It鈥檚 half the competitors, (almost) half the rocks, half the time, but double the fun.
And the competition is just as exciting.
The World Curling Tour makes a stop at the Vernon Curling Club Friday, Oct. 21 to Sunday, Oct. 23, with the Nufloors Mixed Doubles Curling Classic.
Teams of two play eight-end matches delivering five rocks. Ten teams will be in Vernon competing for a $4,500 purse.
鈥淚n mixed curling, the games are fairly quick, usually about an hour,鈥� said Vernon skip Jim Cotter, the nine-time B.C. men鈥檚 champion who will compete at home with his daughter, Jaelyn Cotter.
Tyrel Griffith, a five-time B.C. champ with Cotter, who narrowly missed out representing Canada in mixed doubles at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, teams up with Vernon鈥檚 Alyssa Kyllo for the Nufloors Classic (former Cotter teammate John Morris and Rachel Homan missed out on a medal in Beijing in the sport).
Among the other teams competing in Vernon are reigning B.C. men鈥檚 champ Jeff Richard of 麻豆精选, curling with Brette Richards, who plays for Vernon鈥檚 Diane Gushulak rink, and Abbotsford鈥檚 Sarah Wark, who lost the 2022 B.C. Scotties Tournament of Hearts women鈥檚 championship to Lake Country鈥檚 Mary-Anne Arsenault. Wark is teammates with 麻豆精选鈥檚 Andrew Nerpin, who plays second on Cotter鈥檚 men鈥檚 rink.
Play gets underway with the first draw Friday at 5:30 p.m., followed by an 8:30 p.m. draw. The tournament continues with games all day Saturday, and the playoffs are set for 12 p.m. Sunday.
The winning rink will collect $1,500.
鈥淲e鈥檇 love to see a lot of spectators out,鈥� said Cotter. 鈥淐ome down to the club and watch some great mixed curling.鈥�
Competitors will also try to gather up some World Curling Tour points with their Vernon results.
READ MORE: Vernon to rock 2023 Canadian Senior Curling Championships
READ MORE: Two major curling events awarded to North Okanagan
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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