#WMCC2024 Preview

#BetweenTheSheets: March Madness On Ice Continues

Welcome to the "Sheep-House"

Schaffhausen, Switzerland is set to host its first world curling championship.

Finally!

Originally, the Swiss town located on the northern side of the Rhine was going to host the 2021 World Women's Curling Championship.

Well we all know what happened with that event. #COVID19

Fast forward a few years and Shaffhausen has their second chance.

And the best male curling athletes from around the globe are ready to enter the "Sheep-House".

The #SheepHouse is a reference to the canting coat of arms. A canting coat of arms is quite common in German civic heraldry.

In short, it is a way of representing where you are from.

And Shaffhausen, while located in Switzerland, actually lists its official language as German. Or at least a Swiss-style of German.

But why a sheep?

Not 100% known, there are theories stating Scafhusun is derived from Schaf or "sheep". A ram (or sheep) formed the ancient coat of arms dating back to 1049.

Gotta love that history, right?

And, for us Canadians especially, it sure reminds us of just how young our nation is. We are still infants by comparison to the historical background of a majority of nations and cities and towns in the world.

So there you go.

Welcome to the Sheep-House!

As was mentioned in the #WWCC2024 Preview, this is the start of the Olympic qualification process.

For a reminder (and as already posted in the World Women's preview post), 7 nations will earn direct tickets to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy based on their combined results at the 2024 and 2025 world championships.

As this is Year #1, nations competing this year want to finish Top 7 (Top 8 if you include Italy) to put themselves on the positive side of the cut line heading into next year's championship.

Italy, as 2026 host nation, already has earned an auto berth into the competition.

The final 2 spots in the 10 team Winter Olympic field will be decided at the Olympic Qualification Event (date and location TBD). For a nation to earn a spot at that event, they need to compete in at least 1 world championship event in 2024 or 2025.

And remember, nations still need to qualify for the 2025 world championship field based on their results at the 2024 Pan-Continental Curling Championships and 2024 European Curling Championships.

Just because a nation is competing at the 2024 world championship, and may have a Top 7 result, does not mean they will be competing at the 2025 world championship.

But each nation needs to tackle one checkmark at a time. Step 1 was qualifying for this championship. Step 2 will be a Top 7 (or 8) finish. Step 3 will start next season.

With #WWCC2024 wrapped up, we have out first look at the qualification standings. Here is how the standings look for women's Olympic qualification:

1. Canada - 15 points
2. Switzerland - 13
3. South Korea - 11
4. Italy - 10
5. Sweden - 9
6. Denmark - 8
7. USA - 7
8. Great Britain (earned by Scotland) - 6
9. Norway - 5
10. Turkey - 4
11. Japan - 3
12. Estonia -2 
13. New Zealand - 1

Note of course Italy already has a direct spot in the field, as previously mentioned above.

Advantage Great Britain.

With the Top 7 nations earning a direct ticket, Team GB (Scotland) is sitting in that coveted last spot...for now.

The men's qualification will have the same point structure.

15 points for the world champions, 13 for runner-up and so on, all the way to 1 point for the 13th place nation.

Canada's women reclaimed world championship glory in Sydney. Can Canada's men accomplish the double-double inside the Sheep-House?

All eyes will be on the Top 6 playoff nations at the conclusion of the RR but pay attention to those nations around 7th to 9th place.

If we are to assume Italy makes the playoffs (a pretty good assumption given how good they are playing this season), the nation who just misses the playoffs will snag a Top 7 placement right now.

And the nations who finish 8th or 9th in the standings will only be 1 or 2 points back of the cut line heading into next year's world championship in Moose Jaw, SK, Canada.

Similar to the world women's championship, there seems to be a Top 5 destined for the playoffs (ITA, CAN, SWE, SCO, SUI).

If this holds true, it means 1 playoff spot is up for grabs. We saw Denmark pull the #TeamUpset in Sydney to crack the Top 6. Who will be "The Denmark" in Switzerland?

Norway was the dark horse last season. Can they do it again this season?

A past Olympic champion ready to make his move towards more Olympic glory?

What about the "surprise" national champions from Asia?

Could a #NextGen team fresh off multiple world junior championship appearances be ready for the big leap into the men's game?

And what about those Kiwi's?

This is true #MarchMadness!

Again, in support of March Madness, the WMCC2024 preview will do a full Seed Report (similar to the #PowerRankings) of the 13 teams entered into the field.

