Canadian curling makes history with World rankings sweep

For the first time ever, one country’s curling program sits on top of the World Curling Federation’s rankings in the men’s, women’s and wheelchair disciplines. Canada finished the 2013-14 season in top spot in all three sets of rankings, thanks to a season that already has produced historic results internationally. The rankings, released today by the WCF, see Canada maintaining its 2012-13 top ranking in men’s and wheelchair curling, while the combination of Jennifer Jones’s gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Sochi and Rachel Homan’s silver medal at the Ford World Women’s Curling Championship, presented by Booster Juice, pushed Canada ahead of Sweden in the women’s rankings for the first time since since the conclusion of the 2008-09 season. Kevin Koe’s fourth-place finish at the World Men’s Curling Championship, presented by Ford of Canada, kept Canada at No. 1 in the men’s rankings, while Jim Armstrong’s victory at the Sochi Paralympics maintained our top ranking in wheelchair curling. Canadian teams have finished in the top six of every international event this season, a feat matched by no other country. There are three more world titles still be to be decided — the world mixed doubles, the world senior men’s and world senior women’s. Those events will be contested later this month in Dumfries, Scotland, with Canada the defending champion in both senior events. “This is a testament to the work that not only is being done on the ice and during off-ice training by our athletes, but also by the amazing support staff behind the scenes that make it possible for our curlers to perform at a high level internationally,” said Canadian Curling Association Chief Executive Officer Greg Stremlaw. “It’s been an amazing season, but we know that we can’t sit back and relax. The key now is to work even harder to make sure we stay on top of the rankings, and we know the rest of the world will be working just as hard.” For the full list of rankings, go to: www.worldcurling.org/rankings-men-and-women Ranking points are earned for placements at the Pacific-Asia, European and World Championships and also at the Olympic Winter Games. Points are calculated on a percentage-scaled basis for placement at events dating back as far as six curling seasons.