Canada’s Mixed Doubles Dilemma ft. Colleen Jones

We’re back from the holidays and COVID-19 remains the main topic with more provincial championships cancelled. Kevin and Warren discuss the latest as we draw closer to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The guys also weigh in on Canada’s selection process for its mixed doubles Olympic team — with Curling Canada consulting the Canadian Olympic Committee and Own The Podium — and will it result in a fair nominee.

Is the World Curling Federation (WCF) backpedalling on trialling new rules at the world championships? Warren takes aim at the announcement the WCF made during the holiday break in our Hot Rock Topics. We’ve proposed a World Cup model for curling in previous episodes and Our Mailbag segment clarifies how the World Cup circuit used for winter sports differs from soccer’s quadrennial World Cup. Stick until the end as Kevin takes us back to a pre-Airbnb era in Storytime to tell the tale of when he went knocking door-to-door in Vancouver to find someone who would rent their house to his team during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Two-time world and six-time Canadian champion Colleen Jones is our guest to talk about the biggest changes to curling over the years, advice for younger curlers, how the Olympics has fuelled international growth and how her passion has kept her motivated to continue playing. Jones also discusses what Canada should consider when choosing its mixed doubles team for Beijing and why having a deeper bench for this Olympics, in particular, makes common sense.

This podcast is produced by Warren Hansen, recorded and mixed by Mike Rogerson, and hosted by Kevin Martin, Warren Hansen and Jim Jerome. Production support by Amil Delic and Jonathan Brazeau.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.