The provincial curling spotlight is sliding back onto Esquimalt, with the Archie Browning Sports Centre set to host a packed week of championships that will send B.C.’s best to some of the sport’s biggest national stages.
From Dec. 29 to Jan. 4, the Esquimalt Curling Club will become the hub for teams chasing berths at the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the 2026 Brier and the U20 national championships.
This marks the second time in three years that Esquimalt has hosted the provincial championships, after first staging them in 2024.
Twelve men’s teams, eight women’s teams and 20 U20 squads will be in the field, with a strong South Island presence scattered across every draw.
A third of the men’s field comes from the region, led by defending champions Team de Jong of the Victoria Curling Club.
They’ll be joined by fellow Victoria-based rinks Team Montgomery and Team Komlodi, along with another Island entry from the Duncan Curling Club.
The women’s bracket leans even more local, with nearly half of the teams featuring Victoria curlers.
Team Reese-Hansen, Team MacMillan and Team Harris all hail from the Victoria Curling Club, and players from three additional teams also draw curlers from Greater Victoria.
The stakes are simple: the B.C. men’s champion will advance to the 2026 Brier in St. John’s, Nfld., running Feb. 27 to March 8. The provincial women’s winner will head to Mississauga, Ont., for the Scotties from Jan. 23 to Feb. 1, while the U20 champion qualifies for the U20 Nationals from March 28 to April 5 in Sudbury, Ont.