Summerside to host 5 national sporting events in next 3 years
Five major sporting events, including the 21U women's Baseball Canada national championship this August, are coming to Summerside, P.E.I., in the next three years.
The other events, announced during a news conference in the city Tuesday, are:
The 2025 Canadian mixed doubles curling championship;
The 2025 New Holland Canadian under-21 men's and women's curling championship;
The 2025 Ray Carter Cup under-15 Baseball Canada national championship;
The 2026 Ray Carter Cup under-15 Baseball Canada national championship.
Nick Hann, president of the Summerside Area Baseball Association, said this summer will not only be an opportunity for Islanders to see the top junior women baseball players in the country, but for the athletes to experience P.E.I. hospitality.
"Nobody does it quite as well as P.E.I. and especially Summerside," said Hann, who has coached and competed at the national level himself.
"The whole community gets around them, all the businesses are involved, they welcome everybody with open arms, the hospitality is second to none, the facilities are top-notch … and it makes these kids coming in feel like professional baseball players and athletes the way they're treated."
The two curling events in 2025 will run on back-to-back weeks.
Suzanne Birt won the Canadian junior women's curling championship in her hometown of Summerside in 2002. She said she's excited to be a spectator in 2025. (Sheehan Desjardins/CBC)
Suzanne Birt, a world junior curling champion and two-time Canadian junior (U21) champion, said it's exciting to have the curling events coming to her hometown of Summerside.
The Canadian championship she won in 2002 was held in Summerside.
"Just seeing all the familiar faces, you know, the fan base, all the volunteers, it's unbelievably second to none."
Birt said when she was a teenager she was was motivated by watching more experienced curlers. She hopes the Summerside events will provide the same inspiration for young athletes on P.E.I.
"It's a whole different experience when you can actually see it in person."
The news comes after Summerside successfully hosted the girls' under-16 Baseball Canada championship last summer, and partnered with Charlottetown on the World U17 Hockey Challenge in November.
