Autumn Gold Curling Classic 2026 – Valuable Lessons and Another Playoff Qualification

Last week, we competed in our fourth tournament of the season at the Autumn Gold Curling Classic in Okotoks.

We arrived a few days early to focus on our development during three intensive training days. Our main focus was on communication on the ice and technique. We were supported by Paul Webster from the Glencoe Curling Club, who shared many valuable insights and fresh perspectives with us, for which we are very grateful.

After these intensive and valuable training days, our goal was to put what we had learned into practice during the tournament. At times, we managed this very well, while at other times it was more challenging. But that’s all part of the process when developing new routines and changing existing habits.

The tournament was played in a triple-knockout format. After a successful start with a win against the Swiss Team Hürlimann, we suffered a defeat against Japan’s Team Kitazawa in our second game. This meant we continued our tournament on the B-Road.

We went on to win our next three games against Teams Sturmay, Hasselborg and Schwaller, securing our spot in the quarterfinals once again.

In the quarterfinals, we faced Korea’s Team Gim. It was an exciting game, with both teams playing some excellent curling. The match came down to the very last stone, which our opponents successfully made. Despite a strong team performance, we narrowly missed out on a spot in the semifinals.

Although we would have loved to reach the semifinals, we look back on the week with a positive feeling. We once again qualified for the playoffs and, more importantly, gained many valuable insights from both the intensive training days and the tournament games.

We know that implementing new things takes time, but we are confident that we are on the right track.