Team Canada has got off to a fantastic start at the first ever Curling World Cup, which is taking place in Suzhou, China. The Canadian teams have a combined record of eight wins and zero losses after the first two days of competition (Wednesday and Thursday).
The Canadian mixed doubles team of Laura Walker of Toronto, Ontario and Kirk Muyers of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan have a record of three wins and zero losses. They have beaten Kristin Skaslien and Sander Rolvag of Norway 9-5, Maria Komarova and Danill Goryachev of Russia 9-1 and Therese Westman and Robin Ahlberg of Sweden 8-2.
In men’s action, the Canadian team skipped by Kevin Koe of Calgary, Alberta, beat Switzerland’s Peter De Cruz 6-4, Scotland’s Bruce Mouat 11-1 and Japan’s Masaki Iwai 8-2 to also have a record of three wins and zero losses. In women’s action, the Canadian team skipped by Rachel Homan of Ottawa, Ontario, beat Russia’s Anna Sidorova 6-5 and South Korea’s Kim Min-ji 12-0.
The World Cup of Curling has an interesting format. Games are eight ends, however if a game needs to go to an extra end, then teams do not play a full end to determine the winner. Instead, there is a draw to the button. Also, teams get three points for a win, two points for a shootout (draw to the button) win and one point for a shootout loss.
