Collingwood curler headed to Olympic pre-trials to see if she can hack it for Canadian team

One of Collingwood’s athletes will be heading to Nova Scotia next month to compete for a spot on the world stage.

Cassandra de Groot has curled competitively as part of Team Inglis for the past five years, with the team ramping up to take their shot at a Team Canada position at the 2022 Beijing Olympic pre-trials next month.

Fourteen teams from across Canada will compete at the pre-trials, for two trial spots. The trials will take place in November in Saskatchewan.

“We set this goal a long time ago of getting to the Olympic pre-trials. We’re so thrilled to see this hard work paying off,” said de Groot. “Our sights are set at getting one of those two spots.”

There are nine teams total who will be competing at the trials to represent Canada in the 2022 Beijing Olympics, which will take place from Feb. 4 to 20, 2022.

“I think we’re excited for the challenge and opportunity,” said de Groot.

She started curling at the age of seven at the Collingwood Curling Club as part of their junior program.

“My early experiences sparked that love of the game,” she said. “I grew up watching my parents curl. It’s always been a big part of my family.”

In 2000, her family moved to Stayner where she curled at the Stayner Granite Club. However, de Groot didn’t start curling competitively until she went to university in Ottawa in 2006.

“In January 2019, I moved back to Collingwood to join my mom in her wealth management practice. At that point, I became a member again at the curling club and call this my home base,” said de Groot. “I remember a lot of the adult members and they’re still members today. It was such a warm welcome. I immediately felt welcomed and supported. There’s such a difference in that small-town community.”

Team Inglis is based out of the Dixie Curling Club in Mississauga. The team was selected based on world rankings to participate in Curling Canada’s Olympic pre-trials in Liverpool, N.S. from Oct. 25 to 31.

In the year leading up to the pre-trials, de Groot said it was difficult to keep skills up with most clubs closed due to COVID-19. Her team spent the year keeping up with fitness. Now that clubs are reopening and competitions are starting up again, she says Team Inglis has hit the ice sliding.

“We’re trying to shake off that rust a little bit and dive back in head-first,” said de Groot with a laugh.