Top teams to watch at Canadian mixed doubles championship
The top curling duos in the country are getting ready for the Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship beginning Thursday at the Nutana Curling Club in Saskatoon.
A stacked lineup highlights the event with mixed doubles set to become a medal sport at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. That announcement last year has seen a flurry of new teams form this season with the sport’s top players pairing up in their quest for gold.
Winners at nationals will advance to the world stage next month in Karlstad, Sweden. Canada has never won the world mixed doubles championship, first held in 2008, with Kalynn Park and Charley Thomas finishing fourth last year.
Read more: Mixed doubles on fast track to Olympics | Mixed doubles primer
Here are five teams to keep an eye on during the Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship:
– Mike McEwen & Dawn McEwen: The husband and wife duo from Winnipeg captured the Wall Grain Mixed Doubles Classic title earlier this season in Oshawa, Ont. They’ll be taking on a similar field here and their winning ways could continue.
– Lisa Weagle & John Epping: While Weagle’s trademark is the tick shot, she expanded her arsenal with some impressive moves at the mixed doubles event in Oshawa. They were runners-up to Team McEwen there and should be contenders here as well.
– Chelsea Carey & Colin Hodgson: A skip and a lead, notice a pattern? That dynamic seems to work well in mixed doubles as this pair has established that chemistry too. Carey already captured one national championship this year taking the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and is fresh off of representing Canada at the women’s worlds.
– Kalynn Park & Charley Thomas: The reigning champs are back to defend their title and their experience in mixed doubles could give them an edge over the competition.
– Rachel Homan & Mark Nichols: Homan won the Canad Inns Mixed Doubles Classic in Portage la Prairie, Man., earlier this season but teamed up at that event with John Morris, who is on the IR for the rest of the season following hernia surgery. From one Olympic gold medallist third to another as Nichols has joined Homan and shouldn’t miss a beat.