Ryan Kleiter and Brittany Tran were the winning team as the Golden Ears Curling Club in Maple Ridge hosted a Curling Canada Mixed Doubles Trials Qualifier over the weekend.
Kleiter, from Saskatoon, and Calgary's Tran won the final 6-3 over the Ontario team of Olympian Lisa Weagle and John Epping on Sunday afternoon.
The event had been scheduled in Abbotsford, but was moved to the Maple Ridge facility at the last minute, due to mechanical problems with the Abbotsford ice plant. The winning team appreciated the last-minute work done by the Golden Ears Curling Club.
"The event and hospitality were top notch, and to pull it all together in just over a week is an incredible feat!" said the Team Tran-Klieter Instagram page. "Thanks to the ice makers for great ice conditions all weekend long, and thanks to the volunteers for all their hard work."
They have now qualified for the Olympic Trials coming up in Liverpool, Nova Scotia on Dec. 30, 2024 to Jan. 4, 2025.
After winning their opener, they lost to Weagle-Epping in their second game on Halloween night, and lost again the following afternoon. Then, with their backs to the wall, they went undefeated the rest of the way.
"We went through the C-side grind and won six in a row to capture the first ever Olympic trials qualifier event title," said their social media page.
Dean Joanisse, who is part of the management team at the Maple Ridge Club, said there was a lot of spectator interest, and it was cool for him to see local club curlers "geeking out" as they watched world-class curlers they normally only see on television.
"For a lot of them, it was their first time watching them live and in person, and it was in their own stomping grounds where they curl," said Joanisse.
Mixed doubles curling is an increasingly popular event in the sport, and there were 25 top Canadian teams in Maple Ridge for the event, which was the first of three Olympic Trials qualifiers. The other two qualifiers will be held in Guelph, Ontario on Nov. 21-25, and in Banff, Alberta Dec. 5-8.
