SCHOOL SPORT CANADA• SPORT SCOLAIRE CANADA

SSNS 2023 Curling Championship

SSNS 2023 CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP

 GOLDSILVERBRONZE
VARSITY GIRLSCobequid Educational CentreSackville High SchoolMillwood High School
MIXED DOUBLESBay View High SchoolPark View Education CentreRiverview High School
VARSITY BOYSNorth Nova Education CentreMillwood High SchoolCharles P Allen High School
Cobequid Educational Centre

North Nova Education Centre

SSNS 2023 Curling Participants

BoysMixedGirls
C P Allen High SchoolBaddeck AcademyCobequid Educational Centre
Millwood High SchoolBay View High SchoolRiverview High School
North Nova Education CentreCobequid Educational CentreSackville High School
 Forset Heights Community HeightsMillwood High School
 Guysborough Academy/Canso 
 Parkview High School 
 Riverview High School 

HIGH SCHOOL CURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS: CEC, North Nova, Bay View capture provincial titles in Cape Breton

Jeremy Fraser

SYDNEY, N.S. – Three mainland teams are taking School Sport Nova Scotia provincial curling titles across the Canso Causeway after winning their respective division championships at the Sydney Curling Club on Sunday.

In the girls’ division, the Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars of Truro downed the Sackville Kingfishers 9-2 in the championship draw, while the Millwood Knights knocked off the host Riverview Ravens 9-1 to claim the bronze medal.

The Ravens finished with losses to Sackville (6-4), CEC (8-5), and Millwood (7-6) in the round robin.

In the mixed division, the Bay View Sharks of Upper Tantallon downed the Park View Panthers of Bridgewater in a double championship game with a 6-3 victory in Game 2. Park View won the first championship game 8-2.

Meanwhile, the host Riverview Ravens played Park View earlier and lost 14-1. With the loss, the Ravens were given the bronze medal. In the round robin, Riverview posted wins over
Guysborough (6-5 and 12-10) and Forest Heights (10-6). The team lost to Park View 12-3 in the round robin as well.

Baddeck Academy lost both games they played 8-5 to CEC and 13-9 to Forest Heights.

The boys championship was captured by the North Nova Gryphons of New Glasgow. They defeated the Millwood Knights 11-3 in the championship game. The Charles P. Allen Cheetahs claimed the bronze medal with their 9-2 loss to Millwood.

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Riverview Ravens set to host province’s best high school curling teams

Jeremy Fraser 

Riverview High School will host the School Sport Nova Scotia provincial curling championship this weekend at Sydney Curling Club. The school will have two teams in the tournament, including a mixed team, pictured above. From left, Brayden Dolan (skip), Aimee Horne (mate), Colin MacAulay (second) and Sara Stanley (lead). CONTRIBUTED/KEN MACLEOD
Riverview High School will host the School Sport Nova Scotia provincial curling championship this weekend at Sydney Curling Club. The school will have two teams in the tournament, including a mixed team, pictured above. From left, Brayden Dolan (skip), Aimee Horne (mate), Colin MacAulay (second) and Sara Stanley (lead). CONTRIBUTED/KEN MACLEOD – Ken MacLeod

SYDNEY, N.S. — Sophie Bugden has been a regular curler at the Sydney Curling Club for the last seven years and is currently part of the junior program.

Despite being a Grade 9 student at Riverview High School, Bugden is the skip for the Coxheath school’s girls’ curling team, which first formed earlier this season. 

This weekend, Bugden and the team, featuring mate Charley Corey-Nason, second Emma Aitken and lead Madelyn MacGillivray, will host the School Sport Nova Scotia provincial championships at the Sydney Curling Club. 

“It’s a pretty exciting time for all of us on the team,” said Bugden. “It’s my first year of high school and to be on a curling team and hosting provincials in my hometown, it’s something special.” 


2022-23 SSNS CURLING PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP

  •  Host: Riverview High School
  •  Location: Sydney Curling Club
  •  Boys Division: Charles P. Allen Cheetahs, Millwood Knights and North Nova Gryphons
  •  Girls Division: Riverview Ravens, Sackville Kingfishers, Millwood Knights and Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars (CEC)
  •  Mixed Division: Riverview Ravens, Baddeck Broncos, Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars (CEC), Bay View Sharks, Forest Heights Falcons, Guysborough Academy Blue Eagles and Park View Panthers 

The event, which was originally scheduled to begin on Friday but was moved to Saturday and Sunday due to weather conditions, will include three divisions featuring boys, girls, and mixed teams. 

Riverview will have two teams in the tournament. Along with Bugden’s team, the school will also be represented in the mixed division, a squad featuring skip Brayden Dolan, mate Aimee Horne, second Colin MacAulay and lead Sara Stanley. 

Ravens head coach Ken MacLeod said he doesn’t have any expectations for the teams, noting the goal of the weekend is for the players to enjoy playing the sport they love. 

“I think we have some strong players, but really it’s a little bit of an unknown for us,” said MacLeod. “Some of our curlers are in Grade 9 and Grade 10 and they will be going up against Grade 11 and Grade 12 players, some of which I’ve heard just returned from the Canada Winter Games and have medaled there.

“We’re certainly not going to back down from anyone. Hopefully, we play our best, but I want them to enjoy the experience and that’s the main goal for the tournament.”  

