NZ Teams & Events News

NZ Women vs hosts Korea. Photo © Korea Curling Assn

3 Feb 2012 – Japan won the Women's gold at the 2012 Pacific-Asia Junior Curling Championships at the Hwasan Ice Rink in Jeonju, South Korea on Thursday beating Korea 3-2 in the final. The Chinese Men had a 3-2 win over their Korean hosts in their gold medal match.

The New Zealand Junior Men and Women both finished 4th in the Double Round Robin and did not qualify for the medal rounds.

The winners are not only crowned 2012 Pacific-Asia Junior Curling Champions, but they also secure the World Curling Federation Pacific-Asia places at the 2012 World Junior Curling Championships which will take place in Östersund, Sweden from 3-11 March.

NZ Men's silver medal has earned them entry to the 2012 World Men's Championship

27 Nov 2011 – New Zealand's curlers have ended a successful 2011 Pacific-Asia Curling Championship in China with one of their best results there in years.

The Kiwi men earned a silver medal in the final and – more importantly – entry into next year's World Men's Championship with their semi-final win.

The New Zealand women also upset Japan in their bronze medal game to complete an excellent final day for the squad.

30 Sep 2011 – After a review by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the World Curling Federation, it has been announced that curling has now been officially removed from the list of sports which prohibits the use of beta-blockers.

Athletes taking beta-blockers will now be allowed to compete in competitive curling events without the need for Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) from 1st January 2012 as a result of this decision.

5 Sep 2011 – Aspiring local coaches have a wonderful opportunity to extend their knowledge by assisting at Naseby's WCF Junior camp over the New Year break.

The NZCA is also seeking coaches and managers for national teams at upcoming tournaments.

8 Aug 2011 – New Zealand's first Senior Curling Championships were held at Naseby's Maniototo Curling International rink at the start of August. As expected there was plenty of friendly banter between the sides, but any notion that this tournament wouldn't be competitive could not be further from the mark.

Two-thirds of the curlers competed in the National Open championship a month earlier, and three had been members of the NZ Winter Olympic curling team just five years before.

31 Jul 2011 – The final of the NZ Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Dunedin this weekend was a family affair. Ranfurly's brother-sister combo Sean and Bridget Becker took on Alexandra's father-daughter team John and Natalie Campbell. Earlier in the day, both finalists had needed a tiebreaker win to qualify for the playoff rounds.

Sean and Bridget retained their title by the narrowest possible margin, a 7-6 win to record their 4th win in the event's 5 year history.

24 Jul 2011 – The NZ Curling Association has confirmed the selectors' recommendations for the New Zealand Open and Under-21 teams for the 2011/2012 season.

They feature some new names, and the Open teams will have some line-up changes between next month's NZ Winter Games and November's Pacific-Asia Curling Championships in China.

Brydie Donald won her first National title as skip

4 Jul 2011 – The pre-tournament favorites won the Men's and Women's titles at the 2011 NZ Open Curling Championships in Dunedin this month, but they had to work hard for them.

Brydie Donald's side trailed for much of the match before stealing an extra end win over Wendy Becker's Senior Women's team.

On the neighbouring sheet, Peter de Boer's composite squad pushed Sean Becker all the way before the latter took his 5th consecutive national title.

26 Jun 2011 – The best traditions of curling – great camaraderie and sportsmanship – were celebrated in Otago in late June during New Zealand Curling's 125th Jubilee. These traditions were continued throughout the 2011 NZ Under-21 Curling Championships said Darren Carson, the Chief Umpire.

He congratulated the two Women's and three Men's sides on their consistently high standard of play while contesting a close tussle for the titles in Naseby from Friday 22 to Sunday 24 June.