After eight rounds of play, the pool standings are taking shape, with five teams remaining undefeated as the competition heads into Round Nine.
Rachel Homan/Mark Nichols along with Laura Crocker/Geoff Walker both lead Pool A with undefeated records of 5-0.They will meet in the last draw Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m.
Action on the ice at the 2016 Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Saskatoon (Curling Canada/Darlene Danyliw photo)
In Pool B, both leaders, Jocelyn Peterman/Brett Gallant and Lisa Weagle/John Epping have suffered a loss and are looking to go undefeated the rest of the way to be ensured of a playoff spot.
In Pools C and D, the 2015 Canadian champions, Kalynn Park/Charley Thomas suffered their first loss on Friday at the hands of the father-daughter duo, Robert and Émilie Desjardins. Husband-and-wife team Dawn/Mike McEwen and Marliese Kasner/Dustin Kalthoff, from the host club, won their games on Friday afternoon to remain keep their 5-0 records intact.
A few of the top teams have suffered two or even three defeats in the early going, which emphasizes the uniqueness and difficulty of this sport. A highlight for the young team from P.E.I., Sabrina Smith and Kyle Holland, was their win over a pre-tournament hometown favourite, Stephanie Lawton and Steve Laycock.
Sabrina Smith and Kyle Holland, of P.E.I., scored a surprise win over pre-tournament favourites, Stefanie Lawton and Steve Laycock (Curling Canada/Darlene Danyliw photo)
Kim and Wayne Tuck, Canada’s 2013 Mixed Doubles champions, continue to roll after two early losses, defeating another early favourite, Reid Carruthers and Joanne Courtney.
Sitting with three wins and still in the hunt for play-off spots are the teams of:
Janet and Hugh Murphy (Ontario)
Ashley Quick and Mike Armstrong (Saskatchewan)
Jennifer Baxter and Mark Dacey (Nova Scotia)
Jessie Kaufman and Brock Virtue (Alberta)
Jaelyn and Jim Cotter (British Columbia)
Nancy Martin and Catlin Schneider (Saskatchewan)
Emma Miskew and Ryan Fry (Ontario – N. Ontario)
Joanne Courtney and Reid Carruthers (Ontario – Manitoba)
Play continues Friday night and Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon is reserved for tiebreakers, and there could be a few. The play-off round of 12 begins Saturday evening at 8:30 MDT. Quarters, Semis and Finals will be played on Sunday with the Championship game slated for 4:00 p.m. MDT.
Find scoring and standings, here.
Go to the event website, www.curling.ca/2016mixeddoubles/, to access the streaming link.
The Canadian Mixed Doubles competition format will feature 32 teams (each team consists of one male curler and one female curler) divided into four pools of eight, with the four pool winners after the round robin plus the eight teams with the next-best records advancing to a 12-team single elimination playoff. The four pool-winners have first-round byes.
The gold-medal game is scheduled for Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.
For the full list of competitors, click here. And for the full schedule, click here.