#Beijing2022 MD Preview

 #BetweenTheRings: Mixed Doubles Preview

Enter the #IceCube at the 2022 Winter Olympics

Do you have the Olympic spirit?

If not, get ready because it might come over you like a chinook blast in downtown Calgary.

And if you do have it, you must be counting down the days until the first event hits our TV screens.

The Opening Ceremonies are slated for Friday February 4 inside National Stadium, also known as The Bird's Nest.

Sound familiar? If you are a regular Olympic viewer, it should be.

The Bird's Nest, an 80,000-capacity stadium, was a regular fixture during the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

The stadium, renamed to National Stadium, will now become a Winter Olympic venue.  

But while the official start of the games will be when the Olympic flame is lit at Olympic Stadium, the actual competition will begin days earlier.

Those of us who are curling fans are even more excited. Similar to PyeongChang in 2018, curling will be the first sport to gain worldwide attention.

The mixed doubles event hits the ice inside the #IceCube a few days before the Opening Ceremonies.

The discipline of mixed doubles curling on Olympic ice is still "new". 2018 marked the debut of mixed doubles curling when 8 teams took the ice to compete for the first mixed doubles curling gold medal.

But we must remember mixed doubles is not a new discipline overall. The World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship has been an annual event since 2008 and continues to be the fastest growing discipline in the sport....and perhaps the most popular?!

Hence the format change from 2018 to 2022 where there will be 10 nations competing in Beijing for Olympic medals, up from the 8 we saw at the debut in PyeongChang.

The 2018 Winter Olympics only helped propel the sport into a new fan base. Social media erupted with mixed doubles curling comments throughout the competition.

People who normally may not be curling fans or were new to the sport enjoyed the fast-paced action of the games, alongside the high scoring and #NoLeadIsSafe mantra.

What will the 2022 Winter Olympics bring to mixed doubles?

I think it is safe to assume an increase in viewership alongside more enthusiasm and excitement is almost a given.

For those still new to mixed doubles curling, here is the quick and dirty of the discipline:

• Mixed doubles is for teams of two players, one male and no female, with no alternate players
• The game is played on the same sheet of ice as other curling disciplines
• Teams have only 6 stones each (instead of 8) and one stone from each team is prepositioned on the centre line before each end of play begins.  A perfect end is a score of 6!
• Player One delivers first and last stone while Player Two delivers second, third and fourth.  The two players may swap positions from Player One to Player Two from one end to the next.
• Sweeping can be done by both players.
• The "skip" or Player One does not need to stand behind the hog line at the scoring end.  Teams can select to have a sweeper instead of a "skip".
• Each team receives 22 minutes of thinking time and games are scheduled for 8 ends.
• Team may call a #PowerPlay once per game (but only when the team has hammer), meaning pre-placed stones will be moved out to one of the sides and placed as a corner guard and a stone behind it, with the back of the stone against the tee line.
• The first take-out is allowed with the fourth stone played each end.
• Before fourth stone, teams are not allowed to hit either their opposition or their own stones out of play.
• If an end is blanked, the team that delivered first stone will have decision on pre-determined rock placement the next end.

Enjoy rocks in play? Mixed doubles will bring it to you!

Enjoy momentum swings? Mixed doubles will bring it to you!

Enjoy epic comebacks and high scoring ends? Mixed doubles will bring it to you!

Enjoy strategy discussions? Mixed doubles will bring it to you!

In conclusion, mixed doubles can bring you everything you want out of your sports viewing experience...and then some.

But enough of the history lesson and backstory on mixed doubles.  Lets turn our attention to the main stage of this blog post: The 2022 Winter Olympics!!

Slip on that slider, settle in the hack, take a deep breath.....here we go!

Take note, the Power Rankings below are based on the current World Curling Federation Mixed Doubles World Ranking.

#TwineTimePreview

Mixed Doubles Curling

Beijing National Aquatics Centre

Beijing, China

Competition Schedule: February 2 - 8, 2022

2018 Champion: Canada

Format: 10 team RR with Top 4 advancing to playoffs with 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3 SF matches.

#PowerRankings

1. Canada (Rachel Homan / John Morris)

John Morris is back, ready to #DefendTheIce from the gold medal he won in 2018. Kaitlyn Lawes will not be returning with him however as she is set to compete in the women's team competition with Team Jones.

