Season 7 – Junior Slam Events – Junior Slam Series

The junior curling season for 2022-23 is yet again complex

Each province has its respective Winter Games qualifications, High School curling return to play, the launch of U15 Triples play in some regions, College and University competitions, and increased attention around the U25 age group. This should create plenty of opportunity for competitive teams to develop in all disciplines. We’ve worked hard to put together this schedule and will continue to provide quality opportunities and experiences for young curlers in all the markets we serve.

The Junior Slam Series has been busy behind the scenes determining the best options for this coming season as we look forward to resuming to a more normal return to play.

Here are some of the plans that will make up Season 7.

Dedicated Host Clubs

We experienced some significant challenges over the last few years in sourcing host clubs. Last year we chose to consolidate our efforts to this hosts that wanted to work closely with us to enable competitive play for youth.

Those success stories we had will continue in Ontario for season 7. Two of our most supportive host clubs, KW Granite and Dundas Valley will continue to host multiple events with us.

As we expand into Saskatchewan, we have worked closely with CurlSask on host club selection in alignment with their respective competitive calendar. We look forward to building new relationships with several of Saskatchewan’s finest facilities.

Atlantic Canada has been challenging for us but we continue to look at opportunities to return as soon as possible.

The new Junior Curling Tour of Saskatchewan

Over the past couple off years we have worked with the team at CurlSask to launch a junior curling tour in collaboration with them. We are super excited to see our joint efforts come to life starting in September of 2022. We encourage curlers from across the nation to look look at the tour as an example how multiple organizations can work together for the benefit of junior curling.

New U25 Age Category

We have created a new age category for Season 7. This new U25 age group is designed to create additional competition opportunities that work in conjunction with Curling Canada’s rules and regulations. The U25 group’s age rules permit teams of 4 with a combined age up to 100. It is our intent to have each U25 event CTRS points eligible through satisfying the minimum criteria of quantity of participating teams and minimum prize purse. This is also a great category for older U21 teams to “play up” in. Check out our first 2 U25 events of the season in Ontario for starters.

A Focus on Games

Over the past two years we focussed on giving teams more guaranteed games per event. The overwhelming feedback was positive. We intend to continue this practice in Season 7 at most of our events. Please read through the event descriptions to understand the format and playoff structure before entering.

NJCT Mixed Doubles qualifiers are back in a BIG way

One of our best series of events are the NJCT Mixed Doubles Pre-qualifiers and Qualification events. This year we will again be sending 2 teams to the NJCT World Mixed Doubles Championship in Stockholm, Sweden in April of 2023.

There are 6 pre-qualifying events that enable teams to compete for the 2 final qualification events. This year the final qualification events will be held in Saskatchewan and Ontario. Check out the NJCT Mixed Doubles event details to find out which one suits your availability and pathway.

JTRS Resumes

Given the multitude of changes to the junior curling season and the focus on more game play we are in the process of modifying the JTRS (Junior Team Ranking System ) system for resumption this season. All Slam events in Ontario are now part of the JCTO and will participate in the JTRS system.

For the JCTS in Saskatchewan, a new JTRS points system has been developed with CurlSask and you can follow your favourite teams along their season’s journey on the JCTS page.

We will provide further details shortly on the revised JTRS program for Season 7.

Register Your Team

In advance of opening event registration teams must register their lineups and contact details in our registration system. The only way you can enter a Slam event is by being a registered team. Remember the Team registry system also allows you to showcase team photos, identify your social media and acknowledge your sponsors. Team registry is open now.

We are planning for a vibrant return to play and look forward to returning to play and seeing everyone this fall.

– Stephen & Byron