Two Rookies into Playoffs at Women’s World Curling

CALGARY – The Winsport Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park, located in the west end of Calgary, was the site of four “bubble” championships in 2021. It also hosted the first Pan-Continental Curling Championship in 2022, the 2024 Scotties and just last October, the PointsBet Invitational.

This week, we have the 2026 BKT Women’s World Championship, which makes one wonder – is curling event hosting fatigue beginning to appear?

Several new faces are here this week, some gaining experience with others holding higher aspirations. 

Switzerland’s Xenia Schwaller and her 2024 world junior champions are atop the standings at 9-1. Xenia is cousin to Olympic mens fours bronze medallist Yannick Schwaller, and Xenia’s young team are currently ranked sixth in the world. They have won nine in a row following an opening loss to Japan, including an extra-end win over Kerri Einarson and Team Canada on Tuesday night. 

Their cheering section was so tired from ringing cowbells that they had to take a break during the 10-1 drubbing of Australia on Wednesday afternoon.

Olympic women’s fours silver medallist Silvana Tirinzoni has hinted at retirement and this team, now qualified for playoffs and likely a bye to the semifinals, appears to be the future of women’s curling in Switzerland.

Helen Williams and her team are the first from Australia to compete in the women’s world championship. Their lone win was an extra-end victory over Norway on Saturday and most contests have been lopsided losses, but coaches Barry Westman and Perry Marshall say their spirits are high and they are enjoying the experience. 

If only there were more shades of gold/yellow offered by the event’s uniform supplier, we might be able to find them in this photo taken alongside Team Sweden. 

The Swedes are skipped by new Olympic mixed doubles champion Isabella Wranaa. Her squad has been Sweden’s second banana to Team Hasselborg for years now, and were selected to represent at worlds for the first time. 

Ranked 13th in the world, the squad has solid Grand Slam experience and sits at 8-3. They have qualified for the weekend and have an outside chance at a bye, but will need to beat Schwaller today. 

Scotland’s Fay Henderson is 24 years old and won the world juniors in 2023. Third and second stone-thrower Hailey Duff was an Olympic champ with Eve Muirhead in 2022, but she and this young team will have to be content with gaining experience this week as they will finish out of the playoffs. 

Their parents will be back today to cheer on a possible fifth win against another new face, from Norway.

Torild Bjørnstad has two bronze medals from the 2023 and ’24 women’s world juniors and likely won’t make playoffs this year, but with four extra-end losses, a close loss to Korea and an extra-end victory over Canada last night, the future looks promising.

Norway last won this championship with legendary skip Dordi Nordby 35 years ago.

The last new team, which is currently in last place (tied with Australia), is USA, led by Delaney Strouse.

She won bronze at both the 2022 world juniors and the 2023 World University Games, but currently ranks 51st in the world, and is trying to find the form they had while competing in four Grand Slams just two years ago.

Sweden and Switzerland are the two new teams that will make it to the weekend, eyeing the podium but also trying to become the first full rookie squad to win the women’s world championship since Sandra Schmirler (then Sandra Peterson) and Team Canada in 1993.

Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa and Canada’s Team Einarson have also qualified and will play each other Friday night in the final round robin draw, with a bye to the semifinal likely at stake. 

The final two qualifiers will likely come from a group of four teams which includes Korea at 6-4 and Italy, China and Turkiye all at 5-5.