NZ Teams & Events

2015 NZ Mixed Doubles champions Scott Becker and Bridget Becker

3 Aug 2015 – Bridget Becker and brother Scott were clear winners of the 2015 New Zealand Mixed Doubles championship last weekend, dropping just one game through the tournament.

This was Bridget's 5th national Mixed Doubles title, having won four of the five between 2007 and 2011 with older brother Sean. Scott interrupted their winning sequence in 2008 when he partnered Brydie Donald.

Thirteen teams entered the triple-life tournament, and the Becker duo swept the opening Pool A, winning the Pool A final 8-3 from Kelsi Heath and Kieran Ford.

L-R: Eleanor Adviento, Thivya Jeyaranjan, Chelsea Farley and Tessa Farley

6 Jul 2015 – The New Zealand Curling Championships in Naseby last weekend featured a breakthrough win for the new Women's champions, and an eighth title since 2005 for winning Men's skip Sean Becker.

After taking silver in four of the last five years, Chelsea Farley and her team of Thivya Jeyaranjan, Tessa Farley and Eleanor Adviento struck gold to earn their first New Zealand Curling Championship title.

2015 NZ Mixed Fours champions

5 June 2015 – Dave Watt, Thivya Jeyaranjan, Garion Long and Waverley Taylor claimed the first national title of 2015 when they won the NZ Mixed Fours Curling Championship at Paradice Avondale during Queen's Birthday Weekend.

They went through the tournament undefeated, winning all three of their pool games on the Sunday. Defending champion Iain Craig and his side were runners-up in the group, beaten only by the eventual winners.

26 Apr 2015 – New Zealand won just its third World Curling Championship medal overnight with a bronze to the Kiwi men at the 2015 World Senior Curling Championships in Sochi, Russia.

Hans Frauenlob and his team of Dan Mustapic (third), Lorne DePape (second), Iain Craig (lead) and Dave Watt (alternate) shrugged off a semi-final loss against eventual winners USA to beat Denmark 6-4 in the playoff for third.

29 Dec 2014 – A new World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) will come into effect from 1 January 2015, and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has just published an Athlete Reference Guide to the new code.

"It is important for curlers to understand that this affects them just as it does other top-level athletes," said Darren Carson, convenor of selectors for New Zealand Curling.

"We know our athletes respect both the spirit of curling and their own well-being," he continued. "But the new code essentially says ignorance is no excuse, and inadvertent breaches will also be dealt with strictly."

Plenty of local support (Photo USCA)

8 Dec 2014 – The harsh reality of the World Curling Federation's updated world rankings hit home for New Zealand's Curling teams at the just-completed US Curling Grand Prix.

The made-for-TV event featured Men's and Women's rinks from the USA, China, Japan, and New Zealand competing at Minnesota's Fogerty Arena, home of the Four Seasons Curling Club.

The Kiwi sides were the lowest-ranked there, and both finished true to their rankings at the tail of the field – but there were some encouraging moments in their tournament. The Chinese sides, both highest-ranked at 5th in the world, won both events.

Photo © Richard Gray / WCF

15 Nov 2014 – New Zealand's curlers will be returning home empty-handed from the 2014 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships in Karuizawa, Japan.

The Kiwi Women's team of Chelsea Farley, Thivya Jeyaranjan, Tessa Farley and Eleanor Adviento, with alternate Waverley Taylor and coach Liz Matthews, lost their bronze medal game against the Japanese side of Ayumi Ogasawara today.

After an even start, Japan scored 3 points in the fourth end and then stole another 2 to take a 7-2 lead into the fifth end break. NZ patiently blanked the sixth but were then held to just one point in the next. The teams traded singles before Japan ran NZ out of stones in the last end to win the match and the bronze medal 8-4.

In the Women's gold medal match, China stole the extra end to win 7-6 and hand Korea their only loss of the week. With their title, the Chinese also won the right to play in the 2015 World Women's Championship. Japan automatically qualified as hosts.

24 Sep 2014 – The New Zealand Curling Association has confirmed the National Mixed Doubles and Senior teams to compete in their respective 2015 World Championships in Sochi, Russia next April.

Brett Sargon has also been added to the NZ Men's team for November's 2014 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships in Karuizawa, Japan.

The teams for Sochi are the winning combinations from this year's respective New Zealand Championships, with the addition of Wendy Becker to the Senior Women's team.