The 2015 World Women’s Curling Championship is set to go March 14-22 from Sapporo, Japan. This is the second time the World Championship will be held in Japan as the first came in 2007 in Aomori.

The Worlds will have a familiar feel to it as six of the 12 rinks set to battle in Sapporo were also part of 2014 Sochi Olympics including Jennifer Jones and her gold medal-winning rink from Canada, Sweden’s silver medal squad led by Margaretha Sigfridsson and Scotland’s Eve Muirhead who won bronze at the Games. Russia’s Anna Sidorova, Lene Nielsen of Denmark and Ayumi Ogasawara, the host country representative, will be there as well.

Jones is the undisputed favourite after going perfect at the Olympics in 2014 and coming out on top at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts last month in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.   

You can catch all of Canada’s action live throughout the week on TSN and you can follow the latest news on TSN.ca. Draw 1 goes March. 14 at 6am et/3am pt on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4 and TSN5 with Team Canada facing Team Finland.

 

Team Canada

     Skip: Jennifer Jones Third: Kaitlyn Lawes Second: Jill Officer Lead: Dawn McEwen           

Jennifer Jones and her foursome from Winnipeg are on some kind of roll over the past calendar year. The rink followed their gold-medal performance at the Olympic Games in 2014 with a solid start on the World Curling Tour this season and capped it off with a Scotties title in February. It was Jones fifth national championship and first with Kaitlyn Lawes as her vice. The 40-year-old skip will try to give Lawes another first with a victory at the World Championships. Jones has one world title in her career, 2008 in Vernon, which happened to be the last time Canada won at this event. She also grabbed bronze at the 2010 Worlds in Swift Current. Team Canada will be the favourites in Japan.

 

Team Scotland

Skip: Eve Muirhead Third: Anna Sloan Second: Vicki Adams Lead: Sarah Reid

The young skipper from Perth, Scotland should be Canada’s biggest challenge in Sapporo. Twenty-four-year-old Eve Muirhead won the bronze medal in Sochi and will be making her sixth appearance at the World Championship. The foursome has two victories on the WCT this year, including beating Ottawa’s Rachel Homan at the Canadian Open Grand Slam in December. Muirhead already has four World Juniors, five Scottish, one European and one World title to her name over her young career. She beat Sweden’s Margaretha Sigfridsson in the 2013 Worlds final from Riga, Latvia. Muirhead, third Anna Sloan and second Vicki Adams (lead Sarah Reid is new to the rink this season) have been together for the past four years and are fully capable of beating the Canadians in a gold medal game.

 

Team Sweden

Fourth: Maria Prytz Third: Christina Bertrup Second: Sara McManus Lead: Margaretha Sigfridsson (Skip)

Margaretha Sigfridsson will look to win her first World title in 2015 after being the bridesmaid on four separate occasions, losing in the finals in 2002, 2009, 2012 and 2013. The Swede also lost in the gold medal game at the Olympics last winter to Jones. Sigfridsson, who calls the game but throws lead stones, sits fifth on the WCT money list and beat Rachel Homan in the Stockholm Ladies Cup earlier this season. Sweden should be in the top four after the round robin, but if history is any indication, they will be in tough to win gold.

 

Team Russia

Skip: Anna Sidorova Third: Margarita Fomina Second: Alexandra Saitova Lead: Ekaterina Galkina

Anna Sidorova’s Russian ladies are another young, talented rink who will be a thorn in the side of Canadian curlers for years to come.  The 24-year-old Sidorova will make her sixth straight appearance at the World Championship in Sapporo. Her best finish came last year in Saint John, New Brunswick when she won Russia’s first medal at the world women's curling championships, a bronze over Korea. Sidorova, a two-time Olympian, finished ninth at the 2014 Winter Games in her home country. The Russians should be in the playoff mix in Japan.

 

Team Switzerland

Skip: Alina Paetz Third: Nadine Lehmann Second: Marisa Winkelhausen Lead: Nicole Schwaegli

Young skipper Alina Paetz is having a very good year on the WCT, winning the Red Deer Curling Classic and International Bernese Ladies Cup to position her rink 10th on the money list with $29,077. The 24-year-old from Urdorf, Switzerland was an alternate for Mirjam Ott’s gold medal-winning rink at the 2012 Worlds and was also Ott’s alternate at the Olympics last year. Paetz is now in charge of her own foursome and could do some damage with solid play and a little luck at the Worlds.

 

Team Japan

Skip: Ayumi Ogasawara Third: Sayaka Yoshimura Second: Kaho Onodera Lead: Anna Ohmiya

Ayumi Ogasawara and her Japanese rink will have the hometown crowd behind them in Sapporo as the host nation. The foursome, who had their skip and second play in the Olympics in 2014, are playing well on Tour this season, winning two events and sitting 16th on the money list with $21,150. This group could sneak into the playoff round if everything goes well.

 

Team Denmark

Skip: Lene Neilsen Third: Jeanne Ellegaard Second: Stephanie Risdal Nielsen Lead: Charlotte Clemmensen

Lene Neilsen will play in her sixth World Championship the year. The 28-year-old Dane is also a two-time Olympian (2006, 2014) and actually carried the flag for her country in Sochi at the Opening Ceremony before finishing sixth with a 4-5 record in the round robin.

 

Team China

Skip: Liu Sijia Third: Liu Jinli Second: Wang Rui Lead: Yu Xinna

This will be Liu Sijia’s second straight appearance at the World Championship. Last year, she missed the playoffs with a 6-5 record in the round robin. Her Chinese foursome sits 60th on the money list after winning the Cloverdale Cash Spiel earlier this season.

 

Team USA

Skip: Aileen Sormunen Third: Monica Walker Second: Tara Peterson Lead: Vicky Persinger

Aileen Sormunen will appear in her first World Championship in 2015. The 28-year-old and her rink from Minnesota have been busy on the WCT this year and won the St. Paul Cash Spiel in their home state in October.

 

Team Norway

Skip: Kristin Skaslien Third: Anneline Skaarsmoen Second: Julie Kjaer- Molnar Lead: Kristine Davanger

Kristin Skaslien will skip in her first World Championship in Sapporo. Her Norwegian foursome has played in three events on the WCT in 2014-15, getting as far as the semifinals in the Glynhill Ladies International in Scotland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Team Germany

Skip: Daniela Driendl Third: Analena Jentsch Second: Stella Heiss Lead: Marika Trettin

This will be Daniela Driendl’s first Worlds as a skip of her own team. She appeared in the tournament in 2000 as a vice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Team Finland

Skip: Sanna Puustinen Third: Heidi Hossi Second: Oona Kauste Lead: Marjo Hippi

Team Finland has played in only two events on the WCT this season and failed to win a game in both. Their goal will be to stay out of the basement in Japan.