Nova Scotia, Alberta and Northern Ontario finish first in 2024-25 Cup battles
Whatever’s in the water in Nova Scotia clearly is having an effect in producing this country’s top up-and-coming curlers.
For the second straight year, Nova Scotia Curling has won the For The Love of Curling Cup, which goes to the Member Association that has the best combined results at Curling Canada’s NextGen events — the New Holland Canadian Under-20 Men’s and Women’s Championships and the Canadian Under-18 Championships.
That was the highlight of the culmination of Curling Canada’s three annual Member Association season-long Cup competitions, it was announced today.
Each Member Association earns points based on the performance of its respective provincial/territorial championship-winning teams from the 15 national championship events that are either operated by, or sanctioned by, Curling Canada.
Those include the Montana’s Brier; the Scotties Tournament of Hearts; the New Holland Canadian Under-20 Men’s and Women’s Championships; the Canadian Under-18 Championships; the Canadian Senior Men’s and Women’s Championships; the Canadian Curling Club Men’s and Women’s Championships; the Canadian Mixed Championship; the Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship; the Canadian Wheelchair Championship; and the Canadian Masters (60 and over) Men’s and Women’s Championships.
Nova Scotia’s provincial Under-18 champions — Team Cassidy Blades and Team Zach Atherton — swept the female and male gold medals at the Canadian Under-18 Championships.
Then, at the New Holland Canadian Under-20 Championships Nova Scotia champs Team Atherton and Team Rebecca Regan placed second and fourth respectively among their fellow Member Association champions.
While it didn’t count in the For The Love of Curling Cup standings, the Nova Scotia #2 team skipped by Calan MacIsaac won the men’s gold at the New Holland Canadian Under-20 Championships.
It was the third time Nova Scotia has won the For The Love of Curling Cup.
Meanwhile, Curling Alberta claimed for a fourth time the Member Association Cup, which goes to the provincial/territorial association that has the best overall performance in the national championships.
Alberta teams were particularly dominant at the Canadian senior championships, where Team Atina Ford Johnston and Team James Pahl won gold and silver respectively, as well as the Canadian Masters Championships, where Team Deb Santos won women’s gold and Team Mickey Pendergast took the men’s silver.
As well, Team Myla Plett was the women’s gold-medallist at the New Holland Canadian Under-20 Championships.
The Northern Ontario Curling Association will collect its first piece of hardware since the competitions were introduced prior to the 2013-14 season after clinching the Governors’ Cup, which goes to the Member Association that has the best year-to-year improvement in back-to-back full seasons.
The gold medal won by Team Douglas Dean at the 2025 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship earlier this month in Boucherville, Que., provided the points that clinched the Governors’ Cup for the Northern Ontario Curling Association.
Northern Ontario teams also ranked third among Member Association champions at both the Montana’s Brier (Team John Epping) and the Canadian Curling Club Championships men’s event (Team Dylan Johnston).