TEAMS EARNING BERTHS IN WORLD MIXED DOUBLES PLAYDOWN THROUGH FOUR-PERSON PLAY ARE DETERMINED
Photo by: Lanie Hiller
[EDEN PRAIRIE, MN, August 28, 2026] — In 2027, the World Mixed Doubles Championship is moving from its traditional spot on the calendar—the end of April—to early January.
As a result of this change, a 2026 World Mixed Doubles Playdown Event will be held at the Eau Claire Curling Club in Eau Claire, WI, to determine the team that will represent the United States at the 2027 championship. (Based on last season’s World Championship finish, the United States must also earn a berth at the World Mixed Doubles Qualification Event, scheduled for Rock Creek Curling in Colorado from October 2nd through the 9th. Olympic silver medalists Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin will be Team USA at that event.)
The World Mixed Doubles Playdown Event in Eau Claire will have eight teams and is scheduled for October 28th through November 1st. Two teams have already qualified based on the 2025-26 World Curling Mixed Doubles Ranking List—Thiesse/ Dropkin and Sarah Fenson/Andrew Stopera.
On August 28th, three more berths were determined based on the combined points of each player (one male, one female) on the World Curling Team Ranking Lists for Men’s and Women’s play from the final year-end standings in 2025-2026. (Four-person team points are added together to generate the total points of the Mixed Doubles combination. Teams had to submit an Intent to Compete form to demonstrate their desire to compete in the October playdown event.)
TEAMS EARNING BERTHS.
Two teams—Madison Bear/Aidan Oldenburg and Becca Hamilton/Matt Hamilton—earned those berths today. Two other teams—Allory Johnson/Caden Hebert and Gianna Johnson/Jackson Bestland—are tied with the exact same number of combined points. As a result, they will play against each other to determine the final berth awarded through this process.
The final three berths in the competition will be awarded to eligible teams, not already qualified, ranked highest on the published Year-to Date World Curling Mixed Doubles Ranking List for events completed as of October 14th, 2026. For more information about the World Mixed Doubles Playdown Event, and all other USA Curling championships, review the Qualification Procedures document.
This season, in addition to the competition in Eau Claire, USA Curling will hold a 2027 USA Curling Mixed Doubles National Championship in late April. The winner of that event will represent the United States at the 2028 World Mixed Doubles Championship.
About USA Curling
Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA Curling is the National Governing body for the Olympic sport of curling and the Paralympic sport of wheelchair curling in the United States. The mission of USA Curling is to grow, strengthen, and advocate for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of curling in the United States by prioritizing accessibility and programmatic development from grassroots to podium. USA Curling is sponsored by Columbia Sportswear, the Dale’s family of beers, Twin Cities Orthopedics, Training HAUS, Ice, Sports & Solar (ISS), Rock Solid Productions, Jet Ice, and Laurie Artiss. USA Curling is a proud member of World Curling and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. To learn more, visit usacurling.org.
