Canada’s Brad Gushue and Kerri Einarson will face non-traditional opponents in the inaugural Pan-Continental Championship which begins Monday in Calgary.
Kazakhstan, Hong Kong and Chinese Tapei are among the countries taking part in a new World Curling Federation event designed to both streamline the World Championship qualifying process and provide an equivalent to the 47-year-old European Championship which is a global qualifier.
The seven-day Pan Continental which will conclude on November 6 at the WinSport Event Center in Calgary is the qualification pathway for the 2023 World Championship for all countries outside of Europe.
Einarson, winner of three consecutive women’s national titles, opens against New Zealand on Monday.
Gushue, who won a third career Canadian men’s crown in March, starts the same day against the United States.
“It will be a bit of an eye-opening experience for our team just because except for Team USA, Koreans and Japan, we won’t know many other teams,” Gushue told The Canadian Press.
The Pan Continental replaces the Asia-Pacific Curling Championship and Americas Zone Challenge.
The Americas Zone has been guaranteed two spots for the World Championships, with Canada and the United States taking them by default in most years.
Brazil challenged Canada for places at the men’s world championships in 2018 and 2022 and were beaten both times.
Mexico joined Brazil in the zone challenger for 2022 and were also beaten by Brendan Bottcher.
The Pan Continental includes nine countries in Women’s Division A and four in Division B.
Sixteen men’s teams are evenly split between the two divisions.
Finishing in the top five in both the men’s and women’s A divisions secures these countries a place in the 2023 world championships.
Canada, as the host nation, already has an automatic entry into next year’s men’s championship in Ottawa, which leaves the rest of the A division vying for four men’s spots in Calgary.
When Curling Canada invited Gushue earlier this year to represent the host country in the Pan Continental, the captain initially questioned the benefits of his team’s participation.
“While we’re playing in there, a lot of our competitors are going to be playing in bigger cashspiels with lots of points and the potential to make money in those cash events,” Gushue pointed out.
“We see this as an opportunity for us to step onto the arena ice in this global context. It’s different from playing the Briers. The World Curling Federation runs events very differently from Curling Canada.
EJ Harnden, new to the team in second place, was another consideration.
“An opportunity to play in there is beneficial, especially with EJ coming to the team,” the captain said. “The television exposure of our sponsors also has a great advantage for us.
“I hope that later we will have the chance to go to a world championship or other Olympic Games. This will make us all the more prepared for this event.
Gushue’s foursome won silver medals at the men’s world championship in April in Las Vegas, while Einarson and company won the women’s bronze medal in Prince George, B.C., in March .
Einarson played in the 2021 Women’s National and World Championships at a WinSport Event Center empty of spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The captain hasn’t been shy about taking on the responsibility of securing Canada’s spot at next year’s women’s world championship in Sandviken, Sweden.
“We all know what it’s like, the pressure you feel when you’re wearing that maple leaf,” Einarson said. “Every time you get the chance to do it, and that feeling you get when you wear it, it gets a little lighter.
“When we were asked to represent Canada in this event, we were everywhere. It’s such an honor to always wear the maple leaf, especially in Canada where our family, friends and supporters can come and cheer us on.
“It’s going to be weird playing in this facility with real people.”
The women’s field includes Satsuki Fujisawa, who led Japan to Olympic silver in February as well as bronze four years ago.
Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, South Korea and the United States join the Canadians and Kiwis in the Women’s A Division.
Gushue joins Australia, Brazil, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and the United States in the men’s A division.
Division B countries play for promotion. Chinese Taipei, Kenya, Mexico and Nigeria make up the women’s B.
Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nigeria, Qatar and Saudi Arabia complete the B.
The residual effects of the pandemic on WCF competition have reduced the size of the Women’s A Division from eight to nine teams for this year alone.
The New Zealand women and Australian men replaced China, who withdrew from the A divisions.
Gushue and Einarson are the favorites to win the first pan-continental titles. Finishing in the top five is well within their abilities.
However, reaching the world and Olympic podiums is no longer a given for Canadian curling teams, as other countries have learned how to win in the sport.
It may not take the pan-continental competition long to learn those lessons, Gushue warned.
“I don’t see too much concern about Canada finishing in the top five of the top eight or nine, but for sure countries are putting a bit more money into the sport, and if they follow a model like Sweden or Great Britain and focus on two teams and put a lot of money behind them, we could end up in a position where Canada doesn’t qualify,” Gushue said.
“You look at the emergence of Korea, China and Japan and the quality of the teams they offer, especially on the women’s side, which has come quite quickly.
“Now you add a few other countries into that equation, Canada should play well to make sure they qualify. I think we’re fine for a few years, but down the road it might be a bit uncertain.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on October 28, 2022.
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