Canada’s Teams Korte and Middaugh preparing for playoffs at 2026 World Senior Championships

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — Canada’s senior men’s and women’s teams wrapped up their round-robin schedules on Thursday at the 2026 ACE & Company World Senior Curling Championships. Both teams now set their sights on a playoff run, aiming for a podium finish at Centre Sportif-Moulin’s Curling Club Trois-Chêne Genève.

The Canadian men’s team from Saskatoon secured a spot in the 12-team playoffs on Wednesday. However, heading into Thursday afternoon’s game against Ireland’s Team Bill Gray (1-3), there was still work to do: a win and a strong pre-game Last Stone Draw would guarantee Canada a bye to the Friday quarterfinals, allowing them to skip the earlier qualification round.

Skip Korte, third/vice-skip Darrell McKee, second Kory Kohuch, lead Rory Golanowski, and alternate Arlen Hall delivered, defeating Ireland 5-3 and finishing the round robin with a perfect 4-0 record at Centre Sportif-Moulin’s Curling Club Trois-Chêne Genève.

The Saskatoon team’s 28.7 cm Last Stone Draw clinched the coveted bye for the Canadians.

“That’s good to hear because then I get to sleep in tomorrow morning,” lead Golanowski joked. “We’re in a good spot. It was good to play well; we just have to keep up on the tendencies and go from there.”

Canada opened the game with a steady offence, scoring two in the first end. After a blanked second, Ireland was held to a single in the third. In the fourth, missed opportunities prevented Canada from adding more, but Korte executed a precise draw to the button for one.

“It was a battle throughout the whole game,” Golanwoski said. “That was the first time we played on Sheet C, and we saw some differences compared to our other games, so it was a bit of a struggle to make shots out there, but they made it tough on us, so it ended up being a good game.”

Canada capitalized on Irish mistakes in the fifth and sixth ends to steal single points. Ireland answered with a deuce in the seventh, but in the eighth, Canada—up by two—didn’t need to throw its final stone as Ireland’s last-shot attempt overcurled.

As the second seed, Canada will meet the winner of England’s Team Douglas McGlynn (3-1) and Australia’s Team Hugh Milikin (3-2) in Friday’s quarterfinal at 1 p.m. (all times Eastern). The Canadians know that the most challenging games still lie ahead.

“The teams here are good; they picked up on the ice tendencies, so every game you play now is tougher,” Golanowski said. “There will be some more intensity, and that’s what we’re here for.”

In particular, Golanowski is excited to finish the week strong with his family—his wife, son, daughter, and her fiancé—in tow.

Canada’s Team Sherry Middaugh—skip Middaugh, third/vice-skip Karri-Lee Grant, second Melissa Foster, lead Jane Hooper Perroud, and coach Wayne Middaugh—also advanced to the eight-team playoffs, finishing their round robin with a flawless 4-0 record on Thursday evening.

They closed out the round robin with a dominant 10-1 victory over Slovenia’s Team Alenka Omerzel (0-4), scoring two points in each of the first four ends. Slovenia managed a single in the fifth, but after Team Middaugh drew for two in the sixth, Slovenia conceded.

Team Middaugh finished as the first seed and will face the eighth-seed Team Asta Vaicekonyte of Lithuania (4-1) in the quarterfinals on Friday at 8 a.m.

The Barrie, Ont., squad is pleased with their strong round robin finish, but they’re focused on treating the playoffs as a fresh start.

“We feel like we are the champions of the first bonspiel, and the second bonspiel starts tomorrow,” said second Foster. “So fresh slate tomorrow, start off with a new approach, but same processes, same routines, just staying focused on the end goal and keeping our confidence up.”

Canada’s round robin featured key wins, including a victory over two-time Olympic champion Anette Norberg of Sweden. Still, the playoffs leave no room for error—one misstep could cut their run short.

“We don’t really look at the opponent. Whether the opponent is someone that we admire or revere, or the opponent is someone that we’ve never heard of before, it’s like paper bags over their heads, and we just play our game and focus on our bubble,” Foster said.

The men’s and women’s semifinals are scheduled for Saturday at 3 a.m., and the medal games follow at 8 a.m.

For the latest scores, draws, and team lists, visit the event’s official scoring website.

Live streaming of games is available on Centre Sportif Sous-Moulin’s Curling Club Trois-Chêne Genève’s YouTube Channel.