Special moments between fans, curlers highlight mixed doubles trials in Liverpool
Albie Randall with the curling broom he received from curlers Jaelyn and Jim Cotter at the 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)
The 16 teams at the Canadian mixed doubles curling trials in Liverpool treated fans to a week of impressive curling.
The trials wrapped up on Saturday at Queens Place Emera Centre.
And one young Queens County curler left his own impression on the father-daughter team of Jaelyn and Jim Cotter from Vernon, B.C.
Seven-year-old Albie Randall of Brooklyn led the Cotters on to the ice during the opening ceremonies last Sunday evening. He was one of the young curlers chosen to escort teams.
The Cotters remembered Albie later in the week after their last game, and gave him one of their curling brooms as a souvenir.
The Cotters with Albie Randall at the mixed doubles curling trials. (Liverpool Championship Host Society Facebook page)
Albie’s father Darren Randall explains.
“The moment from the week that stuck with me is the Cotters, when they went out of the tournament, my son walked down and they gave him their broom from the game, which is super emotional.
“Ironically, we used to live near Vernon and it’s where they’re from also, and then it just kept going and going further in the tournament. We did not know. It was just randomly that he was leading them out. We followed them every game they played, and yeah, it was wonderful.”
As for Albie, he summed it up in one word.
“Awesome.”
That was just one of the special moments from the week of curling at Queens Place Emera Centre, as some of Canada’s top curlers competed for a chance to represent Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant capped their perfect record during the week by winning the final on Saturday over Rachel Homan and Brendan Bottcher.
After a year and a half of work bringing it all together, organizers were happy with how the week went.
Kim Thorbourne-Whalen is the vice-chair of the Liverpool Championship Host Society, which has brought four major curling events to Liverpool. She said it’s their biggest and most successful one yet.
“It surpassed our expectations. We had a budget for what we were looking for ticket sales and we more than doubled it. So for the final weekend, it’s been pretty well sold out and the final draw today has been sold out completely. So we’re pretty ecstatic about that. It’s been over 1,000 seats sold just for the final draw today.”
Some longtime curling fans, like Rose Anthony of Milton, took in every moment.
“I thought it was super. It was fantastic. I had the whole package and I never missed a draw.”
The curling trials also created some new fans in Liverpool, like Albie’s Dad Darren.
“Learned so much. (I’m) still learning the rules, but it’s so skillful and I’m into it and I’m like a soccer football guy myself. And I love this.”
Winners Peterman and Gallant will next compete at the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships in Fredericton in April. That event will determine the countries that qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com
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