Morris will be joined by his regular mixed doubles partner Rachel Homan though in Beijing. Homan will be looking for some Olympic redemption of her own, having competed in the women's team event in 2018 but failing to reach the playoffs.

Morris will be chasing #HIStory of his own as well, attempting to win his 3 Olympic gold medal after MD success 4 years ago coupled with his men's team gold medal win on home ice in Vancouver with Team Martin in 2010.

This is a VERY experienced duo, both individually and together. They will be very hard to beat. The one question mark surrounding them is their preparation and practice time together.

The Canadian Mixed Doubles Olympic Curling Trials were cancelled due to COVID-19 and then we saw a long delay in the selection process and formal announcement. During that time, Morris was competing at the Alberta men's provincials with Team Koe, an event they won to earn the right to represent Alberta and the 2022 Tim Horton's Brier in Lethbridge.

We did see on social media Homan and Morris together in Canmore training and preparing but was it enough time?

2. Switzerland (Jenny Perret / Martin Rios)

Morris is back to defend his gold while the duo he defeated in the PyeongChang final are also back looking for their revenge.

Switzerland's Perret/Rios combo is a deadly one, chalk full of international experience.

Coupled with their Olympic silver from 2018, the duo are also past world champions (2017) and finished 5th at the 2021 world championship.

Rios has actually competed at 4 world mixed doubles championships, claiming his first world championship in 2012 with Nadine Lehmann.

This is another team with lots of experience...and revenge is a sweet motivator!

3. Norway (Kristin Skaslien / Magnus Nedregotten)

Is this becoming the PyeongChang 2018 remix?

Similar to both nations above, Norway will hit the ice with their 2018 bronze medal winning (and now married) couple Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten.

We all know the story of how they lost the bronze medal game to the duo from the Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) but were awarded the bronze after the male competitor tested positive for a banned substance.

This team also may have some revenge on their minds.

Sure they "won" the bronze medal but they did not end their 2018 Olympic experience with a win in their final game. They will be looking to take the next step and play for Olympic gold and try to win that final game in their schedule.

This is one of the most experienced MD duos in the field as well. Look at their world championship history. They have competed in 7 world championships. They are the defending world championship silver medal winners, having lost the 2021 final to Scotland (more on them below). They also took home world championship bronze in 2019.

Back to back world championships with back to back podium finishes. Not to mention all the World Curling Tour wins on the mixed doubles circuit and the bronze from 4 years ago.

They may be seeded #3 but might be considered the #Fav and finish #1.

Nedregotten is also the 5th for Team Norway in the men's Olympic competition.

4. Sweden (Almida de Val / Oskar Eriksson)

Speaking of world championship experience as of late, how about Oskar Eriksson?

Eriksson won the 2019 world championship with partner Anna Hasselborg.

Eriksson returned to the world championship in 2021 with new partner Almida de Val and won a bronze medal.

Eriksson has a resume long enough to almost warrant it's own Wikipedia page. It is quite impressive.

Look at these stats: 2 Olympic medals, 5-time world men's champion, 7-time European men's champion, World junior men's champion, Winter Universiade champion and World mixed doubles champion.

In 2019, he become the first curler to hold 3 gold medals in one calendar year (Euro, World men's, World mixed doubles). He also remains the only junior world champion to also win world championship gold in both senior disciplines (men's and mixed doubles).

The wildcard here will be how de Val handles the Olympic pressure.

She is no stranger to international events though, having won a world junior title (2017) and Winter Universaide title (2019) with Team Wrana.

They may not be the #Fav but they are certainly a podium challenger.

Eriksson will return to the ice following MD to compete with Sweden's Team Edin in the men's competition.

Could the ONLY nation in the field not to feature red in their flag stand above the rest at the end of the competition?

5. USA (Vicky Persinger / Chris Plys)

While we talk about MD experience and international experience with the teams seeded above, enter Team USA with a duo who have played together for close to 5 years but have not been on the international ice.

Vicky Persinger and Chris Plys are battle ready though. They had to fight through a tough Olympic Qualification Event to earn their spot in this field.

And that happened just after they won the Olympic MD trials, not to mention Plys winning the men's trials as well as vice for Team Shuster.

While they may not have the international MD resume of some of their competitors, do not undersell their potential.

