Earning the Maple Leaf!

Team Vivier/Codner to represent Canada at inaugural World Junior Mixed Doubles Curling Championship 

After five days of competition at the 2025 Canadian U-21 World Mixed Doubles Curling Qualifier, hosted at the Gerard “Turk” Gallant Arena and the Silver Fox Entertainment Complex at Summerside, P.E.I., Dominique Vivier (Navan, Ont.) and Nick Codner (Torbay, N.L.) will represent Canada at the inaugural World Junior Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, it was declared on Thursday. 

The 29-team world championship event is scheduled for May 6-11, 2025, at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton.  

Team Vivier/Codner (6-3) defeated Team Tracy/Riggs (7-1; Oromocto, N.B.) 7-5 in the Canadian qualifier final to earn the Maple Leaf. 

“I don’t even know what to say,” said Nick Codner after the win. “I feel like I’ve been playing to become Team Canada forever, but it’s only been a couple of years. You don’t get very many opportunities to play in a game where the Maple Leaf is on the line, and you’ve just got to make the best of it.” 

Wearing the Maple Leaf is special, according to Vivier, who is looking forward to being the host nation at the world event. 

“I think a couple more of our supporters are going to come out,” said Vivier. “It’ just nice to be able to play in your own country. We know the fans are going to be there and ready to support. And even the ones that can’t be there, but can watch online and support us, it’s really nice.” 

Team Vivier/Codner started its week on an 0-2 skid before finding its pace on the way to the qualifier victory. 

“I think we kind of looked at ourselves after the second game and we said ‘Really good curlers have really bad days’”, said Codner. “When you put yourself in a corner that you can’t get out of without winning, it’s kind of how it’s gone for us. Bit of a slow start, but you just have to fight through it if you want to win these things.” 

Despite being a new team and having limited experience curling together, both Vivier and Codner are not concerned about the unit’s chemistry. 

“We only played two tournaments together before this one,” said Vivier. “I don’t think it’s a problem. We’ll just keep practicing on our own and if we made it this far practicing across provinces, I think we’ll be OK. We’ll perform the best that we can and I’m confident we’ll do well.” 

Coaching the team will be mixed doubles specialist and 2018 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Champion Laura Walker.  

“I’m looking forward to it, obviously,” said Walker. “I’ve seen a lot of mixed doubles games and I’ve seen pretty much every scenario that they could possibly think of, so hopefully that brings them a little bit of confidence and comfort knowing that there’s nothing that is going to stump me. Hopefully I can share that with them.” 

Curling Canada’s Manager of NextGen & Podium Pathway Helen Radford shared her excitement for the inaugural world mixed doubles event and has already seen the value it’s producing in Canada. 

“It’s been absolutely fantastic,” said Radford. “We had 73 teams from across the country play down for this one opportunity to represent Canada at the very first U-21 World Mixed Doubles Championship. There’s been so much excitement about this particular event. Play was fantastic all week and it was very even amongst all the teams and we’re thrilled to see how this week progressed.” 

“We think the number of teams will grow now that world curling is hosting an event,” said Radford. “The only times we’ve seen youth mixed doubles is at the Youth Olympics, which is under-18, and there are already some really great players. I think the level of competition is going to be really great.” 

Curling Canada’s Under-21 World Mixed Doubles Team Qualification Plan was determined in consultation with Member Associations and the Podium Pathway Council. This collaborative effort addressed the challenges and opportunities of creating a competitive yet accessible pathway for young athletes and minimizing issues related to accessibility, cost and scheduling. 

This pathway to the World Junior Mixed Doubles Curling Championship is in effect for the 2024-25 & 2025-26 seasons. Curling Canada will continually assess the new event structures and review the process for 2027 and beyond. 

For more details on the 2025 Canadian U-21 World Mixed Doubles Curling Qualifier, visit the event website here: https://www.curling.ca/2025u21mdqualifer/.