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Winnipeg Free Press
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
In the Rings: Highlights and lowlights from a curling season to remember
Curling made some strides over the 2024-25 campaign yet also remained behind the times in other areas, leaving the Roaring Game in a peculiar spot entering the all-important Olympic season. Equipment issues have been a concern in recent months and the sport's archaic rule structure and lack of video review have sparked controversy. The new-look Grand Slam of Curling series had some hits and misses under new ownership. Here's a look at some highlights and lowlights from the previous season with a look ahead at what's to come. BURNING ISSUE The handling of a situation involving an apparent burned rock in a China-Norway playoff game at the world men's championship sparked heated online comments from many top players. It also showed just how far behind curling is compared to other sports. Video footage appeared to show the Chinese sweeper hit the rock with his broom just before it entered the house. Put in a tough position as the non-offending team, Norway's Magnus Ramsfjell felt the stone was burned but agreed to let it remain rather than have it removed. Umpire involvement was minimal since the players decided to play on. 'If we're not going to have umpires or officials there that are actually going to officiate and umpire the game, they shouldn't be there in my opinion,' veteran skip Brad Gushue said in a recent interview. 'And if that's the case and we have cameras, we have streaming services on just about every game now played at the top level, why not utilize that?' A World Curling spokesman noted Norway didn't make a complaint after continuing play. Chinese coach Weidong Tan, who served as interpreter for skip Xiaoming Xu, said the team didn't feel the broom made contact with the rock. World Curling director Jill Officer was made available for an interview at the event but a communications staffer shut down questions on the subject. HOMAN DOMINANT Rachel Homan's Ottawa-based team became the first Canadian women's rink to repeat as world champions since Sandra Schmirler's side did it in 1994. The top-ranked Homan finished with a remarkable 75-9 record over a season that included a fifth career Scotties Tournament of Hearts title along with Grand Slam crowns at the Kioti National and Co-op Canadian Open. Top-ranked Bruce Mouat of Scotland won the men's world title. Italy's Amos Mosaner and Stefania Constantini took the world mixed doubles crown. HITS AND MISSES The Curling Group tried some new things over its five-event calendar after purchasing the Grand Slam of Curling series last spring. Some things worked and others didn't. More changes — including a new pro league — are on the way next season. A big hit was the decision to provide live streaming of all games at Slam competitions. Curler walkouts — or slideouts in some cases — also proved popular. Misses included the dizziness-inducing 'hat-cam' live camera and a GSOC playoff draft where skips selected pool opponents. The draft's start was delayed, players didn't have their own microphones and graphics weren't used. CLEAN SWEEP Call it what you will — Foamgate or Broomgate 2.0 — but broomhead foam density was a hot topic among athletes in recent months. Many teams believe firmer foam products allow sweepers to have too much control on the ice. World Curling and Goldline Curling mutually agreed to suspend the approval of Goldline's Pursuer foam from competitive play last February. Curlers, manufacturers, federations, the athlete commission and officials have had discussions about equipment in recent months but it's unclear when there might be clarity on the subject. 'The athletes need to know by the beginning of August what sort of broom they're going to have (in) their hand for next (season),' Officer said. 'And I plan (to) keep trying to push that timeline.' HOG-LINE VIOLATIONS In the wake of repeated electronic sensor issues with curling stones, the honour system has been in place for hog-line violations over the last few seasons. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. The setup has generally worked although many curlers do not release the rocks in time. Opponent apathy may be to blame. 'There's a line there that has to be abided by and it has to be enforced,' said World Curling Hall of Famer Warren Hansen. 'And to ignore it, to me, is just ridiculous.' A first-hand look from ice level at the recent world men's championship revealed several uncalled violations. A player can still request an umpire to watch the line if desired. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 22, 2025.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Everything you need to know about the 2025 Men's Worlds: Lineups, curlers and skinny for each rink
