Taking things one shot at a time

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This article was published 05/05/2021 (1766 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kerri Einarson continues to mount a comeback at the women’s world curling championship.

The Gimli skip and her two-time Scotties national champions consisting of third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard and lead Briane Meilleur posted consecutive victories Tuesday.

The wins couldn’t have been more different.

Canada eked out a hard-fought 6-5 victory over Eve Muirhead of Scotland in an extra end Tuesday night. It was their third consecutive triumph.

Down 3-2, Einarson stole three points in the eighth end to vault to a 5-3 lead but surrendered singles in the ninth and 10th ends, and had to play one more. Einarson picked out a Scottish stone with her final toss to secure the win.

Earlier in the day, Canada had a far easier time, thumping Italy 10-4.

The Canadians will likely need to win at least three of their four remaining games to have a shot at the playoffs. But four straight would be a much better scenario.

Only six teams will advance to Friday’s qualification round in Calgary.

“We’re definitely not giving up and we’re just coming out there and just being us and enjoying that moment and it’s very, it’s a very special moment so we just got to embrace it and just go out there and be us,” Einarson told reporters.

The top six women’s teams at the world championship also qualify their countries for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The rest of the Olympic field will be determined by an international qualifying tournament in December, which would be an awkward prospect for Curling Canada given the Olympic trials are in Saskatoon in November.

“We’re feeling confident,” said Sweeting. “And that’s all we can do right now is just focus on ourselves, focus on the shot and one game at a time. That may sound cliché but that’s really all that we can do (and) that’s within our control right now. We’re just going to keep fighting for as many wins as we can get and see where we land.”

Canada’s lone game today comes in the morning draw against Estonia.

The event has been lower profile than in previous years. Television and streaming broadcasts remain suspended until at least Thursday because seven members of the crew tested positive for COVID-19.

Without spectators or production staff in the building, the Markin MacPhail Centre felt even more like a library for the Canadians.

“It’s even more quiet now,” said Einarson. “You don’t have those extra people around. We miss them. We hope they come back.”

Broadcasts were suspended Sunday when four TV staff tested positive. Three more positive tests were reported Monday.

‘We’re just going to keep fighting for as many wins as we can get and see where we land’– Team Canada third Val Sweeting

The rest of the broadcast crew continued to test negative, but game broadcasts remain suspended to Thursday morning to accommodate more testing, the World Curling Federation said.

“The confirmation of this latest round of results, and additional work on contact tracing, allows the broadcast team and medical officials to progress to the next stage of discussions around a managed return to the competition with an adapted TV production setup,” the WCF said in a statement Tuesday.

“The impacted individuals who have previously returned positive results will remain in isolation and continue to be medically managed by the competition medical officials with guidance from Alberta Health.”

The women’s world championship was relocated from Switzerland in March to Calgary in May because Swiss health authorities refused to support the tournament in the face of a global pandemic.

The women’s championship is the seventh and final curling event held with zero spectators and in a controlled environment in Calgary to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Broadcast personnel aren’t housed in the same hotel as the teams.

Two German players, however, remain in quarantine because they tested positive before the tournament began. The WCF gave skip Daniela Jentsch an exemption to compete with a three-player team.

Last month’s men’s championship was interrupted on the final weekend because of four positive COVID-19 tests. The event made it to the finish line when it was determined those were “false positives.”

The world mixed doubles championship in Aberdeen, Scotland, where Einarson and Brad Gushue will represent Canada, is scheduled for May 17-23.

— The Canadian Press / staff