From there, some key elements to watch for and concluding with the #TwineTime predictions.

Take note, the Seed Report below is based on the current World Curling Federation Men's World Rankings.

For reference, behind the nation name is the team representing the nation and their team ranking is included followed by in brackets the team's overall record and their Head 2 Head record against the field this season.

Ready to conclude March Madness on ice??

Take note, as we saw with some women's teams at #WWCC2024, a few men's teams will be wearing pink in support of breast cancer. Teams will be wearing pink ribbons and Germany and New Zealand have pink jerseys to watch out for. LOVE this!! 🩷

#TwineTimePreview

World Men's Curling Championship

KSS Sports Complex

Schaffhausen, Switzerland

2023 Champion: Scotland (Team Mouat)

Format: 13 team RR with Top 6 qualifiers to the playoffs. 1st and 2nd place receive bye to SF.

#SeedReport

1. Sweden - Team Edin, #7 (44-27, 13-12)

Is #KingNiklas losing his spot on top of the curling throne?

Ok, lets not get too excited or dramatic.

2024 will be a bit different for Niklas Edin as he arrives at the world championship NOT being the defending champ.

After winning 4 straight titles from 2018 - 2022 (remember no championship in 2020 due to COVID-19), Edin's winning streak came to an end last year in Ottawa.

What was perhaps more surprising was the #SwedishVikings losing the qualification game to Canada's Team Gushue and finishing #WMCC2023 in a tie for 5th place. This was his lowest finish at a world championship since missing the playoffs and finishing in 6th place back in 2016.

Now, on the flip side, Edin was battling back from some injuries. And, results aside, he did make the circus shot heard around the world in the RR game vs. Norway.

Yes, you all remember the #GreatestShotInHistory! What will he do next?

It has been an up and down season for Team Edin.

They have qualified in 8 of 11 tour events, reaching 2 finals but not landing on top of the podium.

They also reached the Euro final but came up short against the home town Scottish lads Team Mouat.

Look at their H2H record. 13-12. To say they are familiar with the field would be understatement.

Pay particular attention to their growing rivalry with Italy's Team Retornaz. The Italian Stallion has the 6-2 season advantage and seems to have the king's number this year.

SWE opens with Netherlands, Japan and hosts Switzerland. The Sunday afternoon game vs. the hosts could be critical for final standings given H2H matters and no tiebreakers. Edin is 2-1 against Schwaller this season but Schwaller bested him in their last meeting in Aberdeen at the European Curling Championships.

A 3-0 start, even 2-1, should be expected and put Sweden on the path to the playoffs. Once there though, it could be anybody's guess.

Can 2024 be Lucky #7 for Niklas Edin?

2. Scotland - Team Mouat, #2 (59-20, 15-7)

The Champs are Here!

Scotland's Team Mouat will try to #DefendTheIce in Switzerland after winning their 1st world title last year in Canada.

Bruce Mouat has been to 4 world championships. He has a medal of each colour and 1 6th place finish.

He is going to be on the ice playoff weekend. And this team will be in the running for another world championship.

And they are very deserving. Look at the season record.

They have qualified in 8 of 11 tour events. They have played in 5 finals...and won each time, including the tune-up event in Aberdeen a few weeks ago. At that same event, they picked up wins over fellow #WMCC2024 competitors Czechia, Korea and USA.

Plus they defended their European title on home ice last November.

But, there is the elephant in the room. They lost the SF at the Scottish Curling Championships.

And created #HIStory of their own in becoming the 1st team to represent Scotland at the world championship after having lost in the national championship. Talk about some pressure!

We saw Team Morrison face similar scrutiny leading into the women's worlds, where the team finished just outside the playoffs with a 8th place finish.

I don't think missing the playoffs is a huge concern BUT failing to medal would make people raise the eyebrow a bit higher on whether this was the right decision or if Scottish champs Team Whyte should have been selected.

In Mouat's favour though, they do own the season H2H over their main rivals (4-2) which includes defeating them in 3 tour finals.

Scotland's opening weekend will have games against Korea, USA, Canada and Italy. The draw gods were not kind to the champs.

Anything from a 4-0 record to 2-2 or *gulp* 1-3 is in the realm of possibility. How they do in these first 4 games, especially those back-to-back Sunday games against Canada and Italy, may dictate how ready this team is for another repeat performance.

