Yukon curlers vie for spots in Brier and Scotties

Bob Smallwood's rink won the Yukon men's curling championships Sunday along with a trip to the Tim Hortons Brier, but there is a chance the foursome won't get an opportunity to play against Canada's top curlers.

Under new rules introduced by the Canadian Curling Association last year, Yukon will have to play a pre-qualifying event against three other teams. Only the top team will advance to the actual Brier competition.

The teams in the pre-qualifying tournament are the ones with the worst win-loss record in Brier competition last year, or the ones that didn't qualify. On the men's side, that's the Yukon, N.W.T., Nunavut and Nova Scotia. 

Smallwood also represented Yukon at the pre-qualifiers last year, but failed to advance.

"The first goal would be to come out of the pre-qualifier and move on in the competition," Smallwood said after Sunday's final game.

This year's Tim Horton's Brier runs March 5-16 in Ottawa.

Qualifying system to change in 2018

Nicole Baldwin is facing the same challenge. She and her team won the Yukon women's championship and they will have to defeat N.W.T., Nunavut and B.C. in the pre-qualifying round for a place in round robin play at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. 

"I think we're just working toward representing the Yukon the best that we can," she said. "It's huge to represent your territory and it's a big proud honour to wear that flag on your back."

The Scotties Tournament of Hearts runs Feb. 18-27 in Grand Prairie, Alta.

Playdowns for N.W.T.'s top men and women take place Jan. 27-31 in Hay River.

The qualifying system has been controversial among curlers and the Canadian Curling Association said last year it will drop the pre-qualifying round in 2018. 

Instead, all 14 member associations will qualify directly for both the Scotties and Brier. That means for the first time all three territories will have their own team in the competitions.