-end Fediuk and Iskyw just competed at the Youth Olympics in South Korea and are hoping to refocus on the Third World Games in three months.
Tao and teammates Jadon Neuert, Zach Davis, and Adam Naugler followed the same path in Group B, finishing well with one win. While Plett won the silver medal, the junior boys won the gold medal and will aim to do the same next week.
Ben Morin, who won the national championship with Lewin-Noranda, retired from competition due to age and was replaced by Davis. Morin remained as an assistant coach, helping out on the bench with head coach Skip Wilson and team leader Rob Kreps.
The girls team is coached by Blair Renton, assisted by David Nedohin and team leader Lori Olson-Johns.
Canada’s men will open the tournament against Scotland’s Orin Carson, while the women’s will open with two games each against Norway and Sweden.
“I’m obviously a little nervous, but they definitely have good nerves,” Plett said. “I am so excited to have the opportunity to wear the Maple Leaf alongside such amazing women.”
The game begins Saturday at 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET). That means late nights for Edmonton-based fans who tune in from Friday night to late Saturday morning.
Select matches will be streamed live on WorldCurlingTV on YouTube. Live scores can be viewed here: https://livescores.worldcurling.org/wjcc/aspnet/current?EventID=1