It's been a few years since Canada recorded a world championship victory in men's curling circles. That came back in 2017 Edmonton, when Brad Gushue and his 'Rock' band drummed up a second straight title for the country. Since then, it's been platinum success by Sweden's Niklas Edin in winning five of the last six events — with Scotland's Bruce Mouat interrupting that tune for one score in 2023 Ottawa. So who's going to be in sound form for the 2025 BKT World Men's Curling Championship, when it begins Friday in Moose Jaw, Sask.? 'We're obviously looking at Bruce Mouat,' said Canada vice-skip Marc Kennedy, turning up the volume on World Curling's top-ranked team, based on points collected during the 2024-25 season. 'And we know Niklas Edin hasn't had a great season, but we know what he's like at the world championship, so he's going to be right in there.' Indeed, Edin is currently ranked 13th on the planet — a far cry from his usual noisy self. But the seven-time world victor and 2022 Olympic king can't be ignored on this stage. Then again, neither can many in a 13-team field — with rinks having qualified from either the 2024 Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships or the 2024 Pan Continental Curling Championships — popping with contenders for the crown. 'There doesn't seem to be a lot of easy games,' said Kennedy, a key voice himself on the World Curling No. 3 Brad Jacobs crew from Calgary. 'We've had some challenges with (No. 4) Yannick Schwaller from Switzerland this year. (No. 8) Marc Muskatewitz from Germany winning the Euros, I think, puts them in the mix there, as well. And then, of course, the Italians — they're going to be real tough to beat. 'So those are probably the the main ones we have on our radar. But there's also a couple of Asian teams that are going to really put up a good fight. We've played a few of them this year, and they're very tough to beat. 'So looking at that schedule, I think we're preparing for no easy games. We're going to do everything we can to try to get in the top two so we can get that by to the semi. But this is really going to be a one-game-at-a-time approach, going in healthy and rested and just try to get as many wins as we possibly can. 'But the depth here is definitely more is deeper than the Brier, and we're going to have to be ready.' Here's a look at the field for the worlds, set to begin Saturday — including Canada v. Japan's Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi — at Moose Jaw's Temple Gardens Centre (3 p.m. ET, TSN) … Homan's domination provides inspiration for Team Jacobs at upcoming world men's curling championship How curling in Canada evolved from recreational origins to become a competitive sports juggernaut • CANADA (The Glencoe Club, Calgary) — Brad Jacobs (skip), Marc Kennedy (third), Brett Gallant (second), Ben Hebert (lead), Tyler Tardi (alternate) How they qualified: Finished first at 2025 Montana's Brier, after Brad Gushue qualified Canada by finishing fourth at the 2024 Pan Continental Curling Championships in Lacombe, Alta. The skinny: Combined, Team Jacobs boasts seven world titles, five Olympic medals and a whopping 26 national crowns, including seven Olympic trials victories and a Canada Winter Games win • AUSTRIA (Kitzbühel Curling Club) — Mathias Genner (skip), Jonas Backofen (third), Martin Reichel (second), Florian Mavec (lead), Matthaeus Hofer (alternate) How they qualified: Finished seventh at the 2024 Euros The skinny: Team Genner began a run to these worlds at the 2023 European championships with a silver-medal finish in the B Division to earn a promotion to last year's A Division of the Euros, during which it scored a 3-6 worlds-qualifying record. Genner is 111th ranked in the world. • CHINA (Harbin CC) — Xu Xiaoming (skip), Fei Xueqing (third), Wang Zhiyu (second), Li Zhichao (lead), Yang Bohao (alternate) How they qualified: Won the 2024 Pan Continentals The skinny: