Fans were out loud and proud on Sunday afternoon at the West Prince Curling Club in Woodstock, P.E.I., to support their favourite teams at the 2026 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship. Among the teams with the biggest fan contingents was Team Newfoundland and Labrador’s Scott Eaton.
The St. John’s squad, rounded out by vice-skip Sarah McNeil Lamswood, second Evan Kearley, and lead Alexandra Sweetman, took the opening draw 5-3 over Team Ontario’s Cory Heggestad (0-1; Innisfil) in front of family and friends.
“We have some family from the west coast of the island that made it over, and there’s some family from Truro that made the drive up as well,” said Eaton. “It’s really cool. I didn’t see a ton of fans from everywhere else, but it’s nice. They had fun signs on the go as well. I love looking back and seeing that.”
While Eaton and Kearley have plenty of experience curling together, McNeil Lamswood and Sweetman are newer additions.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial qualifier in June was the first time Sweetman played a full eight ends.
“We’ve known her for years, and she wanted to come curling,” said Eaton. “It’s a tight community in St. John’s. There aren’t a million curlers. We have a lot in our club, certainly. But everybody kind of knows each other if you’re playing competitively enough.”
McNeil Lamswood, meanwhile, is filling in this week following a concussion-related absence and will help Team Newfoundland and Labrador in its championship campaign.
Despite having less experience playing together compared to many other teams on the ice, Eaton’s squad looked strong in the first game of the championship.
It was neck-and-neck against the Ontario team, with both sides creating opportunities to put multiple points on the board. However, no matter what Heggestad had set up, Eaton’s draw game seemed to have an answer.
In both the second and fourth ends, Heggestad had three stones in scoring positions. Eaton carefully navigated through traffic in both cases, stealing a point in the second and scoring another one in the fourth.
The game came down to the last rock, and Heggestad had no other choice but to squeeze his stone into the pile in an attempt to at least score one to send the game to an extra end, but the Newfoundland stones stayed put, and Eaton’s team came away with the win.
In other opening draw action, Team Québec’s Félix Asselin (1-0; Dollard-des-Ormeaux) prevailed 6-4 over Team Saskatchewan’s Tyler Hartung (1-1; Regina), while Team British Columbia’s Josh Miki (1-0; White Rock) dominated Team Yukon’s Scott Williamson (0-1; Whitehorse) 5-1. Team New Brunswick’s Sylvie Quillian (1-0; Moncton) bested the home province’s Team Adam Arsenault (0-2; Crapaud) 7-4.
Sunday evening’s draw wrapped up with a 6-3 win from Team Northern Ontario’s Bryan Burgess (1-0; Thunder Bay) against Team Nunavut’s Peter Mackey (0-1; Iqaluit) as Team Saskatchewan bested Team Alberta’s Andrew Hodgson (0-1; Airdrie) 7-4. Team Nova Scotia’s Brent MacDougall (1-0; Halifax) earned a 7-4 win against Team Northwest Territories’ Betti Delorey (0-1; Hay River) while Team Manitoba’s Colin Kurz (1-0; Winnipeg) outplayed Team Prince Edward Island 8-5.
Action from the 2026 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship will continue Monday with draws at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m. (all times Atlantic).
For the 2026 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship live results, click here.
For the full event schedule, click here.
For ticket information, click here.
