Canada's Kerri Einarson leads her rink into the 2026 BKT World Women’s Curling Championship in Calgary, seeking a first gold medal amid a field featuring several new teams. The tournament begins on March 14 at the WinSport Event Centre, with Einarson facing Sweden in the opener. Missing usual powerhouses like Rachel Homan and Silvana Tirinzoni, the event presents fresh challenges for the experienced Canadian squad.
The 2026 BKT World Women’s Curling Championship, presented by Pharmasave, opens on March 14 in Calgary at the WinSport Event Centre, drawing 13 teams for a round-robin format over seven days, followed by playoffs concluding on March 22. Canada's Team Einarson, skipping her fourth appearance, enters ranked fifth globally, behind South Korea's Team Gim at fourth. Einarson, 38, from Gimli, Manitoba, has secured five Scotties Tournament of Hearts titles, including a victory over Team Kaitlyn Lawes in January 2026 in Mississauga, Ontario.
Einarson's previous world outings yielded bronzes in 2022 in Prince George, B.C., and 2023 in Sweden, with no medal in 2021 in Calgary. The 2020 event was canceled due to COVID-19. Her lineup includes third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard, lead Karlee Burgess—making her worlds debut—alternate Krysten Karwacki, and coach Reid Carruthers, who recently retired from men's competitive curling. National coach Viktor Kjell also supports the team.
Unlike recent years, absent are Canada's Rachel Homan, winner of the last two world titles, who skipped the Scotties for Olympic preparation; Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni, four-time champion since 2019, ousted by Xenia Schwaller; and Sweden's Anna Hasselborg, Olympic gold medalist in 2026. Six teams debut: Australia (Helen Williams), Norway (Torild Bjoernstad), Scotland (Fay Henderson), Sweden (Isabella Wranå), Switzerland (Schwaller), and United States (Delaney Strouse). Veterans include Denmark's Madeleine Dupont in her 17th worlds.
Einarson emphasized focusing inward: “I think we’re just going to worry about ourselves and what we do and what works for us.” She noted the novelty: “Yeah … definitely some new teams that we haven’t played in a long time or even on the world stage.” Canada's schedule starts with Sweden at 4 p.m. ET on March 14, followed by the U.S. at 9 p.m. ET, then China, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Türkiye, Scotland, South Korea, Norway, Australia, and Japan through March 20. All games air on TSN. This edition marks the last with 13 teams; next year expands to 18 with fewer round-robin games per side.