TRIVIA: When was the last time Scotland's men won back-to-back world championships? (Answer below)

3. Canada - Team Gushue, #6 (43-16, 9-5)

Scotland may have a tough task in defending the ice but at least they have the opportunity.

Canada has not tasted gold at these championships since 2017.

Now, in those 5 world championships since, Canada has 4 silver medal results.

3 of those silver's belong to Brad Gushue (2018, 2022, 2023).

Is this FINALLY the year Canada claims top prize? Is this FINALLY the year Gushue wins a second world title (2017).

As we have learned in Canada at The Brier, never count out the Goo!

Winning 3 straight Brier titles automatically places Team Gushue near the top of the discussion table for leading world championship contenders.

It has also been a stellar season, qualifying in 6 of 7 events and winning a tour title. They also were able to #DefendTheIce at the 2023 Pan-Continental Curling Championships last October.

The H2H is quite interesting though. 9-5 is a bit of a mixed bag and maybe a bit closer to the .500 record than many curling fans would expect.

SUI Team Schwaller, for instance, is 2-2 against Gushue.

KOR Team Park knocked off Gushue in the opening game of #PCCC2023 before losing to them in the gold medal game.

Canada will open the competition with Czechia, Germany and Scotland.

Interesting to note they have not played Team Mouat this season. This game on Sunday could have HUGE playoff/standing implications.

4. Switzerland - Team Schwaller, #5 (52-21 overall, 12-10 H2H)

Speaking of Switzerland, enter the host team. And ALWAYS a podium threat.

Switzerland has won bronze in 3 of the last 4 world championships (2019, 2021, 2023).

And this is the same team who won the bronze last year.

For skip Yannick Schwaller, this will be his 3rd straight world championship appearance, going from 6th place to 3rd place. Can he continue his positive trajectory into a world final?

For the host nation, it would be nice.

Talk about droughts...how about the Swiss not being in a world final since 2001 and not winning a world title since 1981.

On the positive, that world final appearance was on home ice in Lausanne. But, the last two times Switzerland was host nation (Basel - 2012, 2016), Switzerland finished 9th both times. Where is the home ice luck?

Past ghosts aside, this is a very strong team. Top 5 in the world after all.

They have qualified in all 9 tour events this season, reaching 2 finals and winning 1 title.

They also won the bronze medal at the European championships, "upsetting" #1 seed Italy in the bronze medal game.

It will not be a warm welcome for the visitors either on opening weekend as SUI starts the competition against USA, Norway and Sweden. 3 teams all with playoff aspirations as well.

Starting 3-0 would be perfection of course. 0-3 would be catastrophic. But 2-1 seems to be the ideal situation.

The positive advantage is getting rid of 3 playoff challengers from the schedule early.

The negative is, slip up against any (or all) and it is a long climb back up the standings.

They may also want some revenge for last year's championship, where they dominated the RR with a 11-1 record for 1st place only to get tripped up in the SF by Mouat (in an extra end).

5. Italy - Team Retornaz, #1 (63-13, 14-5)

Italy as a nation may be ranked #5 in the world but Team Retornaz enters the ice as the horse to beat.

The Italian Stallions are in new territory. They open a world championship as the #1 ranked team.

How experienced vet Joel Retornaz and the boys handle the extra pressure of expectation remains to be seen.

We did see them slip up a bit at the European Curling Championships, dominating the RR but going 0-2 in the playoffs and winding up with a "disappointing" 4th place finish.

Could that experience help or hinder them?

From a season perspective, nobody has been more consistent.

They have qualified in all 9 tour events, reached 6 finals and won 5 titles. Of those titles, remember 3 were #gsoc events (Tour Challenge, National, Masters).

And that H2H advantage over the competition really stands out.

Italy opens with Japan, Czechia and Scotland.

Retornaz has the season H2H advantage over Mouat (2-1) but on an opening weekend of a championship, this game will be a toss up.

A 3-0 or 2-1 weekend record though is still a strong start as Italy not only searches for the 1st world championship but potential #HIStory in making a 1st world final.

The previous best result was the bronze medal win by Retornaz in 2022.

6. USA - Team Shuster, #15 (45-21, 2-5)

Is it time to turn back the clock to 2018? The Olympic champs certainly hope so.

John Shuster is back at the world championship, hoping to improve on the 5-7 (8th place) finish last year.

2024 also marks Shuster's 11th world championship appearance. He has been, and currently is, the Face that Runs the Place...of USA Curling at least.

