Wayland curling facility to host U21 National Championships this week
WAYLAND — The 2023 U.S. Junior Curling National Championships takes place this week at Broomstones Curling Club.
Several local athletes are participating in the event, which runs from today through Saturday.
“Broomstones is delighted to be hosting the 2023 USA Curling Junior National Championships,” said Shelley Dropkin, president of Broomstones Curling Club, in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming teams from across the country for what will be an exciting week of competition and camaraderie.”
Broomstones Curling Club is the largest curling club in the Boston area. It serves as home to more than 400 members, contains four sheets of ice and has a reputation of fostering and running a distinguished junior curling program.
First family of curling: Keith and Shelley Dropkin run Wayland's Broomstones Curling Club
“Broomstones prides itself on its great junior program that has helped in the development of so many National Team athletes,” said Dick Dawson, 2023 Junior Nationals event coordinator for Broomstones, in a statement. “The club is excited to welcome these great teams, their coaches and families to Broomstones to crown two Junior National Champions.”
Eight junior men’s and eight junior women’s teams have qualified to compete in the tournament. For team lineups and game results, visit https://www.usacurling.org/upcoming-events-link/2022-junior-national-championships-dbzpn.
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Winning teams will represent the United States at the 2024 World Junior Curling Championships in Finland.
Athletes will visit from throughout the country, although a handful of competitors are from Greater Boston:
• Addison Neill, 17, of Natick, is a junior at Natick High School.
• Kailey Price, 17, of Worcester, is a senior at Burncoat High School.
• Julia Pekowitz, 17, of Wellesley, is a senior at Wellesley High School.
• Alexa Pekowitz, 15), of Wellesley, is a sophomore at Wellesley High School.
Team Pekowitz (Neill, Price and the Julia Pekowitzes) were silver medalists at the U18 National Championships in January at Rock Creek Curling in Lafayette, Colorado.
• Christopher Vidaurrazaga, 17, of Cambridge, is a senior at NuVu Innovation School in Cambridge. His team (with teammates from Maryland, Wisconsin and Oregon) was sixth at last year's U21 Junior National Curling Championships. This year his team (with teammates from North Dakota, New York, and Wisconsin) placed first place at the U21 Qualifier in Fargo, North Dakota, in January.
Vidaurrazaga also placed first in mixed doubles competition at the Shay's Shenigan's Mixed Doubles Championship in November.
Action begins with pre-event practices this morning, followed by the first draws of the event later today. Events extend through to the championship finals scheduled for Saturday.
All are invited to attend. Ticket information and timeline of events can be found on the Broomstones website at https://broomstones.com/index.php/events/junior-nationals-2023.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Broomstones Curling Club Wayland hosts U21 National Championships
