Nova Scotia’s Christina Black feels curling buzz ramping up in her home province

Team Nova Scotia skip Christina Black reacts after her team's quarterfinal win over Alberta during the Scotties Tournament of Hearts action in Thunder Bay, Ont., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Jackson

The curling vibe in Nova Scotia has intensified, and Christina Black is feeling it.

The Olympic pre-trials event this week in Wolfville, N.S., is a warmup to the trials in less than a month in Halifax.

Canada’s men’s and women’s teams for the February’s Winter Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy, will emerge from the trials field of eight men’s teams and eight women’s teams.

Black, third Jill Brothers, and a front-end rotation of Jenn Baxter, Karlee Everist and Marlee Powers out of the Halifax Curling Club will be the only Nova Scotian entry in trials Nov. 22-30 at Scotiabank Centre.

Owen Purcell’s team, also out of the HCC, didn’t make the men’s playoffs at pre-trials in Wolfville.

Black finds herself talking about curling outside her club these days.

“Maybe not walking down the street, but definitely have been recognized a few times in like Costco and grocery stores,” Black said.

“People tell us how they’re big fans of ours, so that’s kind of cool. We’ve been travelling a ton lately and talking to people that we’re sitting near and flight attendants about curling and the trials.

“It’s really fun to know that there’s people that are fans of ours and recognize me. That’s hilarious. I wouldn’t expect anyone to ever really recognize me.”

The Mayflower Curling Club’s recent expansion from six to eight sheets in a new location just outside Halifax was also a big deal for curling in the area, she said.

“It’s really cool to see all of those big events in Nova Scotia and lots of buzz around curling, and we just had a brand new curling club open just like less than a month ago,” Black stated.

Black’s foursome ranked fourth in Canada last season, qualifying for both the trials and the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Mississauga, Ont., from Jan. 23 to Feb. 1.

Their travel-heavy schedule to start this season included the first two Grand Slams — AMJ Masters in London, Ont., and the Co-op Tour Challenge in Nisku, Alta. — sandwiched around Curling Canada’s PointsBet Invitational in Calgary.

Black’s record was 3-8 in those three events, which were crucial trials preparation for a team that must travel afar to face tough competition on arena ice.

“It was such a great opportunity to go play in those big events and against the top teams in the world and on great ice,” the skip stated.

“We knew it was just all really good practice to help us prepare for the trials.”

She pointed out that at trials, for once, her team won’t be the jet-lagged one at a major Canadian curling competition.

Black says her team is in rest mode now with the Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic at their home club, Nov. 12-16, their last trials warmup.

The team plans to stay at the event hotel during trials and walk to the rink under possibly a deluge of “good luck” wishes from people they meet.

“You can get the energy from those people, too, right?” Black said. “People are going to have good energy for us and that will help feed our energy out there on the ice. We’re happy to have it.”

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The Pan Continental Curling Championship was short-lived.

What began a scant three years ago as the North American and Asian answer to the 50-year-old European curling championship will be no more.

Teams skipped by Rachel Homan and Brad Jacobs are representing Canada in the final Pan Continental this week in Virginia, Minnesota.

The first three Pan Continentals, which served as a world championship qualifier for countries in the region, were held in Canada: Calgary, Kelowna, B.C., and Lacombe, Alta.

World Curling ushered in major changes to world championship formats, starting in 2027.

Fields will expand from 13 to 18 countries. The top 14 retain their place for the following year, while the bottom four get relegated to a new B-Division world championship.

It’s a concept similar to the International Ice Hockey Federation’s system of promotion and relegation in several tiers of world championships.

There will also be a C Division curling world championship, including teams relegated from the B and any remaining member associations.

The European championship will continue as a stand-alone event.

Canada’s Brad Gushue won the first two Pan Continental men’s crowns and was third in 2024.

Reigning women’s world champion Homan took the Pan Continental title last year in Lacombe after Kerri Einarson earned bronze in 2022 and was fourth in 2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2025.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press