TEAM JOHNSON NOTCHES FIRST WIN FOR U.S. AT WORLD JUNIOR-B WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Photo by: Michael Woolheater
[EDEN PRAIRIE, MN, December 7, 2025] —The United States, represented by Team Johnson (Allory Johnson, Gianna Johnson, Morgan Zacher, Bailey Vaydich, Ella Wendling, Coach Chris Johnson) opened the World Junior-B Women’s Curling Championship at the Kisakallio Sports Institute in Lohja, Finland, stealing five points on their way to a convincing 9-1 win over Hungary.
The World Junior-B Women’s event brings together 23 teams from around the globe, all competing to earn one of three berths in the 2026 World Junior Curling Championships, slated for Taarnby, Denmark, from February 24 through March 3rd.
Team Johnson, curling out of the Four Seasons Curling Club and the Fargo-Moorhead Curling Club, captured the USA Curling Junior Women’s National Championship last spring in Bowling Green, OH, earning the right to represent the country on the international stage this season. Teams are divided into three groups.
The United States will play in Group B, and in addition to Hungary, will compete against Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, and Chinese Taipei. The top two teams in each group plus the two third-ranked teams, based on Draw Shot Challenge (DSC) results, will qualify for the quarter-finals. Teams will be ranked from 1-8 for playoff play, and those rankings will determine the quarter-final matchups. Medal games will be completed on Saturday, December 13th.
USA Curling CEO Dean Gemmell said, “Team Johnson is an extremely dedicated group, and has been working hard to prepare for this event. They earned a berth in our Olympic Team Trials earlier this season by winning the Pre-Trials event in September, and that experience should help them as they compete to earn their place in Denmark.”
Fans can follow the team on the World Curling website and see scores, statistics, and standings here.
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.