Skip Xu, boss of the 25th-ranked rink, has been to worlds seven previous times, although this is his first visit since 2017 — then as a third under Lui Rui. And Xu has only ever made the playoffs once at worlds — that during his first trip in 2008, with skip Wang Fengchun. • CZECHIA (Zbraslav CC & CC Dion, Prague) — Lukas Klima (skip), Marek Cernovsky (third), Martin Jurik (second), Lukas Klipa (lead), Radek Bohac (alternate) How they qualified: Finished eighth at the 2024 Euros The skinny: It's a fourth consecutive worlds appearance for the 34th-ranked Team Klima with a similar lineup. Klima himself was also at worlds with skip Jiri Snitil in 2015 but has yet to make the playoffs with five wins marking his best effort at the event. • GERMANY (CC Füssen) — Marc Muskatewitz (skip), Benjamin Kapp (third), Felix Messenzehl (second), Johannes Scheuerl (lead), Mario Trevisiol (alternate) How they qualified: Won the 2024 Euros then won the 2025 German men's championship The skinny: Team Muskatewitz, the eighth-ranked rink on the planet, took down Team Mouat 9-7 in the gold-medal final of the Euros to help earn his the skip his sixth straight trip to worlds. Muskatewitz boasts the same lineup as year, when it gave Germany its first spot in the playoffs since legend Andy Kapp in 2009, finishing fifth. • ITALY (Trentino Curling Cembra, Cembra) — Joël Retornaz (skip), Amos Mosaner (third), Sebastiano Arman (second), Mattia Giovanella (lead), Giacomo Colli (alternate) How they qualified: Finished sixth at the 2024 Euros and then won the Italian men's championship The skinny: Retornaz, a four-time winner on the Grand Slam of Curling tour, is ranked 12th heading into his 11th worlds appearance, which is his eighth straight and ninth with long-time running-mate Mosaner. The 41-year-old Retornaz is a three-time Olympian trying to better his worlds' bronze medals in 2022 and '24. • JAPAN (SC Karuizawa Club) — Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi (skip), Riku Yanagisawa (fourth), Takeru Yamamoto (second), Satoshi Koizumi (lead), Shingo Usui (alternate) How they qualified: Won the 2025 Japan curling championships after Japan's Shinya Abe finished runner-up at the 2024 Pan Continentals The skinny: Despite seen previous visits to worlds, Yamaguchi is still looking for his first medal, as is Japan itself. The 40-year-old skip heads the 28th-ranked team at worlds — the same squad that competed but missed the playoffs with a 5-7 record in the event in 2023. It's been a while since Yamaguchi's two playoff berths — in 2016 and '13 under skip Yausuke Morozumi. • NORWAY (Trondheim CK) — Magnus Ramsfjell (skip), Martin Sesaker (fourth), Bendik Ramsfjell (second), Gaute Nepstad (lead), Wilhelm Naess (alternate) How they qualified: Won bronze at the 2024 Euros The skinny: Ramsfjell & Co. have been together through three previous worlds, highlighted by their 10-2 finish in the round robin in 2023. Unfortunately, they lost in the qualification round. This March, they come in as the 14th-ranked team after having played in three grand-slam events during the season, trying to improve on their disappointing 4-8 follow-up a year ago. • SCOTLAND (Gogar Park CC, Edinburgh) — Bruce Mouat (skip), Grant Hardie (third), Bobby Lammie (second), Hammy McMillan (lead), Kyle Waddell (alternate) How they qualified: Finished runner-up at the 2024 Euros The skinny: The No. 1 team in the world — by a wide margin on the points board — heads into the event as the favourite, thanks a sparkling season, including title takes at 3-of-4 GSOC events so far. Team Mouat is in its third campaign together, highlighted by the 2023 worlds crown but looking to rebound from semifinal and bronze-medal-game losses last year. • SOUTH KOREA (Uiseong CC) — Kim Hyo-jun (skip), Kim Eun-bin (third), Pyo Jeong-min (second), Kim Jin-hun (lead), Kim Chang-min (alternate) How they qualified: Won the 2024 Korean curling championships under skip Lae Jae-beom and then finished fifth at the 2024 Pan Continentals under Lae. The skinny: Kim Hyo-jun takes command of the 61st-ranked rink, looking to get Korea its first-ever medal at worlds. Korea lost the bronze-medal match in 2018, when this year's alternate, Kim Chang-min, was the skip. Last year, Korea was just 2-10 under skip Park Jong-duk. SWEDEN (Karlstads CK) — Niklas Edin (skip), Oskar Eriksson (third), Rasmus Wranaa (second), Christoffer Sundgren (lead), Simon Olofsson (alternate) How they qualified: Finished fifth at the 2024 Euros The skinny: Seven-time world-champ skip Edin is the defending champ, along with his high-profile rink, which remains intact for a ninth-straight year. It's a wowzer 14th visit to the worlds for 40-year-old Edin, but the team comes in just 13th ranked on the planet after sub-standard finishes on the grand-slam circuit. But don't every count out Edin & Co. SWITZERLAND (CC3C Genève) — Yannick Schwaller (skip), Benoit Schwarz-van Berkel (fourth), Sven Michel (second), Pablo Lachat-Couchepin (lead), Kim Schwaller (alternate) How they qualified: Finished fourth at the 2024 Euros and won the Swiss men's curling championship The skinny: The fourth-ranked team in the world is vying to give Switzerland its first gold medal since 1992, when Markus Eggler won worlds. Schwaller & Co. came close two years ago in 2023, earning the bronze. But they'll have to do better than last spring, when the same lineup missed the playoffs with a pedestrian 6-6 mark. The 29-year-old Schwaller, the 2014 world junior champ, skipped his crew to three playoff appearances in GSOC play this season. UNITED STATES (Duluth CC) — Korey Dropkin (skip), Tom Howell (third), Andrew Stopera (second), Mark Fenner (lead), Christopher Plys (alternate) How they qualified: Won bronze at the 2024 Pan Continentals The skinny: Dropkin, 29 and his 11th-ranked Minnesota rink downed Gushue at the Pan Continentals to medal in Lacombe and qualify for these worlds. Dropkin's only other visit to worlds not as an alternate came in 2022, when the skip, third Joe Polo, second Fenner and lead Howell made playoffs with a 7-5 record but bowed out to Gushue in the semi and lost to Retornaz in the bronze-medal match. tsaelhof@
CBC
10-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Relegation Return? Competition format a talking point at Brier
Numerous blowout games. A 6-2 team missing the playoff cut. No tiebreakers. The 18-team format at the Brier has had its share of critics even though six strong teams made it to the playoff round at Prospera Place in Kelowna, B.C. Six-time Brier champion Brad Gushue went one step further after round-robin play concluded by suggesting that relegation — a much-criticized qualification round that was only used for a few years — be considered again. "I think it would be worth a discussion," Gushue said. "I'm not advocating for it but I think that's the best option that's been shared with me that gets us back to that full round-robin that I used to love playing and I think the fans (loved). "It gets the best teams there. It's worth talking about." Relegation format In the relegation format, which Curling Canada called a "pre-qualifying" stage when it was used from 2015-17, the four lowest-seeded provinces and territories played a round-robin. The winner would reach the main draw and the three losing teams would go home. Longtime Northwest Territories women's skip Kerry Galusha weighed in on the subject on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. "As someone who participated in all three years of relegation it made us work harder and get better, not saying it's the answer but we are going to see lopsided games for years to come until the Northern teams start working harder and travelling more. I knew what we had to do." Curling Canada moved to a 16-team setup for the Brier and the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 2018. The defending champion and all provincial and territorial winners were given direct entry along with a wild-card team. Two pools of eight teams were used in a format that has since expanded to 18 teams with three pre-qualified entries based on the previous season's rankings. Format debate found another gear this past week when Northern Ontario's John Epping and Manitoba's Reid Carruthers finished tied for third place in their pool at 6-2. Their head-to-head record was the tiebreaker, leaving Epping on the outside even though a 5-3 team from the other pool — Nova Scotia's Owen Purcell — made the cut. "It's weird to play a Brier and it's a double-knockout," Epping said. Supporters feel the format creates more intensity in the early going. The cutoff for the Friday qualifying games ahead of the Page playoffs heightens mid-week drama. Top rinks still play hard because seeding and hammer are on the line. At the same time, several teams in the field have essentially no chance against the well-funded, well-travelled powerhouse rinks. "We're trying to make everybody happy and we're not making anybody happy," said Brent Laing, who coached Mike McEwen's Saskatchewan side. "It's a bit of a mess." 