Haliburton’s Owen Nicholls is off to Summerside, PEI, where he will compete in the 2025 Canadian Under-21 Men’s Championship March 22-30.
The winners will earn the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2026 World Junior Championships.
Nicholls will throw third, after lead Wyatt Wright, second Liam Tardif, and before skip Tyler MacTavish.
While the local curler is attending Carleton University, his teammates are in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. Despite that, Nicholls is not overly concerned about the lack of practice time as a foursome.
“We try to get out on the ice as much as possible individually. I’m thankful that in Ottawa there are lots of curling clubs. I do league play twice a week, and I try to get out on practice ice when my home club, the Rideau Club, offers it.
He also represents the Carleton Ravens university team. His squad captured a silver medal at the 2025 university nationals in Lethbridge, Alberta Feb. 24-28.
Ironically, he’s curled against his lead, Wright, at university events this season.
“So, I see him. The rest of them I haven’t really seen, so it’s been a while, but thankfully it’s something that we’re used to. We kind of do it all season; where we’re apart and then we come together. This one’s a little different. We’ve been separated since the end of January and haven’t really been together.
“Luckily, for all of us, we’ve been to nationals before, so we know that we definitely have to augment our level of play to match what we’re going to see there. We know there are going to be some big names. We’re going to have to play the best we can. I think it will be a quite good run for us.”
Personally, he is pleased with his curling.
“I’ve actually been feeling like I’ve been throwing the rock better than I ever have. I’ve done lots of work this season on my delivery, all the technical stuff, and I’ve been feeling like I’ve been playing well. My statistics show that I’ve been playing well, and I’m very excited to see what we can do in PEI.”
Nicholls said he’s becoming more comfortable representing on a national stage but still finds the experience exhilarating. “I’m very thankful that I’ve been on quite a number of good teams that I’ve had a lot of success with. That starstruck feeling of walking into the arena, feeling like a professional almost,
I’m getting a little more accustomed to that. But it will never not be new to me. It will never not be a shocking experience to go somewhere out of province to represent your province on the national stage. But, thankfully, it’s not something that I see as affecting my game as much as just my experience.”
He also anticipates lots of support from home.
“It’s nice because we get to livestream our games, so everybody gets to watch. It’s quite astonishing to see the amount of support that I actually have. After an event, I always get messages, not just from family, but friends, telling me it’s just amazing how I’ve come out of a small town and been so successful.”
