No handshakes: Canada’s Einarson protects sprained finger at women’s world curling

CALGARY – Kerri Einarson hasn’t been shaking hands at the women’s world curling championship because the Canadian skip is dealing with a sprained finger.

It’s a leftover from the on-ice celebration when she and her teammates won the national championship Feb. 1 in Mississauga, Ont.

“Someone clipped my finger and it bent my knuckle right back,” Einarson said Wednesday. “We were celebrating. We hugged and boom.”

With a tender ring finger on her right hand, Einarson has been arm-bumping opposing players.

“When someone shakes my hand, it aches,” she said. “That’s why I’m not shaking hands.”

She says she feels discomfort throwing her stones “but I’m just pushing through it. It’s fine.”

Einarson, third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard and lead Karlee Burgess out of Manitoba’s Gimli Curling Club defeated Scotland 7-5 in a roller-coaster game Wednesday night at Calgary’s WinSport Event Centre.

Canada and Switzerland were tied atop the table with 7-1 records. Japan and South Korea were 6-2 and Sweden 6-3. Turkey was 5-3 and China 4-4.

Denmark and Italy were 3-5, Scotland 3-6, Norway 2-6 and Australia and the United States both 1-8.

Canada faces South Korea on Thursday morning and Norway later in the evening.

It’ll be the third straight day Canada plays a “split” schedule, which makes for late nights and early mornings.

The Canadians cap pool play against Australia and Japan on Friday when the top six teams in the 13-country field advance to playoffs.

The top two gain direct entry into Saturday even’s semifinals. The remaining four square off earlier Saturday for the chance to join the final four.

The medal games are Sunday.

After a 9-3 morning win over Turkey, which conceded after six ends, Canada was in control early against the Scots with a 4-1 lead after three ends.

But mistakes opened the door for Fay Henderson’s foursome to work its way back into the game and draw even at 5-5 with a deuce in the sixth end.

After Canada blanked the seventh and was forced to take one in the eighth, momentum swung toward the hosts.

With two Canadian counters on the top edge of the button but Scotland’s stone closer to the pin, Henderson attempted to squeeze her last shot on to the button to score two.

But she pushed Scotland’s shot stone deep and gave up a steal of one to trail 7-5 coming home with hammer.

“I thought it was definitely worth a go because two (points) is big and actually giving up one wasn’t terrible to have hammer going down to the last,” Henderson said. “You probably have a better chance of generating a (deuce).

“I know Canada was the top team for not giving up steals this week, so I knew having hammer wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

But a ticked guard and a heavy draw in the 10th by Scotland allowed Canada to load the rings with five rocks. With a runback hit, Einarson made sure the Scots couldn’t score two and force an extra end.

“We started really well out of the gate, and in the middle half there we just kind of had a little bit of a lull and just kind of struggled getting things going,” Einarson said. “But this team’s gritty.

“We don’t give up on each other and we just tried to find ways to help each other to make the shots.”

Canada welcomed a two-win Wednesday after an extra-end loss to Switzerland’s Xenia Schwaller the previous evening.

The stones were “papered” or “sharpened” overnight, which is the process of sanding the granite that’s smoothed over the course of several draws.

Stones grab pebble and curl more after they’re papered, which was a variable Einarson’s team faced Wednesday.

“Today was a little tricky at times,” Birchard said. “The ice was different and the rocks were different. We just have to carry forward what we’re learning and just keep adjusting.”

Einarson, Sweeting, Birchard and Burgess are all seeking their first world title, and also to keep it in Canada after Rachel Homan’s team claimed back-to-back crowns.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2026.