Curling draws out for Canadian Olympic trials, pre-trials

Article content

Canada’s top curling teams are aiming for the Olympic podium in 2026.

But it’s a stop in headed to Nova Scotia for the biggest battles of the country’s top teams that is the first stop on the road to the Winter Olympic Games in Italy.

And the schedules are now out for those epic spiels.

Curling Canada made the announcement Wednesday for the 2025 Home Hardware Canadian Curling Pre-Trials, Oct. 20–26 at the Andrew H. McCain Arena in Wolfville, N.S., and the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials, Nov. 22–30 at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.

Of course, it’s the later trials taking the most shine, with names such as Gushue, Jacobs, Homan and Einarson in the spotlight.

The Montana’s Trials schedule is packed with compelling storylines, including rematches of recent Canadian men’s and women’s championship gold-medal games, hometown favourites chasing glory, and a first-of-its-kind format in Canadian curling: a best-of-three final to decide who will be nominated to represent Canada in four-player curling at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina.

Halifax’s own Team Christina Black kicks off its Montana’s Trials campaign against four-time Canadian champion Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., while Team Rachel Homan — two-time reigning Canadian and world champions — opens with a marquee clash against Winnipeg’s Team Kate Cameron.

On the men’s side, curling fans will have their eyes on Team Brad Gushue of Newfoundland and Labrador as it faces Team Rylan Kleiter of Saskatoon. Meanwhile, defending Montana’s Brier champions Team Brad Jacobs take to the ice against Calgary rivals Team Kevin Koe.

Each gender’s eight-team field will play a seven-game round robin, with only three teams advancing to the playoffs. Second- and third-place meet in a semifinal, with the winner advancing to a best-of-three final series set for Nov. 28-30.

Here’s the schedule for the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials.

The final Montana’s trials spots will be on the line at the 2025 Home Hardware Canadian Curling Pre-Trials in Wolfville, where eight men’s and eight women’s teams will battle for the last tickets to Halifax.

The format mirrors the trials, with seven round-robin games per team, followed by a semifinal and a best-of-three final (Oct. 24-  26).

Team Reid Carruthers has withdrawn due to coaching commitments with Team Einarson, opening a spot for Team Jayden King of London, Ont. — the top-ranked men’s team on the Canadian Team Ranking System yet to qualify.

Big names highlight the field, including three-time pre-trials winner Team Krista McCarville of Thunder Bay, Ont., and home-province favourite Team Owen Purcell of Halifax, fresh off a strong Montana’s Brier performance.

Here’s the schedule for the 2025 Home Hardware Canadian Pre-Trials.

POINTSBET SET FOR CALGARY, WITH NEW FORMAT

Canada’s top curling teams have their sights set on gold in Italy, and they will all be under one roof in early October in Calgary to not only continue their preparations but also compete for some of the biggest cash prizes in the sport.

The 2025 PointsBet Invitiation is scheduled for Oct. 1-5 at the WinSport Event Centre and features all of the teams that have qualified so far to compete at the Olympic trials, along with some of the top young teams in the country.

They compete in an exciting new format for the PointsBet Invitational that will guarantee fans get to see their favourite teams play at least four quality games in championship conditions in Calgary.

Ten women’s and 10 men’s teams will compete in Calgary, split into two five-team pools and seeded based on their Canadian Team Ranking System 2024-25 results.

Seven of the competing teams qualified by virtue of making the field for the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials, while the other three teams are:

• Top team on the 2024-25 Canadian Team Ranking System that didn’t qualify for the Montana’s Trials.
• Top-ranked team in Curling Canada’s NextGen Under-27 program that didn’t qualify for the Montana’s Trials.
• Champion of the 2025 New Holland Canadian Under-20 Curling Championships.

Here’s a look at how the women’s and men’s pools set up (all teams named are in the Montana’s Trials unless otherwise noted):

Women

Pool A

• Team Rachel Homan, Ottawa
• Team Christina Black, Halifax
• Team Kaitlyn Lawes, Winnipeg
• Team Beth Peterson, Winnipeg (CTRS qualifier)
• Team Myla Plett, Edmonton (New Holland Canadian Under-20 champion)

Pool B

• Team Kerri Einarson, Gimli, Man.
• Team Kayla Skrlik, Calgary
• Team Corryn Brown, Kamloops, B.C.
• Team Kate Cameron, Winnipeg
• Team Selena Sturmay, Edmonton (NextGen Under-27 qualifier)

Men

Pool A

• Team Brad Jacobs, Calgary
• Team Brad Gushue, St. John’s, N.L.
• Team John Epping, Sudbury, Ont.
• Team Kevin Koe, Calgary
• Team Calan MacIsaac, Truro, N.S. (New Holland Canadian Under-20 champion)

Pool B

• Team Matt Dunstone, Winnipeg
• Team Mike McEwen, Saskatoon
• Team Rylan Kleiter, Saskatoon
• Team Jordon McDonald, Winnipeg (CTRS qualifier)
• Team Sam Mooibroek, Whitby, Ont. (NextGen Under-27 qualifier)

As was the case in previous PointsBet Invitationals, there will be no extra ends, with tie games through 10 ends decided on a post-game draw-to-the-button. Rather than traditional win-loss round-robin standings, teams will be ranked by points, with three points going to teams that win in regulation, two points to teams that win on the post-game draw, one point to teams that lose on the post-game draw, and no points to teams that lose in regulation.

The two round-robin pool winners in each gender will advance directly to the championship games on the closing day of the 2025 PointsBet Invitational.

Each team is guaranteed $5,000 to cover travel costs, and will earn $2,500 for each round-robin victory. The women’s and men’s champions will pocket $35,000, while runner-up teams will settle for $15,000 apiece.