Teams set for curling trials and pre-trials to determine Canada's Olympic rep for 2026 Milano-Cortina Games

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The invites are out for the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials.

Accepting them shouldn’t be a problem for the 15 men’s and 15 women’s teams — as confirmed Tuesday by Curling Canada — currently in the mix to represent Canada in the four-player discipline at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games next February.

And neither should motivation for those headed to the high-profile Canada Curling event, Nov. 22-30 on the East Coast.

“This is exciting and everything we could hope for,” said Calgary’s Kayla Skrlik, star skip for one of the women’s squads on the trials list for Halifax’s Scotiabank Centre.

“As we looked back on our last season, it wasn’t a shock to see us on the list of trials teams,” continued Skrlik, of the Garrison Curling Club. “Throughout the year, I was very, very tuned into the one-year and two-year totals (in the Canadian Team Ranking System). That being said, going into the season ranked 10th in the CTRS, we had a lot of work to do.

“I am so proud of our team for accepting this challenge and rising.”

Seven teams of each gender have qualified directly for the trials to determine the women’s and men’s teams that will be nominated to the Canadian Olympic Committee as part of the Canadian team for the Winter Games in Milano-Cortina, Italy.

One more team of each gender will get a trials invite by winning the 2025 Home Hardware Canadian Curling Pre-Trials, Oct. 20-26, at the Andrew H. McCain Arena in Wolfville, N.S.

WHO ARE THE TRIALS’ TEAMS?

Here are the teams — in order of qualification — for the Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials …

Women
• 1 — Rachel Homan (Ottawa), 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion
• 2 — Kerri Einarson (Gimli, Man.), leading team in the 2023-24 CTRS standings (that hadn’t already qualified and meets eligibility requirements)
• 3 — Kayla Skrlik (Calgary), 2025 Scotties champion or highest non-qualified team on the 2024-25 CTRS standings
• 4 — Kaitlyn Lawes (Winnipeg), leading team in the combined two-year (2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons) CTRS standings (that hadn’t already qualified and meets eligibility requirements)
• 5 — Kate Cameron (Winnipeg), leading team in the combined two-year 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons CTRS standings (that hadn’t already qualified and meets eligibility requirements)
• 6 — Christina Black (Halifax), leading team in the combined combined two-year (2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons) CTRS standings (that hadn’t already qualified and meets eligibility requirements)
• 7 — Corryn Brown (Kamloops, B.C.), leading team in the 2024-25 CTRS standings (that hadn’t already qualified and meets eligibility requirements)
• 8 — Pre-Trials winner

Men
• 1 — Brad Gushue (St. John’s, N.L.), 2024 Montana’s Brier champion.
• 2 — Brad Jacobs (Calgary), leading team in the 2023-24 CTRS standings (that hadn’t already qualified and meets eligibility requirements)
• 3 — Matt Dunstone (Winnipeg), 2025 Montana’s Brier champion or highest non-qualified team on the 2024-25 CTRS standings
• 4 — Mike McEwen (Saskatoon), leading team in the combined combined two-year (2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons) CTRS standings(that hadn’t already qualified and meets eligibility requirements)
• 5 — Kevin Koe (Calgary), leading team in the combined combined two-year (2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons) CTRS standings (that hadn’t already qualified and meets eligibility requirements)
• 6 — Rylan Kleiter (Saskatoon), leading team in the combined combined two-year (2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons) CTRS standings (that hadn’t already qualified and meets eligibility requirements)
• 7 — John Epping (Sudbury, Ont.) leading team in the 2024-25 CTRS standings (that hadn’t already qualified and meets eligibility requirements)
• 8 — Pre-Trials winner

“I’d say it’s an honour to be able to play in what’s now my fourth Olympic Trials,” said Jacobs, the 2025 Brier champion. “It’s validation for working hard and being on a great team. However, one of the biggest mistakes an athlete can make is putting these events on a pedestal. I’ve done it before, and I’ll never do it again. It’s just another bonspiel against the best teams in Canada.”

WHO ARE THE PRE-TRIALS’ TEAMS?

The eight women’s and eight men’s teams competing in the Home Hardware Canadian Curling Pre-Trials qualified based on their ranking on the 2024-25 CTRS standings and had to meet the same eligibility requirements as those who qualified for the Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials.

A few teams turned down invitations because of lineup changes or other commitments for the 2025-26 curling season.

Here are the teams for the Home Hardware Canadian Curling Pre-Trials …

Women
• 1. Beth Peterson (Winnipeg)
• 2. Kayla MacMillan (Victoria)
• 3. Danielle Inglis (Ottawa)
• 4. Selena Sturmay (Edmonton)
• 5. Ashley Thevenot (Saskatoon)
• 6. Krista McCarville (Thunder Bay, Ont.)
• 7. Myla Plett (Edmonton)
• 8. Nancy Martin (Saskatoon)

Men
• 1. Jordon McDonald (Winnipeg)
• 2. Reid Carruthers (Winnipeg)
• 3. Sam Mooibroek (Whitby, Ont.)
• 4. Scott Howard (Navan, Ont.)
• 5. Braden Calvert (Winnipeg)
• 6. Mark Kean (Woodstock, Ont.)
• 7. Owen Purcell (Halifax)
• 8. Félix Asselin (Montreal)

The qualifying period for the trials and the pre-trials concluded after the Grand Slam AMJ Players’ Championship earlier this month in Toronto.

WHAT ARE THE FORMATS?

The formats are identical for the Home Hardware Pre-Trials and Montana’s Trials — eight-team round robins, with three teams making the playoffs. The first-place team earns a bye to the final, while the second- and third-place teams meet in the semifinal.

For the first time in trials and pre-trials history, both events feature best-of-three finals.

To be eligible for the berths, teams had to meet various qualifying standards, as well as maintaining the standard three-of-four player rule (with potential exceptions in the case of medical exemptions).

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

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