P.E.I. hosts Canadian mixed curling championship for 1st time in 30 years

The Canadian Mixed Curling Championships are back. PEI is hosting the national event for the first time in 30 years, taking place here at the West Prince Curling Club. Team PEI skip Adam Arsenault says the feeling of wearing the PEI colours is pretty amazing, especially with friends and family watching. The event has been a bit of a homecoming for him. It's hard to kind of keep the emotions in and put the game face on, and especially, like, my parents are both from up west here, so it's like... I'm getting a whole, like, who's your father, who's your mother up here, and I'm hearing stories about the family that I've never heard before. Yeah, of course. Arsenault says he tries not to look up at the gallery too much so he can stay locked in, and it worked on Monday when he got his first national win as a skip, beating the Northwest Territories. The Canadian Mixed Curling Championships have been played since the 60s. Each team is made up of two women and two men. PEI has won it before, most recently back in 2011. But with 14 teams in the field this week, taking home the title won't be easy. Well, they're really good. I mean, they're obviously the best in each of their provinces and territories, and the showcase is here with great gameplay. I'm going to play. Organizers say there's lots of excitement around the West Prince Curling Club this week. It opened in 2024, combining two other clubs in Prince County. There's hope the event can draw more people to the sport. Bigger than what we originally anticipated, because we were told that the Nationals don't always draw a big crowd, but we've been very pleased with the turnout of people coming to watch and cheer on those curlers. The championship finals take place on Saturday. It also won't be long until the game's top curlers are back on the island. They'll be hurrying hard to the East Link Centre in February for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Connor Lamont, CBC News, Mill River.