New Brunswick will play host to the 2023 Canadian Masters Curling Championships this spring.

The Thistle-St. Andrews Curling Club in Saint John has been selected to host the event in April.

COVID-19 derailed plans for the city to host the championships back in 2020.

A total of 28 teams, including 14 men’s teams and 14 women’s teams, will take part in the event. The teams will be made up of athletes over the age of 60, many of whom won medals at previous national and world curling events.

Each province and territory will be represented by a men’s team and a women’s team. Northern Ontario will also have a men’s team and a women’s team in the tournament.

Provincial play-downs to determine those teams are being held in the next few months.

The Masters Championship is one of 14 annual Canadian championships where Provincial Associations compete for points in order to win the MA Cup (highest points) and the Governor’s Cup (the biggest year-to-year improvement in points).

A large active volunteer force, primarily from the curling clubs in the area, will be needed to help put the event together.

Organizers expect the tournament, which runs from April 2 to 9, will inject more than $230,000 into the local economy.