Competing in and qualifying from the OQE might be a blessing in disguise. They were able to get some high-stressed, highly competitive games under their sliders together at an international event and played extremely well.

Plys has been here before, being alternate to Team USA at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, but it is slightly different from being alternate to all eyes on you!

Both Persinger and Plys have world championship experience from the women's and men's team game so that may help battle a few butterflies along the way.

Can they live up to their seed? Can they shock the world and make a deep run to the podium?

Anything is possible from this duo.

Note, if you are not following Chris Plys on social media, you are really missing out. Check out his twitter account HERE and toss him a follow already! Regardless of the results on the ice, Plys may be the early fav for SM gold medal from these games. 

Stellar content! And I am sure it helps with media attention when you are a nice dude AND a good looking dude. Watch out Mr. Morris....Mr. Plys is coming for your crown.

6. China (Fan Suyuan / Ling Zhi)

In speaking on lack of international experience, enter the home nation duo of Fan Suyuan and Ling Zhi.

The Olympics will mark the first time they have played together. Insert eyebrow raise emoji here.

A bit of a surprising move by the host nation, especially considering they have had MD success at the world championships winning silver in 2016 and bronze in 2010 and 2017.

A differently approach, perhaps a risky approach, but could it pay off? Does the Chinese Olympic Committee and Chinese Curling Association know something we don't?

To Ling's credit, he did compete at the 2021 world championship with partner Yang Ying. The duo finished in 9th place.

They may be seeded #6 based on the rankings but they would be considered the ultimate dark horse for the podium based on resume and experience alone. 

7. Great Britain (Jennifer Dodds / Bruce Mouat)

Remember above the comments around the 2021 world championships and international experience?

Here comes our current world mixed doubles champions from Scotland, Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat.

This is a team full of international success.

Mouat is a two-time (and defending) Euro champion alongside his silver and bronze medal wins at the world men's championship.

Dodds also has Euro championship hardware, having won a gold and a silver.

But can their men's and women's team successes continue on the mixed doubles ice?

They enter as world champions but can they strike lightning in a bottle again inside the #IceCube in Beijing, similar to the success we saw inside the #IceBubble in Calgary?

Don't let the seed fool you.

Also props to both players as they will be the only duo competing in both MD and men's/women's team competitions in Beijing. A special shout out to Dodds being the only female pulling the double here.

We saw the Hamilton siblings become the first to do the double in PyeongChang, with Matt winning gold in the men's team event.

Can Mouat and/or Dodds go one better and lead a #TeamGB sweep?

8. Czech Republic (Zuzana Paulova / Tomas Paul)

The couple who curls together, stays together?

We see Norway being led by a married couple. Czech Republic will be doing the same in Beijing.

And it will a historic appearance for the Czech's as it marks the 1st time Czech Republic have qualified to compete on the Olympic curling ice.

They punched their ticket to Beijing at the 2021 world championships when they finished 7th overall to claim the final direct-entry berth. And who could forgot the celebration on the ice that followed the W?!

After so many near misses for Czech curling at Olympic Qualification Events in the past, this is going to be monumental for the sport and hopefully help #growthesport back home.

They may be Olympic rookies but do not count them out of this competition.

Paulova and Paul have been playing mixed doubles together for nearly a decade and, alongside fellow couple competitors from Norway, are one of the most experienced duos in the field. They did win a world championship bronze in 2013 as well.

Overall they have competed in 6 world championships and have won many MD tour events over the years.

They may not be the most well-known duo in the field but they will also not be starry-eyed competing against those "bigger" names.

9. Italy (Stefania Constantini / Amos Mosaner)

Bit of a surprise for some to see Italy in this field.

We have seen the consistent competitive growth from the Italian men over the years, of which Mosaner will compete with Team Retornaz in the men's competition after MD wraps up.

And the Italian women's team has been making strides to be more competitive both at European championships and world championships.

But mixed doubles has been an untapped market in a way for the southern Euro nation.

Mosaner has played at the world MD championships in 2019 and 2021 while Constantini made her MD world debut with Mosaner in 2021.

Mosaner just missed the playoffs in 2019, wrapping up the RR with a 5-2 record.

Constantini and Mosaner made noise in 2021 though, finishing 7-2 in the RR to reach the playoffs (and punch their ticket into this field) and wound up with a 5th place overall result.

If you are looking to cheer for a dangerous team who could fly under the radar and knock off those "bigger" names, Italy may be your best bet.

