Curling Canada announced its selections for the National Team Program on Wednesday as a new Olympic quadrennial begins in the 2026-27 season.
Five men’s, five women’s and five mixed doubles teams were chosen and will “participate in a program designed to optimize training and results through funding, guidance, and comprehensive support,” according to a Curling Canada news release.
“Turning the page to a new quadrennial is always an exciting time for our sport. It gives teams a chance to revamp, reassess, and recommit to their goals while continuing Canada’s longstanding tradition of curling success,” said Curling Canada’s Executive Director of High Performance, David Murdoch. “This transition also allowed Curling Canada to take a broader look at the NTP, integrating our organization’s many supports and systems into a holistic package that will benefit athletes and teams committed to their goals next season and beyond.”
Selected teams will have access to a High-Performance Integrated Support Team as well as other services including data analytics, physical testing, strength and conditioning, physiotherapy, mental performance, mental health resources, nutrition, and medical support.
The teams that will be part of the National Team Program are listed below:
Women
Team Rachel Homan (Ottawa)
Team Kerri Einarson (Gimli, Man.)
Team Serena Gray-Withers (Edmonton)
Team Taylor Reese-Hansen (Victoria)
Team Kayla MacMillan (Victoria) – DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Men
Team Brad Jacobs (Calgary)
Team Matt Dunstone (Winnipeg)
Team Tyler Tardi (Saskatoon)
Team Brendan Bottcher (Edmonton)
Team Jordon McDonald (Winnipeg) – DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Mixed Doubles
Team Jocelyn Peterman/Brett Gallant (Chestermere, Alta.)
Team Kadriana Lott/Colton Lott (Gimli, Man.)
Team Serena Gray-Withers/Victor Pietrangelo (Edmonton/Niagara Falls, Ont.)
Team Rachel Homan/Brendan Bottcher (Beaumont, Alta./Spruce Grove, Alta.)
Team Kira Brunton/Jacob Horgan (Ottawa/Sudbury, Ont.) – DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Curling Canada’s High-Performance Integrated Support Team
Viktor Kjell – Women’s Program Manager/National Coach
Scott Pfeifer – Men’s Program Manager/National Coach
Jeff Stoughton – Mixed Doubles Program Manager/National Coach
Shayne Hutchins – Head of Performance Services
Renée Sonnenberg – Performance Analyst Lead
Kim Richardson – Performance Therapy Lead
Gabe Dyck – Performance Strength & Conditioning Coach
Jorie Janzen – Nutrition Lead
Kyle Paquette – Mental Performance Lead
Each discipline includes a development team that has recently graduated from Curling Canada’s NextGen Program.
Brad Jacobs and Rachel Homan are bringing back the same foursomes that captured gold and bronze, respectively, at last year’s Winter Olympics in Italy and were both named to the National Team Program to nobody’s surprise.
The mixed doubles duo of Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, who were unable to make the playoffs at the Olympics, were also included.
Montana’s Brier champion Team Matt Dunstone and Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion Team Kerri Einarson were named after both rinks tweaked their lineups following the end of the quadrennial.
The tandem of Serena Gray-Withers and Victor Pietrangelo were also named after winning the 2026 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.
