The Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship Trials – make sure
you don’t call it a championship – are underway in Leduc, Alta., and Norm Cowley has a feature on the what is probably the highest-profile team in the competition,
Mark Dacey and his wife Heather Smith-Dacey.
The championship trials are more or less a new experience
for everyone and are a bit of a second thought, as Dacey explained:
TheNova Scotia champions’ only experience playing mixed doubles was eight games attheir provincials, plus lots of practice. When their respective men’s and women’s rinks lost out in the playdowns, they turned their focus to mixed doubles to see how they stack up against some of the other top pairs in Canada.
“Especially,if it’s got potential to be in the Olympics eventually, we might as well seeearly on if we’re a contender or a pretender,” said Mark. “I think we’re a contender, but I guess this weekend will give us that information.”
The championship trials represent the first time Canada has
held an official competition to determine its representative for the world
championships. In the past, Canada has just slapped together a team which was
probably why it fared so poorly.
“It’s a totally different game that requires different skills,” Smith-Dacey said about mixed doubles, compared to regular mixed curling. “They haven’t given the teams any experience, so how do you expect them to (do well). If we made it tothe worlds, we might not have done well either.”
The Daceys were supposed to represent Canada in 2010 at Chelyabinsk, Russia, but the Iceland volcano erupting interfered with their travel plans. They won’thave a problem getting to the worlds at Fredericton, N.B., from April 13-20 if they win the trials.
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