Andrew Gittis (born November 2, 1998) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
curler from
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
. He is currently the
second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
of the
Alberta Golden Bears
The Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas are the sports teams that represent the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Alberta athletics teams have won a total of 93 national championships, including 79 U Sports sanctioned sports, making ...
men's curling team in university curling and on the
World Curling Tour
The World Curling Tour (WCT) is a group of curling bonspiels featuring the best male, female, and mixed doubles curlers in the world.
History
The World Curling Tour was founded by former World Champion Ed Lukowich, with later assistance from Jo ...
. Gittis is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, and is now living in Canada full-time.
Curling career
Gittis began his curling career in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
where he learned to curl. He represented
at the
2016 U18 International Curling Championships
The 2016 Optimist U18 International Curling Championships were held from March 31 to April 3 at the Saville Sports Centre and Jasper Place Curling Club in Edmonton, Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of C ...
, finishing in 7th place. The next year, Gittis reached the 2017 USA Junior Curling nationals and the 2017 USA U18 Curling Nationals where his team won the bronze medal, and he won the sportsmanship award as voted on by fellow curlers. Around the same time, he got the opportunity to meet
Brendan Bottcher
Brendan Michael Bottcher (born December 19, 1991) is a Canadian curler from Sherwood Park, Alberta. Bottcher is a three-time provincial men's champion, and was the skip of the 2021 Canadian men's championship team, having led Alberta to victory ...
who discovered that Gittis was also a Canadian Citizen and asked him to consider attending to the University of Alberta and trying out for their curling team. This is what led Gittis to his current position in Alberta on the Golden Bears Curling team.
Since moving to Alberta, Gittis has won two bronze medals at the 2019 and
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
USPORTS National Championship alongside
Karsten Sturmay
Karsten Sturmay (born November 7, 1996 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian curler originally from Leduc, Alberta. He is formerly the skip of the Alberta Golden Bears men's curling team in university curling and on the World Curling Tour.
C ...
, Christopher Kennedy, Glenn Venance, Caleb Boorse, and current teammate
Desmond Young
Desmond Young (born March 6, 2000, in Frederiction, New Brunswick) is a Canadian curler from Banff, Alberta. He is currently the third of the Alberta Golden Bears men's curling team in university curling and on the World Curling Tour. Young wi ...
. As a junior curler, Gittis won a provincial junior championship in 2020 playing with
Ryan Jacques
Ryan Jacques (born June 19, 2000) is a Canadian curler from Edmonton, Alberta. He is currently the skip of the Alberta Golden Bears men's curling team in university curling and on the World Curling Tour. Jacques was slated to represent Canada a ...
, Young, and
Gabriel Dyck
Gabriel Dyck (born July 21, 1999) is a Canadian curler from Edmonton, Alberta. He is currently the lead of the Alberta Golden Bears men's curling team in university curling and on the World Curling Tour.
Curling career
Dyck won two provincial U ...
. Representing Alberta at the
2020 Canadian Junior Curling Championships
The 2020 New Holland Canadian Junior Curling Championships was held from January 18 to 26 at the Langley Curling Centre and the George Preston Recreation Centre in Langley, British Columbia. The winners represented Canada at the 2020 World Jun ...
, Gittis and team Alberta finished in 4th place overall with a 6-4 record, which allowed his three younger teammates to be selected as a part of Team Canada at the 2021 World Junior Curling Championships.
Gittis is now aged out of junior curling and will continue to play on the world curling tour with Jacques, Young, and Dyck, where they had previously been the runner-ups of the 2019
Avonair Cash Spiel
The Avonair Cash Spiel is an annual bonspiel, or curling tournament, that takes place at the Avonair Curling Club in Edmonton, Alberta. The tournament is held in a round robin format. The tournament started in 2013 as part of the World Curling Tou ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gittis, Andrew
1998 births
Living people
American male curlers
Canadian male curlers
Curlers from Edmonton
Alberta Golden Bears players
Sportspeople from West Chester, Pennsylvania
American emigrants to Canada