A record prize purse has produced an elite field for the 2021 Home Hardware Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, presented by Nature’s Bounty.

Thirty-five teams will play for their share of the $150,000 that will be on the line from March 18-25 at WinSport Arena at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, with the winning team collecting $50,000.

The teams have been split into five round-robin pools, and the top five seeds in the event are the top-listed teams in each pool.

The teams were determined by the following criteria:

• 14 provincial/territorial championship teams
• 14 teams from the Canadian Mixed Doubles Rankings (CMDR) based on results between March 15, 2019, and March 15, 2020 (teams must have played a minimum of two mixed doubles events during the season)
• Seven teams who were unable to compete this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic but had committed to play Mixed Doubles together. Rankings are based on each player’s best three CTRS point events from the 2019/2020 season combined with their partners. All players must be part of Curling Canada’s National Team program.

Here’s a look the five pools that will be competing in Calgary:

Jocelyn Peterman/Brett Gallant

POOL A

Jocelyn Peterman/Brett Gallant (CMDR)
Kadriana Sahaidak/Colton Lott (CMDR)
Clancy Grandy/Patrick Janssen (CMDR)
Joanne Courtney/Darren Moulding (CTRS)
Melissa Adams/Alex Robichaud (N.B. Champ)
Brittney Tran/Aaron Sluchinski (Alta. Champ)
Angela Dale/Peter Van Strien (Nun. Champ)

POOL B

Jennifer Jones/Brent Laing (CMDR)
Kim Tuck/Wayne Tuck (CMDR)
Émilie Desjardins/Robert Desjardins (CMDR)
Kerri Einarson/Brad Gushue (CTRS)
Laurie St-Georges/Félix Asselin (Que. Champ)
Lauren Wasylkiw/Shane Konings (Ont. Champ)
Bayly Scoffin/Wade Scoffin (Yuk. Champ)

Team PEI: Lauren and Alex MacFadyen

POOL C

Nancy Martin/Tyrel Griffith (CMDR)
Laura Walker/Kirk Muyres (CMDR)
Chaelynn Kitz/Kyler Kleibrink (CMDR)
Briane Meilleur/Mark Nichols (CTRS)
Selena Njegovan/Reid Carruthers (CTRS)
Stephanie Jackson-Baier/Corey Chester (B.C. Champ)
Lauren MacFadyen/Alex MacFadyen (P.E.I. Champ)

POOL D

Shannon Birchard/Caitlin Schneider (CMDR)
Bobbie Sauder/Brendan Bottcher (CMDR)
Val Sweeting/Marc Kennedy (CTRS)
Emma Miskew/Ryan Fry (CTRS)
Krysten Karwacki/Derek Samagalski (Man. Champ)
Karlee Jones/Bryce Everist (N.S. Champ)
Liz King/Landon King (NWT Champ)

POOL E

Danielle Schmiemann/John Morris (CMDR)
Ashley Quick/Mike Armstrong (Sask. Champ)
Kaitlyn Lawes/Connor Lawes (CMDR)
Lisa Weagle/John Epping (CTRS)
Dezaray Hawes/Tyler Tardi (NextGen Champ)
Oye-Sem Won/Trevor Bonot (N.O. Champ)
Mackenzie Mitchell/Greg Smith (N.L.)

NOTES

• Danielle Schmiemann is replacing Rachel Homan as John Morris’s partner
• Kyler Kleibrink is replacing Brayden Stewart as Chaelynn Kitz’z partner
• Team Hawes/Tardi is replacing Team Katie Cottrill/Shawn Cottrill, who declined their CMDR berth

In what has been an unprecedented season for all sports, the qualifying process employed by Curling Canada for the 2021 Home Hardware Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship has drawn praise from Own The Podium, a funding partner of Curling Canada.

“It has become evident to Own the Podium that the best curling athletes in the world make for the best Mixed Doubles partnerships. World and Olympic results over the last quadrennial have substantiated this premise,” stated Own the Podium in a letter co-signed by Chief Executive Officer Anne Merklinger and Winter Sport Director Patricia Chafe. “Own the Podium has also noticed that other countries are following Canada’s lead relative to having their most elite athletes as part of their Mixed Doubles selection process. Own the Podium’s allocation of funding to Curling Canada’s National Team Program is based on the understanding that our best athletes have the opportunity to play both the four-person team discipline as well as the Mixed Doubles discipline. We anticipate and expect that Canada’s most elite curling athletes will compete to represent Canada on the international stage in both disciplines and therefore wish to encourage Curling Canada to provide as many National Team Program athletes as possible access to your respective national championships.”

The teams in Calgary will play a single round-robin draw within their pools, and the top 12 teams overall will advance to the playoffs.

The winning team will take home a $50,000 payout and, pending an official announcement from the World Curling Federation, will have the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2021 World Mixed Doubles Championship (dates, location to be announced by the World Curling Federation). That event will determine seven of the 10 countries that will compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The runner-up pairing will collect $30,000; $20,000 to third place and $10,000 to fourth place. Fifth through eighth place earns $6,500 while ninth through 12th takes home $3,500.

TSN/RDS will be providing extensive live coverage of the 2021 Home Hardware Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship, beginning with the opening draw on March 18 at 10:30 a.m. (all times Eastern). The gold-medal game is scheduled for March 25 at 9 p.m.

You can see the full TSN broadcast schedule for the 2021 Home Hardware Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship by CLICKING HERE.

CLICK HERE to see the full schedule for the 2021 Home Hardware Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship.

CLICK HERE to read this story at Curling Canada