Count Falon Burkitt and Erik Leisinger among those who are looking past Santa's annual world tour.
The two Prince George skips will be at the North Short Winter Club starting on Dec. 27 for the provincial junior curling championships. The final is slated for New Year's Eve.
To get ready, the two Prince George Golf and Curling Club rinks have been engaging in an informal kind of a battle of the sexes, crossing brooms and taking to the pebbled ice.
The good news, ladies, is that the fairer gender holds a two-games-to-one lead over the boys.
"We've played them a couple of games in practice, and we've won once in three times," laughed Leisinger, who will be playing in his first provincial junior championship.
"We've had a bit of bad luck, but they have the upper hand. We're at a disadvantage, I think, because the perfume knocks some of my guys unconscious and they can't throw their shots, maybe."
Burkitt found Leisinger's 'distraction' charge humorous.
"Oh is he? The perfume? I guess we'll take the distraction then," said Burkitt.
Both teams advanced to the B.C. tournament by winning regional playdowns in Kitimat in late November. The teams are flying south on Boxing Day.
Leisinger skips a rink that includes Drew Dalziel, Logan Thideman and Robert Hough.
Burkitt is the leader of a foursome that includes Laine Bourassa, Stephane Haddad and Alia Dallas-Petersen.
"We're really excited," said Leisinger.
"These are the best teams in the province so they will have practiced and they will know what they're doing. Really, we're just looking to have fun and it's a building year, because it's our first year together. We're looking for some experience."
Other rinks in the junior men's draw are skipped by Cameron DeJong of Juan De Fuca, Jonathan Gardner of Vernon, Josh Hozack of Victoria, Kyle Jackson of Delta, Kael Kristjanson of Kamloops, Stuart Merrifield of Victoria and Justin Nillson of Kelowna.
Burkitt's rink starts off with a matchup against Carley Sandwith of Victoria, then the big test comes the following day with a scheduled battle against defending champion Dailene Sivertson, who also hails from Victoria.
Other rinks are skipped by Stephanie Prinse of Chilliwack, Corryn Brown of Kamloops, Jenn Gerow of Kelowna, Megan Mackay of Trail, and Kesa Van Osch of Nanaimo.
Burkitt wants to use last year's experience, a 1-5 record, as a valuable lessons that will allow the foursome to take a shot at the title.
"We've been practicing as much as we can but it's been pretty tough with all of the lead-up to Christmas and exams, things like that," said Burkitt, a 19-year-old who is taking third-year biochemistry and molecular biology courses at the University of Northern British Columbia.
"We are looking forward to it and I think we're ready to go. Last year's record didn't reflect how well we played, the games were close. We feel a bit more comfortable this year and we know what to expect. A lot of the team was new to the provincial competition last year and we are hoping to make the playoffs."
