Through at world mixed!

Team Canada secures playoff spot with two-win day at 2024 World Mixed Curling Championship

Team Canada guaranteed itself a playoff berth with two key wins at the 2024 World Mixed Curling Championship Wednesday at Curl Aberdeen, Scotland; defeating Team Czechia’s Krystof Tabery (3-2) 10-2 followed by a 15-1 vanquishing of Team Philippines’ Chad Alojipan (0-6). 

The two-win day holds Team Canada’s position atop Pool A with a 6-0 record, trailed by Team New Zealand’s Brett Sargon (4-1), who also locked up a playoff berth. 

Team Canada skip Shaun Meachem is soaking up the opportunity to play against teams from around the world; some of which, including the Philippines, are competing at the world mixed level for the first time. 

“It’s a different experience, for sure, than what we’re used to,” said Meachem. “It’s kind of neat that everybody is super friendly. It’s a lot more cordial on the ice than what we’d be normally used to. They’re learning the game and having a great time out there.” 

Despite the success of earning a playoff berth, Team Canada, rounded out by vice-skip Kelly Schafer, second Chris Haichert, lead Teejay Haichert and coach Pat Simmons of Swift Current, Sask., still has plenty left to play for.  

“We’ve been working on things each game,” said Meachem. “Pat has been doing a great job of giving us some secondary goals for each game when we go out there to work towards, so every game is building on the previous one.” 

Of the 16-team playoff round, teams will be seeded into a single-elimination bracket based on their overall record and LSD scores. This seeding process takes place across all five pools of teams, so every win counts, and could earn Team Canada a playoff match versus a lower seed. 

In fact, Team Canada has yet to secure Pool A’s top slot despite its unblemished record, as they’ll face the interim second place holder Team New Zealand Thursday at 3 p.m., (all times Eastern), who can still vault the Canadians with a two-win day itself. 

“We’ve got a tough game tomorrow against New Zealand,” said Meachem. “Those guys are looking real sharp and we can put together a win there and be sitting good going into the playoffs.” 

Even with the pressure of international competition, Team Canada is finding ways to keep itself loose and have fun. A mini competition within the team has broken out, pitting the girls versus the boys in a challenge of who can produce the best results during pre-game draw to the button scoring.  

The stakes in this friendly contest? A bottle of Scotland’s finest distilled spirit and, so far, girl power is winning the day by a huge margin. 

“The competition is just about over for the boys,” joked coach Pat Simmons. “We’ll see what happens. There is the possibility of a pick, or several picks.” 

Event information, rosters, and draw can be found at https://worldcurling.org/events/worldmixed/.   

All sheets and draws of the World Mixed Curling Championship will be available to stream live on The Curling Channel.