Team Jones/Laing eke out win in opener at 2026 Canadian Mixed Doubles

When Jennifer Jones greeted a girl seeking the autograph of the six-time Scotties Canadian women’s champion and two-time world champion, Jones said to the fan: “We made it exciting for you.” 

She and husband/mixed doubles partner Brent Laing certainly did in the opening draw of the 2026 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship being held at the Cloverdale Curling Club in Surrey, B.C. They jumped out to an 8-0 lead but needed to score one in the eighth and final end to edge Team Québec’s Sophie Sanscartier and Maxandre Caron (Boucherville, Clermont) 9-8. 

The draw was delayed for 45 minutes because of ice plant issues and Jones said the ice got colder, faster and straighter and “we didn’t pick up on it.” 

But Laing had a different view than that of his spouse of what went wrong. 

“I stopped making shots. In the sixth end when we had the power play, I made a double (takeout) on our own and that made for a better guard and it’s curling. You miss too many shots and in mixed doubles you can give up three easily, three steals it’s not hard to do,” said Laing. 

Jones and Laing (Horseshoe Valley, Ont.) started with the hammer and not only did they put the hammer down, they pounded it by scoring five in the first end. They then went on a stealing binge adding another point in the second end and stealing two more in the third.  

Team Jones/Laing regained the hammer after Team Sanscartier/Caron scored one in the fourth. But then the Quebecois squad got into the thievery act as well, stealing one in the fifth and three in the sixth when Jones’ wide-open draw on her last shot sailed to the back of the house. Then, Team Sanscartier/Caron stole another three in the seventh end for an 8-8 tie, shocking the crowd expecting the 2023 Canadian mixed doubles champions to have already been victorious. But in the eighth, they got to breathe a sigh of relief when Jones didn’t have to throw her final rock after Team Sanscartier/Caron’s attempt at a takeout of two Team Jones/Laing shot rocks only got rid of one. 

After going 6-1 in the round robin at the 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship, Jones and Laing lost a quarter-final 9-8 to New Brunswick’s Melissa Adams and Alex Robichaud despite having an 8-5 lead after six ends. The previous year they didn’t make the playoffs, going 3-4 in the round robin. The couple said they were rear-ended in a car accident just prior to the 2024 championship. “That was a tough week, physically and mentally,” said Laing.  

Losing the quarter-final last year was tough too. “We had control of that game. I had to make a double in the last end and we win the game and we’re in the semifinals,” said Laing. 

Despite Jones, 51, and Laing, 47, moving on from men’s and women’s team curling in favour of broadcasting (Jones) and coaching (Laing), the competitive juices still flow for the pair.

“We’re always eager to win every time we step on the ice. We just want to come out and have some fun,” said Jones. “This is just as big as men’s and women’s.” 

Mixed doubles, said Laing, is “fun to play, it’s easy to compete and it’s easier since it’s just the two of us. We don’t have to deal with the whole team and everything that goes along with that, so it’s easy for us.

“It’s an Olympic sport now and has a world championship, it’s got it all.” 

In other first draw games, Team Nova Scotia’s Marie Christianson and Nick Mosher of Halifax stole seven points in a 10-1 victory in seven ends over Katie Ford and Oliver Campbell of Waterloo, Ont. Riley and Brendan Craig of St. Catharines, Ont., stole three in the eighth end to defeat Kelly Tremblay and Pierre Lanoue (Boucherville, Clement Que.) 9-7. Team New Brunswick’s Rebecca Watson and Sean Beland, from Fredericton, scored five in the sixth end for an 11-5 win over Team Newfoundland and Labrador’s Greg Smith and Jessica Wiseman of St. John’s and Anne-Sophie Gionest and Robert Desjardins of Chicoutimi, Que., downed McKenna and Tanner Nathan (Sarnia, Ont.) 12-7. 

Live streaming of the 2026 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship is available on Curling Canada’s YouTube channel.  

Live scores and standings will be available by CLICKING HERE. 

For the schedule and team lineups, go to the official event website: www.curling.ca/2026mixeddoubles/ 

CLICK HERE for ticket information for the 2026 Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship. 

This story will be available in French as soon as possible by clicking HERE.