Life has literally come full circle for Kerri Einarson.
The Team Canada skip and her Manitoba-based rink are once again preparing for the World Women’s Curling Championship, which will be held at the CN Centre in Prince George.
However, Einarson along with Val Sweeting (third), Shannon Birchard (second), and Briane Meilleur (lead) are hoping the 2022 version of the event is a lot more memorable for the right reasons.
Two years ago, all four were mere days away from representing their country in BC’s northern capital until the pandemic had other ideas and forced the cancellation of the event.
Fast forward to now and it might feel a little bit like Groundhog Day as the team is once again embarking on our city looking to win the gold medal on Canadian soil.
Sandwiched in between all of this, along with capturing three consecutive Scotties Tournament of Hearts titles was an appearance at the 2021 World Women’s Curling Championships in Calgary.
The Einarson rink went 7-6 in Round Robin play before falling to Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg in the qualification round.
In Zoom availability today (Tuesday), Einarson noted the team still has the same sky-high expectations but with a more simplified approach.
“Well, we are definitely going to take one game at a time and build off of that by getting better and better each game. Our first goal is to make the playoffs and then we are going to go from there but we want to bring home the gold,” said Einarson.
After getting their first true experience at the World’s last year albeit in front of an empty stadium, Einarson and company know what to expect this time around.
“This year is a little different, there is no Olympic spot on the line so there is not that added extra pressure. We just learned to feel what it is like out there and what it is like to represent Canada on the world stage and we can’t wait to get to Prince George.”
Switzerland’s Silvana Trinzoni and her Zurich-based team are the defending champions.
Team Canada’s first game is Saturday at 2 pm against Italy.
A practice session prior to the tournament will be held at the PG Golf and Curling Club Thursday morning at 10:30 am.
A link to the full schedule can be found here.
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