Christina Black rink qualifies for Canadian Curling Trials in Halifax
Curling Canada announced the men’s and women’s trials qualifiers for Halifax, as well as the Home Hardware Canadian Pre-trials teams for the event in Wolfville Oct. 20-26. Halifax’s Owen Purcell will compete at the men’s pre-trial event.
Black, third Jill Brothers, seconds Jen Baxter and Marlee Powers and lead Karlee Everist, out of the Halifax Curling Club, captured the bronze medal at the recent Scotties Tournament of Hearts. They were among seven teams to qualify for the event that will determine Canada’s representatives in men’s and women’s curling at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
Joining the Black rink in the trials are Rachel Homan (Ottawa), Kerri Einarson (Gilliland, Man.), Kayla Skrlik (Calgary), Kaitlyn Lawes (Winnipeg), Kate Cameron (Winnipeg) and Corryn Brown (Kamloops, B.C.).
The final spot in the eight-team event will be awarded to the winner of the Home Hardware Canadian Curling pre-trials in Wolfville.
Qualified for the men’s trials are Brad Gushue (St. John’s, N.L.), Brad Jacobs (Calgary), Matt Dunstone (Winnipeg), Mike McEwen (Saskatoon), Kevin Koe (Calgary), Rylan Kleiter (Saskatoon) and John Epping (Sudbury, Ont.).
Halifax Curling Club’s Owen Purcell is one of the eight teams that will vie for the final trials spot at the Wolfville pre-trials event.
Purcell, third Luke Saunders, second Scott Saccary and lead Ryan Abraham ended Nova Scotia’s 19-year playoff drought at the Montana’s Brier in March.
Other pre-trial qualifiers include Jordon McDonald (Winnipeg), Reid Carruthers (Winnipeg), Sam Mooibroek (Whitby, Ont.), Scott Howard (Navan, Ont.), Braden Calvert (Winnipeg), Mark Kean (Woodstock, Ont.) and Félix Asselin (Montreal).
The Home Hardware Pre-Trials and Montana’s Trials will have identical formats — eight-team round robins, with three teams making the playoffs. The first-place team will get a bye to the final, while the second- and third-place teams will meet in the semifinal.
For the first time in trials and pre-trials history, both events will feature best-of-three finals.
To be eligible for the trial 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).
The teams competing in the Pre-Trials qualified based on their ranking on the 2024-25 Canadian Team Ranking System standings and had to meet the same eligibility requirements as those who qualified for the Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials.
Competing in the pre-trials are Beth Peterson (Winnipeg), Kayla MacMillan (Victoria), Danielle Inglis (Ottawa), Selena Sturmay (Edmonton), Ashley Thevenot (Saskatoon), Team Krista McCarville (Thunder Bay, Ont.), Myla Plett (Edmonton) and Nancy Martin (Saskatoon)
