 Dundas-based Isabelle Ladouceur (Photo: Cheyenne Boone, WCF) sits 19th-overall on the WCF Rankings to start the season, just outside the cut-off Top 16 qualifying line for curling's top rated competitive series. Following a very busy season in 2022/23 where Ladouceur with Grace Lloyd at third, Jamie Smith and Rachel Steele on the front end played a heavy schedule in their first year out of juniors together. Ladouceur highlights a strong lineup of 24 teams now confirmed for the return of the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard, on a 1-year hiatus following the renovations at the Oakville Curling Club. Toronto's Hollie Duncan, Christina Black of Halifax and Penetanguishene's Carly Howard highlight the Canadian contingent, with Korea's Eunjung Kim and Seungyoun Ha, Rebecca Morrison of Scotland, Tabitha Peterson and Delaney Strouse of the United States and Sayaka Yoshimura headlining a strong International side. For Ladouceur and Smith, the back end on the Canadian Junior women's team who competed at the Worlds in Jonkoping in May 2022, last season was validation that they belong the best teams in the world. Only 8 months after being relegated at the World Juniors, the team qualified for their first ever Grand Slam together, earning a berth into last January's Co-op Canadian Open. The resilience shown by the team to bounce back from such a setback, shows how competitive the sport is at the elite level, where Canada isn't guaranteed a berth in the worlds anymore. The Slam invite was a result of a great fall season, that saw Ladouceur win three events on the Ontario Tour, beginning with the Gord Carroll Classic in Whitby, then in October winning at the Stroud Sleeman Classic and adding another title at the North Grenville Women's Fall Classic. Ladouceur also reached the final of the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard and two more semifinals finishes on the Curling Stadium Alberta Curling Series and the U25 NextGen Classic. The team continues to book a busy schedule to start the 2022-23 season, taking to the ice in August at the Summer Series in Saguenay, Quebec, as well as playing the Shorty Jenkins Classic in September. The cut-off for the first Grand Slam event is September 18th, where the Top 32 teams will be invited to the Tour Challenge in Niagara Falls. Seeding of those teams will take place the following week, after the Shorty Jenkins Classic, where the top 2 results from this season will be added to teams starting points in this season. Ladouceur will be playing in Niagara Falls at the first Grand Slam, though which event they will be a part of will be based on how well they start the season. |
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Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner (Photo: Stephen Fisher/World Curling) claim Italy's first World Mixed Doubles Championship crown.
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