Beginning Tuesday in Prince George, British Columbia, 12 Elite Men’s and Women’s Teams are vying for four spots each at the Olympic Trials in Edmonton in December. The process has been long and arduous, but should prove to give Canada the two best possible representatives in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

The have been comments from players that the process is too much, but I believe that if you want to be the Olympic team and that if these Canadian Teams want to remain at the Top of the World, they’ll need to put in this work to compete. The World is not waiting, creating super teams and developing high level programs to build teams that will work fulltime at the sport.

The changes made to the process were made to ensure the best possible representative for the Red and White, while creating the best possible field in Edmonton as the Trials.

This week in Prince George there will be upsets. Names you think should be in Edmonton will fall, while others will unexpectedly prevail. There a few locks in this event, with my choices being Kelly Scott on the Women’s side and Brad Gushue on the Men’s side, both of which are playing brilliantly leading into the event, and will also have the experience to contend in Edmonton.

After those two teams, it’s as good a guess as any. In a triple knockout upsets can happen, especially when a team gets hot and runs off a few wins. Jason Gunnlaugson, written off at the end of last season as having very little chance has played very well this season, and following his run at the Cactus Pheasant Classic is certainly in contention. This team has big guns and is my surprise pick to qualify along with Gushue.

Consistency has been Mike McEwen’s forte over the last couple seasons and this event requires just that to be successful. This young Manitoba rink quietly reached two Grand Slam semifinals and regularly qualify on the Tour circuit. McEwen has quickly matured over the last couple seasons and has quickly become one of the best young teams in the game.

Next, my choice comes down to the remaining team who was at their best over the last couple years, a team formed with the Olympics in mind. Wayne Middaugh recruited Jon Mead to join his Ontario three, along with John Epping and Scott Bailey, and came one win short of going straight to Edmonton after Randy Ferbey passed him with his Players’ Championship title last April on the last game of the season.

In the Women’s field there is a lot more parity in the field, and thus makes these picks much more difficult. Scott has been playing brilliantly this season, and should be a lock, while joining her team in Edmonton should also be Marie-France Larouche of Quebec City.

Larouche was on a tear last season and while she’s been very quiet thus far this season, I fully expect her team to be ready for this week and at the top of her game. Amber Holland, one of the first teams to qualify for the Pre-Trials has been playing very well this season and has previous trials experience. 

The fourth and final spot is the toughest one of all. Rachel Homan is probably the obvious choice, but it comes down to whether they can handle the pressure that the event will put on her team. Her handlers plan to minimize her exposure this fall, focusing on a few local events, along with Juniors competitions should keep the pressure off. They have the game to win, but the pressure of the situation may be their downfall, opening the door for others.

Eve Belisle’s Montreal/Quebec City rink has been playing consistently well this season, and is my upset pick to squeeze by Rachel. Their performance in Calgary proved they’re ready, beating three teams who stand in their way en route to qualifying for the Trials.

An exciting week of curling will wrap up in Prince George and you can catch the qualifier game action this week on TSN, starting at 3:30pm ET on Thursday!