Northern Ontario’s Team Rajala Triumphs at the 2025 U21 Provincials, Secures Spot at the Canadian Junior Nationals -

From January 2nd to 5th, 2025, Team Rajala from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, traveled to Fort Frances, Ontario, to compete in the highly anticipated 2025 U21 Provincials. This exciting event brought together some of the province’s most promising young curling talent, including teams from North Bay (Team Winters), Thunder Bay (Team Curtis), and New Liskeard (Team Julien). Each team battled for the coveted chance to represent Ontario at the 2025 Canadian Junior Championships, set to take place in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, from March 22nd to 30th.

Team Rajala, led by Skip Brendan Rajala (Sudbury, ON), entered the tournament with a strong lineup. Alongside him were Third Justin MacKay (Sault Ste Marie), Second Ben Miskiw (Sault Ste Marie), and Lead Jake Clouthier (Sault Ste Marie). The team was coached by Brian Rajala (Sudbury), bringing years of experience and a wealth of knowledge to help guide the young curlers through the intense competition.

Thursday, January 2
Draw 1 – Team Rajala (4) vs (10) Team Winters (8:30 p.m)

Friday, January 3
Draw 2 – Team Rajala (5) vs (2) Team Curtis (12:30 p.m)
Draw 3 – Team Rajala (8) vs (6) Team Julien (5:00 p.m)

Saturday, January 4
Draw 4 – Team Rajala (5) vs (4) Team Winters (11:00 a.m)
Draw 5 – Team Rajala (7) vs (2) Team Curtis (3:30 p.m)
Draw 6 – Team Rajala (7) vs (8) Team Julien (8:30 p.m)

Sunday, January 5
Draw 7 – Team Rajala (8) vs (6) Team Winters (10:00 a.m)

Team Rajala third Justin McKay told Saultsports that “having the chance to represent both Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury, as well as the entire province of Northern Ontario at the New Holland Canadian Junior Championship in Summerside, PEI will be a huge honour for us as a team. It’s been a personal goal of mine for a long time to win a provincial championship, and doing so with such a great group of guys will make representing ourselves and our province even more fun.”