Sudbury duo to compete in national curling championship

Two Sudbury curlers are getting ready to represent Northern Ontario at the upcoming Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship.

Next week, Kira Brunton and Tom Leonard will play at the event in Fredericton, N.B.

But before then, Brunton, who is only 19 years old, is representing Laurentian University at the Canada University Championships.

"We put in a lot of work throughout the season and we played together every Tuesday," Brunton said of her Laurentian team. "It's really exciting."

Brunton says she got the idea to enter the mixed doubles event after speaking with Leonard, who is her co-worker at Curl Sudbury. They won a qualifier in Sault Ste. Marie and will now represent northern Ontario.

While there, Brunton says they will compete against Olympic medalist John Morris.

"You know, you keep your expectations low and if good things happen, it's awesome," she said.

Mixed doubles curling features teams of two and both players can sweep the rocks. There are fewer ends in the games. Scoring is the same as traditional curling.

"I like how fast paced it is," she said. "I really like it."

Leonard says he's looking forward to the mixed doubles event.

"I predict we're going to win," he said.