'It's never perfect' Darren Moulding, who coached Thomas Scoffin's Yukon team, said ranking imbalance in the pools can also be a factor. He noted that sometimes in pro leagues like the NHL, MLB or the NFL, a team with a mediocre record can sneak into the playoffs. "In sports, it's never perfect," he said. "If you change the format to make that not happen, there's going to be something else that you sacrifice." Nunavut's Shane Latimer and Aaron Bartling of the Northwest Territories both went 0-8 in round-robin play. Bartling was dumped 20-2 in his second game and gave up an average of almost 11 points a game. Latimer, meanwhile, was outscored 83-25 over his eight losses. "I don't see with the way it's currently structured how it helps these lower-ranked teams to come in here and get blown out," said former Curling Canada event manager Warren Hansen. "I know it's a big thrill for a lot of them (to be here). "But I can't really see myself enjoying coming into this venue and this setting and getting completely annihilated, which a lot of them have this week." Curling Canada announced in 2023 that the current format for the national playdowns will remain in place through next season. "If any changes are made, they would begin in the next (Olympic) quadrennial," an organization spokesman said via email. Another intriguing format quirk came after Alberta's Brad Jacobs went a perfect 8-0 in round-robin play and then lost his first qualifying game. That forced him into a situation where his only route to a title would be four straight must-wins in the playoffs. Jacobs managed to pull it off with a 7-5 semifinal win over Gushue on Sunday afternoon and a 5-3 victory over Manitoba's Matt Dunstone in the evening final. WATCH | Jacobs and Team Alberta win 2025 Brier on great final shot: Brad Jacobs' Team Alberta wins 2025 Brier on great final shot 11 hours ago Duration 1:33 Trailing with the last rock in the final end, Brad Jacobs squeezed in a great shot to score three and down Matt Dunstone's Team Manitoba. "At the end of the day, there's certain games you can't lose," Laing said. "I don't know all the answers. "The old format was a lot simpler, that's for sure."
CBC
08-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Dunston, Gushue win qualifying games to reach Page playoff 1-2 game at Brier
Top-ranked Matt Dunstone of Manitoba and defending champion Brad Gushue won qualifying matches Friday at the Montana's Brier to advance to the Page playoff 1-2 game. Dunstone defeated Saskatchewan's Mike McEwen 6-5 and Gushue topped Alberta's Brad Jacobs 7-4 at Prospera Place. McEwen fell into an evening qualifier against Manitoba's Reid Carruthers while Jacobs was scheduled to play Nova Scotia's Owen Purcell in the other must-win matchup. The winners of the late games will play in the Page Playoff 3-4 game on Saturday and the losers will be eliminated. The 1-2 game winner on Saturday afternoon will advance directly to the final on Sunday night. The 3-4 game winner will play the 1-2 game loser in the semifinal before the championship game.
CBC
01-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Defending champion Brad Gushue opens with victory at Montana's Brier
Social Sharing Defending champion Brad Gushue opened the Montana's Brier with a 9-2 victory over Newfoundland and Labrador's Ty Dilello on Friday night. Gushue opened with a deuce and never trailed in the eight-end win at Canada's annual men's curling championship at Prospera Place in Kelowna, B.C. The St. John's, N.L.-based skip is looking to win the curling championship for a record fourth time in a row and seventh time overall. Dilello is making his Brier debut. His team plays out of the same St. John's club as Gushue's rink. Round-robin play continues through Thursday night. The Page playoffs are set for next weekend ahead of the final on March 9. Teams from 10 provinces and three territories, along with a few additional teams, will compete for the title of Canada's best men's curling team. The winning team will also go on to represent Canada at the World Curling Championships, which will be played on home ice this year in Moose Jaw, Sask.