This season, Team Shuster has qualified in 7 of 11 tour events, including reaching 3 finals.

And they will be arriving in Switzerland with some swagger, having reached the final of the tune-up event in Aberdeen a few weeks ago (losing the final to Mouat).

If Shuster (and USA) want to get back to the Olympics, the path to Italy starts in Switzerland.

Is USA a podium contender at these world championships? Maybe.

Are they a playoff challenger? Of course.

And with a playoff appearance comes those coveted Olympic qualification points and remaining on the plus side of the cut line early.

Experience can be your best friend and Shuster and company have that in their broom bag.

Opening the event against Switzerland, Scotland and Norway though? Yikes!

7. Norway - Team Ramsfjell, #17 (39-24, 8-8)

Last year's #TeamUpset and darlings of the event return. What do they have under the slider this year?

Remember their amazing RR run in Ottawa, finishing 10-2 and making the playoffs as the #3 seed?

Unfortunately they ran into the running horses from Italy in the qualification game but still ended up with a Top 5 finish overall.

No longer a #TeamUpset, this team is now a playoff contender and podium threat.

This season, Ramsfjell has qualified in 7 of 10 tour events, reaching 2 finals. They also just missed the playoffs at the European Curling Championships, finishing in 5th place with a 6-3 record. Yes folks, 6-3 does not even get you a playoff spot in Europe anymore.

This team is very capable of knocking off anyone in this field. They have wins over top contenders Mouat, Gushue and Schwaller this season.

At last year's world championship, they knocked off Gushue, Retornaz, Edin and Shuster.

The opening weekend line up of New Zealand, Switzerland and USA is a great litmus test from the start. A game you are expected to win, a game you are expected to lose and a toss-up can all play to your favour.

Go 2-1 and you are off to the races, with an inside track to another playoff appearance.

8. Japan - Team Abe, #48 (27-17, 1-1)

Want to talk about #TeamUpset? Who saw this coming with Team Abe winning the Japanese Curling Championships to book their ticket to Switzerland?

If we look at the world rankings, Abe is the #6 ranked team from Japan.

But this is also why we play the games folks.

They dominated the Japanese championships, going a perfect 8-0 to claim the title.

On the season, the team has only qualified in 2 of 9 events but both were championship title wins.

Notice the H2H record. The majority of the season has been against fellow Japanese teams. The team did travel to Canada for a handful of events but was not as successful.

In fact, they entered the Japanese championships after playing 3 straight events in Canada in November and finishing with an underwhelming 3-8 record.

But bounce back and resiliency may be the keys to their success.

And do not undersell the experience of skip Shinya Abe. This will be his 3rd world championship appearance (2019, 2021, 2024). He is also a 5-time Japanese curling champion and a former Pacific-Asia Curling Championships winner (2018).

Vice, but last stone thrower, Tetsuro Shimizu is not to be overlooked either. This will be his 9th world championship appearance. He is a 12-time Japanese curling champion and 2-time Pacific-Asia champion (2016, 2018).

Again, this is a team where experience can become your best friend. And, with many teams not as familiar with them, it could be the wild card advantage under their sliders.

They open against Italy, Sweden and New Zealand. If they can secure a 1-2 opening weekend record, it would be a positive. This is a strong first 3 games.

But hey, at this world championship against this field, EVERY game is going to be a battle.

We will see how battle-ready Japan is.

9. Germany - Team Kapp, #32 (35-23, 4-1)

Is this the #TeamUpset of the 2024 championship?

A team ranked just outside the Top 30, a positive season H2H record vs. the field and coming off another world junior appearance?

75% of this team falls in the #NextGen category and will be making their world men's championship debut.

Skip Marc Muskatewitz will be making his 6th world's appearance. "Mukki" competed in Ottawa last year as alternate with Team Totzek. He also curled with Totzek at the 2022 world championship.

This season he jumped over to the rising #NextGen team of Benny Kapp and the boys. We have seen Team Kapp at the past 3 World Junior Curling Championships, winning silver in 2022 and 2023.

The future is bright in German men's curling folks.

To earn their spot in this field, Kapp needed to not only win the German Curling Championships but then knock off main rivals Team Totzek in a playoff series right after the German championship.

Lots of games. Lots of wins. Here they are. And it was a rebound from the German European Trials loss they suffered earlier in the season vs. Totzek.

