By CHAT News Today

Hat Charity Classic starts Friday

Oct 19, 2017 | 5:46 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The Medicine Hat Curling Club is hosting some of the top curlers in Canada and around the world this weekend, beginning on Friday.

The 23nd Annual Hat Charity Classic gets underway at noon, with 40 teams taking part.

The men’s side will feature the two provincial champions in action. Provincial champion Brendan Bottcher from Edmonton, who is currently ranked 23rd in the world standings, is competing on the men’s side.

Shannon Kleibrink, who represented Canada during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and skipped Team Alberta during the 2008 and 2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, is playing on the women’s side. Kleibrink’s rink, currently ranked 15th in Canada is matched against local curler Hannah Bouvier to begin the bonspiel.

“We definitely get some good teams over the years,” said Vicki Sjolie, the club’s manager. “We’ve had lots of returning teams come back to Medicine Hat.”

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Teams competing will earn points if they win, which will help some teams as they try to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

“Looking at the next trials, the pre-trials, a lot of the teams have already been designated, but a lot of these teams are trying to be there and to be the next team,” she said. “They’re still trying to rack up some points and get the practice against the caliber of teams.”

Sjolie notes Jason Jacobson’s rink, which won the bonspiel last year, is returning to defend its championship. Local curler Trevor Funk is also leading a team, along with Regina’s Adam Casey, currently ranked 24th in the country, and a team from Russia skipped by Sergei Morozov.

On the women’s side, two Russian teams and a team from Japan are also competing in the tournament. Sjolie notes over the years, a number of international curling teams have enjoyed competing in Medicine Hat.

She adds the club has also completed upgrades during the off-season, including having their curling rocks refurbished for $20,000.

“It’s a big change,” she said. “If you don’t maintain your rocks, the granite will start to deteriorate and start to decay. They had to be done, and this way, they should last us another 10 or 15 years.”

The women’s final wraps up Monday morning, with the men’s final taking place in the afternoon.

All proceeds from the event are donated to the Children’s Wish Foundation. To date, the event has raised over $100,000 for charity.