Canada looking for 1st mixed doubles curling world championship

Karissa Donkin · CBC Sports

· Posted: Apr 24, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Six years ago, Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant came adjacent to becoming satellite champions together.

The joined couple, who vie successful mixed doubles together, finished 2nd astatine the discipline's satellite title successful 2019. They mislaid to Swedes Anna Hasselborg and Oskar Eriksson by conscionable 1 point.

No Canadian squad has ever won a satellite mixed doubles curling championship, but Peterman and Gallant would similar to alteration that.

They'll correspond Canada astatine the satellite title connected location ice, opening connected Saturday astatine Willie O'Ree Place successful Fredericton, N.B. The brace earned their spot astatine Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials successful Liverpool, N.S. successful January, defeating Rachel Homan and Brendan Bottcher 8-7 successful the final.

"I haven't won a satellite championship," Peterman told CBC Sports. "I would emotion to beryllium a satellite champion and benignant of permission it each connected the crystal successful that sense. We came up conscionable abbreviated of that successful 2019 and we would emotion thing much than to basal connected the apical of that podium and hopefully nonstop a connection of what we're hoping to bash adjacent year."

Qualification for adjacent year's Olympics successful Italy are besides connected the enactment astatine the tournament. Peterman and Gallant volition correspond Canada determination too, should they qualify.

Ten teams volition vie successful mixed doubles wrong Cortina Olympic Stadium successful Cortina D'Ampezzo adjacent February. Italy automatically qualifies arsenic the big country.

The apical 7 different countries volition besides gain spots, based connected points earned astatine the 2024 satellite title and this year's tourney successful Fredericton. The last 2 spots volition beryllium determined by a last-chance qualification lawsuit acceptable for December.

Going into the satellite championship, Canada has 16 points for Olympic qualification successful mixed doubles, ranked sixth connected a database that includes Italy's automatic berth astatine fig one.

Peterman and Gallant person already been to an Olympics astatine the aforesaid clip — Peterman arsenic the 2nd for Jennifer Jones' rink and Gallant arsenic the 2nd connected a bronze-medal winning squad led by Brad Gushue successful 2022.

But it's different extremity for the mates to get determination together.

"That's firing america up for this upcoming week," Gallant said past week from Calgary, wherever helium and Peterman were grooming for the satellite championship. 

Under the aforesaid roof

A batch has changed since the nonaccomplishment astatine worlds successful 2019.

For one, Peterman and Gallant present unrecorded nether the aforesaid roof. At 1 time, the brace were divided up with Peterman based retired of Winnipeg and Gallant successful St. John's. They've besides go parents to a son, Luke, who was calved successful May 2023.

"We met done curling," Gallant said. "We competed unneurotic earlier we were truly a couple. We person a batch successful communal evidently connected the crystal and it conscionable seemed to travel people to us. We've ne'er truly known it immoderate different mode than to besides vie together. It's been portion of our narration since time one."

'Even playing ground'

Ahead of the satellite title successful Fredericton, they besides had a grooming campy with Scott Pfeifer, the mixed doubles nationalist squad manager and programme manager with Curling Canada.

He's watched them germinate arsenic mixed doubles curlers implicit astir a decennary of competing with each other.

WATCH | Peterman, Gallant victorious astatine Canadian mixed doubles trials:

"They're inactive learning each azygous time that they're retired connected the crystal and I don't deliberation they're acrophobic to effort caller things," Pfeifer said successful an interview.

Canada has had beardown entries astatine satellite mixed doubles successful the past, but has ne'er been capable to prevail done a heavy field. There's much extent than astatine the men's oregon women's satellite championship, wherever a state needs to find 4 curlers who click together.

Tiny Estonia, for instance, won metallic astatine past year's mixed doubles satellite championship.

"It's conscionable a much adjacent playing crushed astatine the satellite championships, conscionable with a batch of large countries playing the discipline," Peterman said.

More clip to prep for Olympics

Should the Canadians suffice for the Olympics, determination volition besides beryllium much clip to prepare. Peterman and Gallant won the close to correspond Canada this past January, much than a twelvemonth earlier the Olympics are acceptable to begin. Previous teams lone had a fewer weeks to prepare.

They besides won't beryllium restricted from competing successful some mixed doubles and for their four-person teams, should they suffice successful some disciplines. That's thing Gallant said different countries person had occurrence doing.

Canada's Lawes and John Morris won Olympic golden successful mixed doubles curling astatine the discipline's debut successful Pyeongchang successful 2018. Morris, paired with Homan, was incapable to support the rubric successful 2022, finishing fifth.

But earlier reasoning astir Italy, Peterman and Gallant person a satellite title to tackle. To scope that pinnacle, they'll person stiff competition. Hasselborg and Eriksson, who bushed Peterman and Gallant successful 2019, are back. So are the reigning Olympic champions, Italy's Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner.

Peterman besides pointed to the Swiss squad of Alina Pätz and Sven Michel, and the Scots, made up of Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat, who conscionable led his four-man rink to a satellite championship.

They'll person immoderate acquainted faces successful the stands successful New Brunswick. Gallant grew up successful Charlottetown, and the brace person had occurrence curling successful the Maritimes.

"There's thing astir being connected the eastbound seashore that puts maine successful a bully place," Gallant said.

One of those faces volition beryllium babe Luke, who volition beryllium making the travel to Fredericton.

He's not apt to retrieve watching his parents vie together, but they anticipation it volition someday amusement him wherever hard enactment tin instrumentality you. Both accidental he's added position to their curling careers.

"He doesn't attraction whether we triumph oregon suffer aft a game," Gallant said.

Canada begins its docket astatine the satellite title with draws against Germany astatine 8 a.m. ET and Denmark astatine 5 p.m. ET.

The gold-medal crippled is acceptable for May 3 astatine 1 p.m. ET.