New Zealand Curling

NZ Mixed Champions 2018. Photo © NZCZA / Holly Gosse

6 Jun 2018 – Dave Watt, Brittany Taylor, Lorne DePape and Glenys Taylor won the year's first national title, staying undefeated to claim the 2018 NZ Mixed Curling Championship in Auckland over Queen's Birthday Weekend.

They beat Team Garion Long 11-5 in Monday evening's final to claim the trophy in a convincing display.

Seven teams played in two pools through the qualifying stages.

Estonia's Marie Turmann from the 2017 gold medal team. Photo © www.wintergamesnz.kiwi

Lake Wanaka, 3 May 2018 – Underlining its position as one of the world’s leading international winter sports events, the Audi quattro Winter Games NZ has joined forces with the World Curling Tour to host the first Mixed Doubles Curling Tournament of the 2018/19 season.

A newly-signed partnership agreement will mean that the Winter Games NZ Curling Tournament will become the first Southern Hemisphere event to join the global Tour which incorporates some 170 championship curling events.

NZ Men v Wales. Photo © WCF / Tom Rowland

28 Apr 2018 – The NZ Senior Men's side of Hans Frauenlob, Lorne DePape, Dave Watt and Iain Craig has been knocked out of the World Seniors Championship in Sweden.

They were the only one of the three Kiwi sides in action to reach the playoff rounds, and were beaten 7-4 by Scotland in the first round of knockout games.

New Zealand's Mixed Doubles and Senior Women's sides at the combined tournament in Oestersund both finished at the bottom of their respective pools.

MCI Doubles winners Brett Sargon and Eleanor Adviento. Photo © MCI / Rob Potter

26 Mar 2018 – Eleanor Adviento and Brett Sargon had the best possible lead-in to the 2018 World Mixed Doubles Championship when they won the season-opening MCI Doubles over the weekend. They beat current national titleholders Bridget and Sean Becker 10-9 in a tense final.

Adviento and Sargon had a setback in the opening round, losing 6-8 to 2017 NZ Championship runners-up Jess and Ben Smith. They won their remaining pool games, but only secured a playoff spot with a 7-5 win against Thivya Jeyaranjan and Nelson Ede in the last round.

They then headed Dunedin teenagers Grace and Jayden Bishop 7-4 in their semi-final.

Participants at August's Stepping Stones. Photo © NZCA / Jo Dowling

18 Feb 2018 – Enjoying the Curling from the Olympics? Want to be there in 2022?

Since my appointment as National Coach last year, I have been considering how best to work with our competitive athletes to support the goal of improving our international competitiveness.

I feel that the best way to make a real difference is to focus on those athletes truly committed to improving their skills over the long term. Those athletes that have the ability and potential to be successful international representatives over the next 5-10 years.

So I plan to form a High Performance Squad that will be the focus of my efforts over the next Olympic cycle.

Photo © WCF / Richard Gray

11 Feb 2018 – There may be no New Zealand curlers at PyeongChang 2018, but there's still plenty to inspire Kiwis with some fabulous curling on display!

If you're in Auckland you can come and find out what it's about every Sunday afternoon in March at Paradice Avondale.

You can come to just one session, or to as many as you want.

Each session will start with some group tuition, and if you come to more than one session it will build on what you've already done. Then you'll play a game.

6 Feb 2018 – New Zealand has no curling teams competing at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics or Paralympics.

Countries qualify for the three Olympic events via the World Men's, Women's and Mixed Doubles Championships and the Pacific-Asia Championships. NZ sides all came within one game of earning qualifying points in this Olympic cycle but ultimately missed out.

The New Zealand Men's team have competed at one Winter Olympics, in Turin in 2006.

Where can I watch?

• World Curling Federation's event website has full news, photos and results
• PrimeTV has some free-to-air coverage from PyeongChang
• Sky Sport has extensive coverage, with over 100 games broadcast live 9-25 February

Where can I play?

• Auckland Curling will have "come and try curling" sessions on Sundays 4, 11, 18 and 25 March
• Contact Dunedin Curling if you're keen to play in the south
• Naseby's MCI rink in Central Otago is open 7 days a week

Canada's Kalynn Park. Photo © www.wintergamesnz.kiwi

12 Jan 2018 – Audi quattro Winter Games NZ are delighted to announce that the 6th edition of the Games will be held from 24 August - 8 September 2018 in Otago.

We would like to invite all Mixed Doubles curling nations to the 2018 event, once again hosted at the Maniototo International Rink in Naseby.

This tournament will run in the first week of the games, 25 - 30 August.

Courtney Smith and Emma Sutherland in the bronze medal game vs Norway. Photo © WCF / Janne Ojanperä

11 Jan 2018 – The ultimate goal for New Zealand’s teams at the World Junior B Championships in Finland this week was to medal and so earn entry to the main event, the World Junior Championships 2018.

Although both sides narrowly missed out on achieving that goal, they are upbeat about their improvement and looking forward to going a step further next year.

The NZ Women – Jessica Smith, Holly Thompson, Emma Sutherland, Courtney Smith and Mhairi-Bronté Duncan, with coach Nelson Ede – came desperately close.