The Vikings Women's Curling team will take on fifteen women's teams from Canada chasing a prize purse in excess of $350,000 in a sudden-death single-knockout format at the Curling Canada Pointsbet Invitational September 27 - October 1, 2023.
Following a historic season, capturing their first Canadian Collegiate Athletics Association (CCAA) National Championship this past March, the Vikings will take on some of the top talents in Canada at the 2023 PointsBet Invitational from September 27 - October 1 at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville, Ont.
The 16 teams in each gender include the top 10-ranked women's and men's teams on the 2022-23 Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) standings. Also competing are the reigning men's and women's champions from numerous 2022-23 national events, including the 2023 U SPORTS champions: Team Serena Gray-Withers of the University of Alberta and Team Josie Zimmerman of the University of Alberta – Augustana among others.
The Vikings have the chance to face off against Canadian curling royalty the likes of Jennifer Jones and Rachel Holman with Brad Gushue and Kevin Koe playing on nearby sheets in the men's draw.
Skip Josie Zimmerman and teammates Claire Bevan-Stewart, Darby-Anne Swanson, Bryn Woloshyn and Hope Zimmerman will take on first seed, 2022-23 top-ranked CTRS women's team and 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Champions Team Kerri Einarson on Wednesday, September 27 at 12:00 p.m. MST.
This is the Viking's first tournament of this magnitude after winning the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference Championship (ACAC) in 2020 and 2022 (no championship was held in 2021 due to the pandemic) and a silver medal in 2023. Josie Zimmerman was also named the ACAC Female Curlier of the Year in 2023, while Swanson was named to the CCAA National Championship All-Star Team as the Lead.
Team Jones will be coming into the tournament as the reigning champion.
Fans can catch all the action on TSN, with the Viking's opening draw being on TSN 1 and 4.