The Germans played a ton of events this season, including spending some time in Canada to get better, play on better ice and prepare for this moment.

On the season, they qualified in 3 of 9 tour events but did reach the final all 3 times and won 1 title.

They open with Canada, Korea and Netherlands.

There is always talk about wanting to play the best early, maybe the ice will be tricky and you can score an update. Korea did it against Canada at the Pan-Continental's. Could Germany do it here?

They also seem to have NED Team Gosgens number this season, going 3-0 against them.

If Germany can arrive to the arena Monday morning with a 2-1 record, the confidence and momentum could carry them far. And remember, those world junior experiences can help as well.

Keep an eye on the coaching bench too. Canadian junior champion Ryan Sherrard is back on the ice, now turning his attention to coaching. Sherrard has represented Germany at 3 world championships (2017, 2018, 2019) and finished 4th at the 2018 Euro's, playing with Muskatewitz. 

10. South Korea - Team Park, #26 (38-28, 3-7)

Another #TeamUpset result out of Asia? You bet.

Park Jong-duk won the Korean Curling Championship back in June 2023 and surprised many with the undefeated championship run (9-0).

For the 38-year old skip, 2024 will mark his 2nd world championship appearance. His last was in 2016 (2nd with Team S. Kim, 2-9 - 11th place finish). The 5-time Korean champion will look for a better result in his sophomore campaign.

This season Park has been very busy, competing in many tour events in Canada. They have qualified in 5 of 10 events, including winning 1 tour title.

Remember, they infamously knocked off Canada's Team Gushue in their opening game at #PCCC2023 and ended up with a silver medal result overall (losing the final to Gushue in a rematch).

This is a team who may not be in the running for world championship gold medals but will be chasing a Top 6/7 finish overall to help South Korea get on the path to Italy for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

They open the competition with Scotland, Germany and Netherlands.

If you go by world rankings, they should be 2-1 after opening weekend. And that would be a huge victory moving into the rest of the RR.

This could be the pivotal "swing" team in the competition. How they do, who they beat, who they lose to, might have the biggest impact on the overall standings and those Olympic qualification points.

11. Czechia - Team Klima, #63 (24-23, 4-10)

Rock heads, if you have followed the blog over the years you should know by now I have a soft spot for Czechia's Team Klima.

I have no real reason as to why. I have never met them or talked to them. But for some reason I always find myself rooting for them to do well.

Maybe because they are a nice "underdog" story. Maybe it is because I have seen this team battle from Euro B-Division to Euro A-Division and becoming a regular fixture at the world championships over a, relatively, short timeframe.

Whatever the reason, this year will be no different. As Tyra Banks once said, "I was rooting for you. We were all rooting for you!"

This season, Team Klima has qualified in 3 of 8 events and winning 1 title. We also saw them at the 2023 European Curling Championships, finishing 8th overall (2-7) and securing the final ticket to Switzerland.

For Klima, this will be his 4th world championship appearance and 3rd straight. In 2022, the team finished 5-7 (9th place) and last year they were 3-9 (10th place).

Czechia is going to have to score a few more wins against a tough field if they want to gain valuable Olympic qualification points.

Their opening weekend draws them against Canada, Italy and New Zealand. Canada and Italy will be tough but at least they draw them early and who knows what will happen. The game against New Zealand could end up being for valuable Olympic points by the end of the week.

12. Netherlands - Team Gosgens, #31 (37-34, 4-18)

Can you believe 2024 will mark the 7th world championship appearance for Netherlands?

It will also be a nice return for Team Gosgens after failing to qualify for the 2023 championship after representing the nation at every world championship since 2017.

For the skip Wouter Gosgens and teammates Jaap van Dorp and Laurens Hoekman, this will be their 6th world championship. Lead Alexander Magan will make his 3rd appearance but 1st since 2018.

#TeamOranje have been, for the most part, a regular fixture on the world championship stage, minus the hiccup of last year.

They showed their resiliency though in fighting through the Euro B-Division, earning promotion back to the A-Division and earning a ticket to Switzerland with their 7th place finish at the 2023 Euro's.

And to say the Euro's were a battle would be an understatement. They started the competition 0-3, won 2 games and then suffered another 3 game losing streak. They entered their final RR game vs. Czechia needing a win to qualify AND to potentially avoid relegation. Talk about pressure!

They came through in the clutch though and here they are, back again.

