The sounds of schoolchildren cheering bounced off the walls at WinSport Event Centre this week as Canada’s Kerri Einarson kept her winning streak alive. Her team notched their fifth straight victory at the women’s world curling championship with a decisive 9-6 win over Italy’s Stefania Constantini. But the path to victory wasn’t as smooth as the ice beneath their stones.
Einarson made a gutsy call during the fifth-end break that many skips might hesitate to make. She swapped out her struggling stone with a teammate’s rock after noticing it kept coming up light on her draws. That kind of mid-game adjustment takes both confidence and humility, two qualities that define championship curlers. The decision paid off as Canada maintained their undefeated record and sole possession of first place in the standings.
Playing their first morning draw brought unexpected challenges for the Canadian squad. The warming spring weather outside turned the venue into something closer to a sauna than an ice rink. Add dozens of excited students creating body heat and noise, and you’ve got conditions that can wreak havoc with stone behaviour. Einarson described the ice as “pathy,” a curling term that means inconsistent and sticky in spots.
The temperature fluctuations created tricky lanes on the ice surface. Stones would glide smoothly in well-worn tracks but suddenly slow down when they drifted outside those paths. Einarson got caught by these variations multiple times before making her stone switch. It’s the kind of problem that doesn’t show up in highlight reels but separates good teams from great ones.
Canada now sits alone at the top with a perfect 5-0 record. Switzerland trails close behind at 5-1 after grinding out an 11-9 victory over Denmark in the afternoon session. Japan holds steady at 4-1, while South Korea improved to 4-2 by dismantling Turkey 12-7. The competitive landscape shifts almost hourly as teams battle for playoff positioning.
The real drama unfolded in the eighth end when everything hung in balance. Tied 5-5, Italy had a golden opportunity to swing momentum their way. Canadian vice Val Sweeting missed a thin double attempt that would have given her team three points. But Italy’s third, Giulia Zardini Lacedelli, came in too heavy on her response draw, giving Sweeting an unexpected second chance.
Sweeting didn’t waste the gift. Her second attempt found its mark perfectly. When Constantini’s draw rubbed against another stone instead of finding clean ice, Einarson faced a hit for four points. Her shooter rolled after impact but caught the edge of the rings just enough to count. That single end ballooned Canada’s lead to 9-5 and effectively ended the contest.
Second Shannon Birchard summed up the moment with typical understatement. Getting a second chance at a crucial shot against elite competition is rare. Missing twice would be almost inexcusable at this level. The Italians managed only a single point in the ninth end before conceding defeat.
Constantini deserves credit for even showing up competitive after an exhausting stretch. The 26-year-old Italian recently won Olympic bronze in mixed doubles with Amos Mosander, then immediately skipped her national women’s team to a 2-7 record at the Milan Cortina Games last month. Now she’s grinding through another world championship. That’s a marathon that would test anyone’s mental and physical reserves.
The tournament format has evolved significantly in recent years. The top six teams advance to playoffs after round-robin play concludes Friday. The top two finishers earn direct entry into Saturday’s semifinals, while the medal games happen Sunday. What’s changed is how tiebreakers work, or rather don’t work anymore.
World Curling eliminated tiebreaker games back in 2018. Curling Canada followed suit in 2023 for their national championships. Now head-to-head results break the first level of ties. If teams remain deadlocked, officials turn to last stone draw rankings, known as LSD in curling circles. These pre-game practice draws determine which team starts with the hammer advantage.
Canada currently ranks first among all thirteen nations in LSD accuracy. That might seem like a minor detail, but it carries enormous weight. Jennifer Jones learned this harsh lesson at the 2022 Olympics when her Canadian team ranked tenth out of ten in last stone draws and missed the playoffs entirely. The heartbreak of that elimination changed how seriously Canadian teams approach their pre-game warmups.
Einarson’s squad now incorporates draw-to-the-button drills into every single practice session. What once seemed like a mundane skill exercise has become crucial championship preparation. In tight tournaments where multiple teams finish with identical records, those millimeters of accuracy in warmup draws can determine who goes home and who plays for medals.
The Manitoba-based team from Gimli Curling Club faces a busy schedule ahead. Tuesday marked the first of three split days where they compete in both morning and evening draws. Einarson faced Switzerland’s Xenia Schwaller later that night. These compressed schedules test endurance and consistency as much as skill.
Einarson, along with vice Sweeting, second Birchard, and lead Karlee Burgess, are chasing their first world championship title. They’re also trying to keep the women’s crown in Canadian hands after Rachel Homan captured back-to-back victories in previous years. The pressure of national expectations weighs differently than personal goals, but this team seems equipped to handle both.
Watching world-class curling unfold at WinSport brings a special energy to Calgary’s sporting landscape. The venue typically hosts ski jumping and bobsled events, so transforming it into a curling arena creates a unique atmosphere. Those schoolchildren filling the stands represent the sport’s future, getting inspired by watching their country’s best compete on home ice.
As the tournament progresses toward playoff rounds, every win grows more valuable. Canada’s perfect record provides cushion, but nothing’s guaranteed in a sport where a single missed shot can cost you everything. Einarson’s willingness to swap stones mid-game shows the kind of adaptability that champions need. The real test comes when adjustments stop working and teams must dig deeper.
The women’s world curling championship continues showcasing why this sport captivates Canadians from coast to coast. Strategy, precision, teamwork, and grace under pressure all converge on sheets of ice. Calgary gets to witness it firsthand as Einarson and her teammates push toward their ultimate goal. Five wins down, and the journey’s just getting started.
