By Jaeden Demelo

Blind Curling

Western Blind Curling Championship kicks off in Prince George for the first time

Mar 20, 2025 | 12:07 PM

PRINCE GEORGE— On Thursday morning (Mar. 20), the Prince George Golf and Curling Club welcomed visually impaired curlers from all over Western Canada, as they opened this years Western Blind Curling Championship with an opening ceremony.

“The Westerns come from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. and there are two teams from each of the provinces… This is the first time that the Westerns have ever been held in Prince George. Prince George has been involved in blind curling since 2001 and started participating in Westerns, probably around 2005, said member of the tournaments organizing committee, Caroline Markel.

The opening ceremony involved all eight teams, Prince George Mayor Simon Yu and a ceremonial first throw by 90-year-old Noel Hopper, the oldest member of the club.

Events like these are not only special because they bring together a community of like minded individuals, but it also gives those with visual impairments an outlet to have fun, compete and show their skills.

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“it’s something that we can do and we all enjoy. There’s a lot of things that we can’t do because of we’re all visually impaired…It’s good to let the community know that just because we’re visually impaired, we still can do a lot of things and we have fun,” said Markel.

The Prince George Blind Curling Team will hope to follow up their first national title, with a Western Blind Curling Championship on home ice, as the tournament runs until this Saturday (Mar. 20).

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Email: jaeden.demelo@pattisonmedia.com