This season, the team has competed in 13 tour events, qualifying in 3 and recently winning a tour title in February at the Sun City Cup. They also competed in the Tour Challenge Tier I event.

Now for the flip side. The H2H record. Frightening, no?

It seems everyone in this field has beaten them at least once this season. It doesn't scream confidence.

Positive side? At least they will be familiar with their opposition.

They open with Sweden, Korea and Germany.

If they want to gain momentum, and start earning potential valuable Olympic qualification points, they need to avoid the same start they had in Aberdeen for the Euro's. Picking up at least 1 win opening weekend is critical.

13. New Zealand - Team Hood, #131 (16-21, 1-2)

The Kiwi's continue to fly and will be making a second straight world championship appearance.

For New Zealand, this is the 7th world appearance overall and only the 2nd time ever NZ has qualified in back-to-back world championships (2004, 2005).

On first glace, you look at the world ranking and reminder of their 13th place finish last year (1-11) and think they are overmatched once again.

Don't get too ahead of yourselves rock heads. This season, it has been All Good Under The Hood!

Compare last year to this year. Last year this team entered the world championship with a ranking of #188 and a season record of 6-6, including 0-3 against the field.

Now look at those season stats and reassess your earlier judgement.

Look, is New Zealand going to compete for the world title? A playoff spot? No, probably not.

But is that really the big goal of this championship for the Kiwi boys? Also, probably not.

The focus is on Italy in 2026.

They have played more tour events this past season since the big, well documented, move to Calgary in the off-season. They entered 6 tour events and while they may not have qualified in them, they got more competitive games under their sliders, more practice time on good competitive ice and a ton of confidence heading into this event.

Those 2 season losses? Both to Canada's Brad Gushue.

And the win? They did knock off Korea's Team Park at the Pan-Continental Curling Championship remember...and Korea knocked off Canada and won a silver medal.

Expect this team to play closer games this year. They are improving.

Opening weekend will see them draw Norway, Czechia and Japan. There is a really good opportunity to pick up an opening weekend W to get off to a strong start. Could they even go 2-1?

Last year they were 0-6 before recording their 1st win, including losses to Norway and Czechia.

The nerves should be a bit more calm this time around. And there is familiarity with the competition.

5 to 7 wins may be a stretch but if they can pick up 2 to 4 wins, this would be a huge positive result and a slide in the right direction.

And yes, I may be biased considering I have been very fortunate to get to know this team over the past season while they were in Calgary. These are 4 of the nicest guys you will ever meet in any sport. Fun personality, no ego, enjoy the sport they play, take it serious but not too serious. This is a #FanFav team.

Plus, did you know they were in the New York Times?

#TwineTimePredictions

Projected Standings:

1. Italy  2. Canada  3. Sweden  4. Switzerland  5. Scotland  6. Norway  7. Germany  8. USA  9. Czechia  10. Korea  11. New Zealand  12. Japan  13. Netherlands

Qualifiers:

Italy, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Scotland, Norway

Bronze Medal

Sweden (Team Edin) def. Switzerland (Team Schwaller)

#WWCC2024 CHAMPIONSHIP

Canada (Team Gushue) def. Italy (Team Retornaz)

#TwineTime Podium Picks

Gold - Canada

Silver - Italy

Bronze - Sweden

What say you rockheads? Agree? Disagree?

Who do YOU think will land on the podium? Will we see any surprise results? Who will be #TeamUpset?

Who survives the #SheepHouse?

Trivia Answer: Trick question...it has NEVER been done. The best result for Scotland the year following a world championship win was runner-up (1968, 1992). Scotland's last #DefendTheIce year was 2010 when they finished on the podium with a bronze medal.

#StayTuned

Reminder, the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship event will crown its next Team Canada this weekend in Moose Jaw. #CWhCC2024 started last Sunday with an 11 team RR. The Top 4 qualify for the playoffs with the SF taking place Saturday morning and the championship final Saturday afternoon. Stay up to date on all the action HERE.

There is also another Canadian championship underway this week. The Canadian U21 Curling Championships are off and running in Fort McMurray, AB. 18 #NextGen men's and women's teams are in the Wood Buffalo region of Northern Alberta chasing a national championship. The RR will conclude on Saturday and playoffs will start later in the day. It will all build up to the championship finals on Sunday. Stay up to date on all the action HERE.

To those competing at #WMCC2024, the ice is yours. The world is watching.

And wishing all the athletes competing at current Canadian championship good luck and good curling.