The Riverview Ravens will take to the ice at the Sydney Curling Club this weekend when they host the School Sport Nova Scotia provincial championship. The school will have two teams in the tournament including the girls’ division. From left, Sophie Bugden (skip), Charley Corey-Nason (mate), Emma Aitken (second) and Madelyn MacGillivray (lead). CONTRIBUTED/KEN MACLEOD - Ken MacLeod
The Riverview Ravens will take to the ice at the Sydney Curling Club this weekend when they host the School Sport Nova Scotia provincial championship. The school will have two teams in the tournament including the girls’ division. From left, Sophie Bugden (skip), Charley Corey-Nason (mate), Emma Aitken (second) and Madelyn MacGillivray (lead). CONTRIBUTED/KEN MACLEOD – Ken MacLeod

Riverview didn’t have a curling team in 2021-22. MacLeod said the idea for having teams came when he learned the Highland Region was eligible to host the provincial tournament this year. 

“We put the paperwork in to see if we’d get accepted to host and SSNS came back to us and agreed and then we quickly gobbled up as many players as we could who go to Riverview and are in the junior curling program in Sydney,” said MacLeod. 

“We have a full mix of players. Some are more experienced than others, but I think they’re all quite eager and excited to participate this weekend.”


CAPE BRETON CURLING PROVINCIAL WINNERS SINCE 1970

  •  2006-07 – Baddeck Academy – Mixed Championship
  •  1969-70 – Sydney Academy – Boys Championship
  • Source: School Sport Nova Scotia records

Note: Records for the following years were not available: 1976-77, 1977-78, 1983-84, and 1997-98. 

The girls’ division will feature four teams including the host Ravens, Sackville Kingfishers, Millwood Knights and Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars (CEC) of Truro. 

Riverview will play Saturday at 3 p.m. against Sackville before facing CEC at 6 p.m. The team wraps up the round robin on Sunday at 9 a.m. against Millwood. 

The semifinals will be at 12 p.m. on Sunday followed by the bronze and championship games at 3 p.m. 

Meanwhile, the mixed division will be a double knockout draw and will feature the Ravens, Baddeck Broncos, CEC Cougars, Bay View Sharks of Upper Tantallon, Forest Heights Falcons of Chester Basin, Guysborough Blue Eagles and Park View Panthers of Bridgewater. 

Riverview will open the tournament on Saturday at 12 p.m. against Guysborough, while Baddeck will also be in action at 12 p.m. against CEC. The remainder of the schedule will be determined after the first set of draws. The championship game is slated for Sunday at 3 p.m. A second final, if necessary, will be later in the day at 6 p.m. 


Schedule

Boys Division:
Saturday:

  • 12 p.m. – Millwood vs. North Nova
  • 3 p.m. – Charles P. Allen vs. Millwood
  • 9 p.m. – North Nova vs. Charles P. Allen

Sunday:

  • 9 a.m. – Semifinal Game
  • 12 p.m. – Championship Game

Girls Division:
Saturday: 

  • 3 p.m. – Riverview vs. Sackville
  • 3 p.m. – CEC vs. Millwood
  • 6 p.m. – Riverview vs. CEC
  • 6 p.m. – Millwood vs. Sackville
  • 9 p.m. – Sackville vs. CEC

Sunday:

  • 9 a.m. – Riverview vs. Millwood
  • 12 p.m. – Semifinal Game No. 1
  • 12 p.m. – Semifinal Game No. 2
  • 3 p.m. – Bronze Medal Game
  • 3 p.m. – Championship Game 

Mixed Division:
Saturday:

  • 12 p.m. – Baddeck vs. CEC
  • 12 p.m. – Bay View vs. Forest Heights
  • 12 p.m. – Riverview vs. Guysborough 
  • 3 p.m. – Park View vs. Winner of Riverview/Guysborough

Note: Remainder of the schedule will be determined after 3 p.m. Other draws are slated for 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturday as well as 12 p.m. on Sunday. 

Sunday:

  • 3 p.m. – Championship Game No. 1
  • 6 p.m. – Championship Game No. 2 (If necessary)

As for the boys’ division, no Cape Breton teams will be in action, however, it will feature the Charles P. Allen Cheetahs of Bedford, Millwood Knights and North Nova Gryphons of New Glasgow. 

On Saturday, North Nova and Millwood will play at 12 p.m., followed by Charles P. Allen and Millwood and 3 p.m., and North Nova against Charles P. Allen at 9 p.m. The semifinal is Sunday at 9 a.m. and the championship is set for later in the day at 12 p.m. 

MacLeod hopes the provincial experience will draw more interest in the sport at the school. He also hopes more Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education schools will also form teams in an attempt to have a local high school curling league for the 2023-24 season. 

“We’ve been in contact with players who go to other schools and they’re looking at taking it back to their own school and see what can happen there, for sure,” said MacLeod. “A league is definitely our hope because right now we don’t have one.” 

According to SSNS records, only two Cape Breton high schools have won curling provincial championships since 1970. Baddeck Academy won the mixed championship in 2006-07 while Sydney Academy won the boys’ division in 1969-70. Records for the following years were not available: 1976-77, 1977-78, 1983-84, and 1997-98. 

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