By Jonathan Brazeau
Team Koe and Team Harris will hit the ice this fall in a Grand Slam of Curling event — but probably not the Team Koe and Team Harris you’re thinking of.
The next generation of curling stars will shine at the inaugural Jr. GSOC U25 and U15 events in Beaumont, Alberta.
The Grand Slam of Curling announced Friday the 16 U25 men’s teams, 16 U25 women’s teams and eight U15 teams set to compete at the Beaumont Curling Club. Both U25 tournaments will begin Oct. 15, with the U15 event getting underway Oct. 16.
While the action starts at the Beaumont Curling Club, the finals will be played during the Tour Challenge, Oct. 19 at the Silent Ice Center in Nisku, Alberta — providing young curlers the opportunity to play on arena ice side-by-side with the world's best.
“The curling landscape has changed immensely over the past years, and we are seeing more and more promising young athletes step away from the sport because they can’t see a path forward, whether it be financially or competitively,” John Morris, two-time Olympic gold medallist and strategic advisor to The Curling Group, said in a release. “Through these new Grand Slam grassroots initiatives, we hope to provide a springboard for these young teams to gain meaningful competitive experience, shining a light on young athletes as they move to the next stage of their curling careers.”
Alberta will be well-represented with 17 of the 30 Canadian teams competing in the events hailing from the host province. It's a truly international field that also includes four teams from the United States, three teams from Scotland, two from Japan and one from South Korea.
Second-generation talent will be on display in the U25 women’s division. Lila Koe, daughter of two-time world champion Kevin Koe, and Mahra Harris, daughter of Olympic silver medallist Mike Harris, will skip their squads in the event. Lila isn’t the only Koe competing with sibling Ava Koe playing third for Team Duncan.
The family connections continue in the U15 event. Team Sipka lead Sloane Hebert is following in the footsteps of her dad, Olympic gold medallist Ben Hebert.
The U25 women’s division also features some notable names, including reigning world junior champion Bo-bae Kang of South Korea, plus 2023 world junior gold medallist and two-time reigning Scottish champion Fay Henderson.
Headlining the U25 men’s division is Scotland’s James Craik. The 2023 world junior champ has already made a splash in the top tier, qualifying for the playoffs in three Grand Slam of Curling events. Craik will skip an all-new squad this upcoming season. Canadian junior champions Johnson Tao (2023) and Calan MacIsaac (2025) are also in the field.
Below is the full list of teams for the Jr. GSOC U25 and U15 events.
U25 Men’s Division
• Team Ballance (Okotoks/Edmonton, AB)
• Team Craik (Forfar, SCO)
• Team Davies (Edmonton, AB)
• Team Derksen (Martensville, SK)
• Team French (St. John’s, NL)
• Team Hebert (Eau Claire, USA)
• Team Hlushak (Edmonton, AB)
• Team Hocevar (Toronto, ON)
• Team Libbus (Edmonton, AB)
• Team MacIsaac (Truro, NS)
• Team MacTavish (Waterloo, ON)
• Team Maeda (Kitami, JPN)
• Team McNamara (Ottawa, ON)
• Team Tao (Edmonton, AB)
• Team Van Amsterdam (Edmonton, AB)
• Team Wendling (Chaska, USA)
U25 Women’s Division
• Team Artichuk (Waterloo, ON)
• Team Duncan (Calgary, AB)
• Team Ford (Waterloo, ON)
• Team Gray-Withers (Edmonton, AB)
• Team Harris (Victoria, BC)
• Team Hayward (Carman, MB)
• Team Henderson (Stirling, SCO)
• Team Johnson (Blaine, USA)
• Team Johnston (Beaumont, AB)
• Team Kang (Jeonbuk, KOR)
• Team Koe (Calgary, AB)
• Team McPherson (Gimli, MB)
• Team Miura (Sapporo, JPN)
• Team Sanderman (Airdrie/Edmonton/Okotoks/St. Albert, AB)
• Team Thangadurai (Oakland, USA)
• Team Yurko (Red Deer/Sherwood Park, AB)
U15 Division
• Team Beaumont CC (Beaumont, AB)
• Team Braden (Beaumont, AB)
• Team Hack Attack (Leader, SK)
• Team Kay (Stirling, SCO)
• Team Kennedy (Beaumont, AB)
• Team Lougheed (Langley, BC)
• Team Meyers (Carstairs, AB)
• Team Sipka (Calgary/Okotoks, AB)
The Tour Challenge, featuring the top-ranked men’s and women’s teams from around the world, runs Oct. 14-19 at the Silent Ice Center and is the second of five stops on the 2025-26 Grand Slam of Curling schedule. Ticket information is available at thegrandslamofcurling.com/tickets.
