Curling Canada officially announced Friday the pre-qualified teams for next year's men's and women's national championships.
Three teams received berths based on last season's Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) standings.
Hometown hero Brad Gushue and his St. John's, N.L., crew earned a spot for the Montana's Brier, Feb. 27 to March 8 at the Mary Brown's Centre. Gushue has won a record six Brier titles as a skip, capturing his first on home ice in front of an electric crowd in 2017.
A record crowd was on hand at the Mary Brown's Centre once again for last season's KIOTI National as Gushue reached the quarterfinals.
Winnipeg's Team Matt Dunstone and Saskatoon's Team Mike McEwen also qualified for the Montana's Brier based on CTRS points.
Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., Calgary's Team Kayla Skrlik and Halifax's Team Christina Black are in for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Jan. 23 to Feb. 1 at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga, Ont.
Reigning champions Team Brad Jacobs of Calgary and Team Rachel Homan of Ottawa will also have the opportunity to return to their respective national tournaments to defend their titles thanks to the Team Canada auto-berth. Jacobs defeated Dunstone and Homan beat Einarson in last season's finals.
The 14 remaining spots in the Montana's Brier and Scotties Tournament of Hearts fields will consist of teams from the member associations via playdowns.
It's not the only chance for teams to chase the Maple Leaf this season. The Olympic trials are set for Nov. 22–30 in Halifax to determine who will represent Canada at the Winter Games in Milano-Cortina.
