World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships!

BASEL, Switzerland – There's another world championship event starting up, and soon: the 2008 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships.

It's no lie. The 46 WCF member associations voted yea to the concept whilst meeting here in Switzerland, and it's Game On. Mixed Doubles (photo at left). We're serious.

And a world championship event means a national championship program must be built from the ground-up, right now, although details on when and where these playdowns will start are unknown. That's because the world venue and exact format won't be confirmed until the WCF Annual Meetings in Aomori, Japan, in March.

In fact member assocations, including the CCA, are jetting home from Europe right about now and probably wondering:

a) how to rush about to get this thing rolling, and;
b) where the heck to find a budget for it.

Read the news here at the WCF website or on Eurosport, and start thinking about partnering up with a buddy – or buddette – this coming fall.

As well:

• Newsflash in Nova Scotia: a variety of campaigns and pressures have forced politicos to back off from their plan to shut down the newish Lakeshore Curling Club facility in Sackville at the end of this season. Stories here and here, and a summary editorial here. Way to go, folks, the squeaky wheel strikes again ...

• Wayne Middaugh does the latest Q & A on The Curling Show, but Dean didn't get the scoop on who he'll be playing with at the Perth Masters in Scotland next month (it won't be his regular squad)... hrrmmm ...

• Canada is shipping the Jo-Ann Rizzo (Ontario) and T.J. Perepolkin (B.C.) squads to Japan next month ...

• Tiebreaker madness at the ECC 2006 can be found here, with the latest story here, and last night's result story posted here and here ...