Wild Card play-in game to once again set the tone at national men’s and women’s curling championships

Curling Canada will return to the original format of hosting a Wild Card play-in game at the 2022 Scotties Tournament of Hearts and 2022 Tim Hortons Brier, presented by AGI. 

The high-stakes game will be played on the Fridays before the official competitions begin at the national men’s and women’s championships on Jan. 28 at Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ont., for the Scotties and March 4 at ENMAX Centre in Lethbridge, Alta., for the Tim Hortons Brier. 

Upon completion of the respective provincial/territorial championships, the top two men’s and women’s teams on the Canadian Team Rankings System that do not qualify through their respective provincial/territorial playdowns will be invited to compete in the Wild Card game. The winner will receive the final entry into the field at the Scotties and Tim Hortons Brier as Team Wild Card. Teams must be entered in their respective provincial/territorial playdowns to be eligible for the Wild Card game. 

The standard 16-team format has been in place since 2018, but was expanded on a one-time basis in 2021 due to Covid-19. The top three non-qualified teams were invited to the Scotties and Tim Hortons Brier to compete in an expanded 18-team field. Curling Canada expanded the teams competing to ensure the quality and integrity of the championships during a year where many teams did not have an opportunity to compete at provincial/territorial qualifying events.

The standard Page-playoff schedule will also return in 2022. Last year a three-team playoff was used to accommodate the expanded schedule.

More details about admission to the 2022 Wild Card games will come at a later date.