A tough blow for Alberta curlers with the cancellation of the provincial championships set to start in the Sylvan Lake bubble Monday, January 25.

Local curler and ice maker, Mike Libbus, and his crew were set to head up there to make the ice for the event, when the news came down from the Curling Alberta.

"And for them to shut it down on us is kind of sad for us as well. We were looking forward to being in the bubble and putting on a good show for the curlers to enjoy and seeing who was going to represent us at the Brier in Calgary."

The event was cancelled when the Province extended their COVID restrictions until Thursday, January 21, with the event set to start in a bubble in Sylvan Lake on the 25th.

The Curling Alberta says they didn't have time to put on the event and had to cancel it, which Libbus says is too bad.

"It was going to be really safe, probably safer than the situation we live with everyday. So, I was looking forward to it, but AHS came in with some new guidelines saying that the players and anybody in the "green zone" which was the ice makers and the players, would have to self-isolate in a hotel for seven days prior to the event. So, that expense was just too much to incur for Curling Alberta and the players.

He says it's a tough break for him, but for curlers as well, with the Olympics coming up next year.

"It's a pivotal year for teams to try and qualify to see who gets that coveted spot to be Team Canada at the Olympics. To lose a whole year like this is definitely hard and I'm sure the top teams are looking forward to the Brier anyway, to get some kind of competitive curling going."

On Monday, January 18, Curling Alberta selected 2020 Alberta Men's Champ, Brandon Bottcher and 2020 Women's Champ, Laura Walker, as the Albert representatives to the 2021 Brier and Scotties Tournmament of Hearts.