The Whitehorse Curling Club is preparing to host the 2006 National Mixed Curling Championships from this coming Saturday until Nov. 26.

Teams from across Canada will be arriving in Whitehorse starting Friday to compete for the title of national champions.

As part of the competition, the host committee created a program called 'Adopt a Team'. Its purpose was to ensure that all the visiting teams felt a warm welcome from the Yukon, and at the same time educate school kids about the sport of curling, and regions of Canada that they may not be aware of.

Schools were asked to 'adopt a team,' as the team they would watch and cheer for, learn about who they are cheering for and where they come from, and learn a bit about curling, and why it is so popular.

All teams have been adopted, and many teams are preparing for their adopted fans by bringing items from their provinces/regions, as well as taking time from their hectic schedules to visit their adoptive school to speak one-on-one with the students.

Schools have also agreed to bear the cost of transporting the students to the Whitehorse Curling Club during the Mixed Nationals to allow their students the opportunity to cheer for their adopted teams.

'We are happy to see that not just Whitehorse got involved with this, but we also see schools from Watson Lake and Teslin getting involved,' Derek Charlton, chair of the National Mixed Host Committee, said this week.

'It's great to see the territory welcome its visitors like this, and get excited about this national event coming to Whitehorse.'

The National Mixed Curling Championships are the first stop in the Canadian Curling Association's 2006 Season of Championships. Teams comprised of two men and two women will compete from from Saturday until Nov. 26 to become the National Champion.

The event is expected to spend over $130,000 locally, equating to 98 per cent of the total Mixed budget, in addition to the $207,000 in estimated spending by competitors and visitors.

The host committee received sponsorship locally from more than 30 companies, as well as a grant from the Community Development Fund, as well as some support from the Canada Winter Games to set this up as a test event for the 2007 Games.

Local companies were used for 98 per cent of the production for the event.