SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. - The 2017 OCAA Curling Championships presented by belairdirect opened Thursday at the Community First Curling Centre hosted by Sault College and after five draws of play the dust has not begun to settle on the field of nine colleges.

In a day that saw eight of 22 teams remain undefeated the crowd in "the Soo" was treated to a great day of action including the host Sault College scoring early wins in men's and mixed divisions to stay in the group of unbeaten.

In men's play, both Fleming and Fanshawe head to Day 2 with unblemished records joining the Cougars in a tight field that seems to have the makings of one of the best in recent OCAA memory. In mixed, the Cougars are joined once again by the Knights and Falcons atop the leaderboard with all three teams winning their respective opening draws.

Fanshawe and Niagara Colleges both won in women's play to pace another strong field as they head to the second day of competition.

Action resumes all day Friday at the Community First Curling Centre as teams will compete for positioning in the all-important "moving day" at the Championships.

The first day also featured the opening ceremonies which saw dignitaries open the event in fine style including inspirational words from reigning Olympic champion Brad Jacobs. The ceremonial first rock was thrown by the 1992 OCAA men's gold medal team from Sault College on the 25th anniversary of their feat - skipped by current Sault College coach Dan Lemieux.

Complete tournament information and live end by end scoring can be found at both www.ocaa.com under championship central and www.saultcollege.ca on the athletics website.

Sault College would like to thank Tourism Sault Ste. Marie, Goldline Curling and the Community First Curling Centre for all their help in once again playing host to the best collegiate curlers in the province.

Medal winners from the championships qualify for the CCAA Curling National Championships in March hosted by University of Alberta - Augustana in Camrose, Alta.

Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/championships/curl/2016-17/index

Source: Sault College