10. Australia (Tahli Gill / Dean Hewitt)

Hellloooo #TeamUpset?!

Kangaroo's on ice? Hellz yeah!!

Australia made history at the OQE when Gill/Hewitt dominated the competition to book their spot in the field and become the 1st Australian curlers to step onto Olympic ice.

The team, previously coached by now Olympic opponent John Morris, has been playing a ton of MD events over the past few years in Canada. In fact they even lived in Canmore for awhile to be close to their coach, improve their game and really prepare for this exact moment.

And remember that 2019 world MD championship? Australia planted their flag on the ice in Stavanger, Norway when they won their pool with a 5-2 record (a pool shared with fellow Olympic competitors Paulova/Paul and Mosaner) to reach the playoffs.

Once in the playoff bracket, they knocked off Switzerland and Japan to reach the SF before falling to eventual champions (and fellow 2022 MD competitor Eriksson) Sweden and lost the bronze medal game to USA.

Sure they struggled at the 2021 world championship, failing the reach the playoffs with a 3-6 RR record, but they know they are capable of beating any team in the field on any given day.

Their story and the evolution of Australian curling to reach this point will feel similar to Jamaica's bobsled team and the "Cool Runnings" movie but do not think they are here just for the experience and the memories.

This is a strong MD team and a dark horse medal threat, especially if anyone underestimates them.

Watch Out!!

#TwineTimePredictions

#W2W4

This may be the strongest mixed doubles field we have ever seen hit the ice...at any competition.

The resumes of each athlete and duo, as mentioned above, is almost jaw-dropping.

You really could make a case for almost any of these teams to land on the podium and leave Beijing with medals around their necks.

This will be a dog fight of a competition. I don't think any team will go through undefeated.

In PyeongChang we saw Canada finish atop the RR with a 6-1 record with Switzerland at 5-2 and then 3 nations at 4-3 (OAR, Norway, China).

It is possible we see a team win the RR with 2 losses and the final playoff spot could come down to a TB among a few teams with 5-4 records.

There are no bingo spaces on these player cards folks. Any one of these teams can beat any of the other teams in this field.

What a way to kick off the 2022 Winter Olympics with a truly balanced and elite field.

If you are not excited and have not captured the Olympic spirit yet, watch the opening draw and I promise you will get the Olympic vibes flowing.

Let's Go!!

Projected Standings

1. Sweden  2. Great Britain  3. Canada  4. Norway  5. Switzerland  6. Czech Republic  7. USA  8. Australia  9. Italy  10. China

Qualifiers

Sweden, Great Britain, Canada, Norway


Semifinals

Norway def. Sweden

Great Britain def. Canada


Bronze Medal

Canada (Homan / Morris) def. Sweden (de Val / Eriksson)

#Beijing2022 GOLD MEDAL

Norway (Skaslien / Nedregotten) def. Great Britain (Dodds / Mouat)

#TwineTime Medal Picks

Gold -  Norway

Silver -  Great Britain

Bronze -  Canada

What say you rockheads? Agree? Disagree?

Who do YOU think will land on the podium in Beijing? Take home the gold medal?

Head over to the #TwineTime Home Page and VOTE NOW in the 1st Olympic Poll.

Vote for your pick to take home mixed doubles gold.

#Beijing2022 Winter Olympics 50/50 Pool

Don't forget, there is still time to enter the #TwineTime Winter Olympics 50/50 Pool, raising funds for Kids Up Front Calgary.  Full details and the entry form can be found HERE.

The deadline to enter is Friday February 4! Join us and add to your excitement of watching the upcoming men's and women's team competitions in Beijing.

In case you are wondering how fun it can be, check out the results blog post from the 2018 Winter Olympics 50/50 Pool HERE.

#StayTuned

The blog will return for a preview of the men's and women's team competition before they hit the ice on February 9.

Also the 2022 Scotties Tournament of Hearts are underway in Thunder Bay. Check out the #STOH2022 Preview for a full breakdown of all 18 teams competing HERE as well as listen to the new podcast episode with Special Guest Casey Scheidegger as we hand out opening weekend grades to all 18 teams HERE.

To the athletes competing in Beijing, good luck and good curling...the Olympic ice is yours!

And to all the fans of the sport watching from home, enjoy, have fun, stay safe and be nice to one another.