Joanne Courtney and Reid Carruthers beat Rachel Homan and John Morris 9-6 in an extra end to claim the Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. This was their third mixed doubles curling competition playing together.
“It’s definitely a lot of fun, it’s still really competitive. It’s a different kind of approach we take to this than our own men’s and women’s team,” said Carruthers, who regularly plays four man curling out of Manitoba.
READ MORE: Rachel Homan wins gold for Canada at World Women’s Curling Championship 2017
Courtney, who won the Women’s Curling World Championship in China less than a month ago, was playing against her four man teammate and skip, Homan, for the first time.
“The blinders are on in the game. In between ends it was nice, we were chit chatting. We were happy at the end of the week we were playing each other,” added Courtney, who plays second for Team Homan.
For Courtney, the pressure of mixed doubles is higher, as she throws the last rock of the game, something the 28-year-old from Edmonton isn’t used to.
“I didn’t know what the week would look like, coming off the World Championship, we just kept trying to throw it close and it worked,” Courtney said.
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In four person curling, Carruthers plays skip and throws the final stone, but felt Courtney was the reason their mixed doubles team won all week.
“Joanne hasn’t lost a game in a while, undefeated through the worlds, undefeated through the Canadians. She’s bailed me out, she was the true skipper this week,” Carruthers said.
The Mixed Doubles World Championship is set to begin April 23 in Lethbridge, Alta., however, Carruthers has a conflict with his four-man team, as they have qualified for the Champions Cup, which begins April 25 in Calgary.
Carruthers admits he and Courtney didn’t discuss their plans on attending the World Championships if they won.
“We just kept saying we’ll take it one step at a time. We’ll have to talk about it,” Carruthers said.
“The four man team is the team you committed to first, so we’ll touch base with them first,” Courtney added.
Mixed doubles curling is the most recent sport to be introduced to the Winter Olympics. It will make it’s debut in Pyeongchang in 2018.
Canada still has to qualify for a spot in the games. Whoever does represent the Maple Leaf at the World Championships at the end of the month will need to medal to guarantee a berth to the Games.
A top-five finish may also qualify Canada, but that will be determined by points at the end of the year.
The top four teams from this weekend’s Mixed Doubles Championship at the Nutana Curling Club have earned an Olympic trials berth, if Canada does earn a spot at the 2018 Games.
“The biggest reason for coming here this week was to get a trial spot, we’re happy that we accomplished that and a little more,” said Carruthers.
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