STATELINE, Nev. — If the Canadian Olympic curling trials are like exams, then the KIOTI GSOC Tahoe is crunch time.
That's right up the alley for Winnipeg skip Jordon McDonald, who balances curling with the books as a mechanical engineering student at the University of Manitoba.
The KIOTI GSOC Tahoe, which kicked off Tuesday at the Tahoe Blue Event Center, is the final tune-up for several teams with Olympic dreams heading to Halifax in a couple of weeks.
Team McDonald punched their tickets after winning last month’s pre-trials and are one of six Canadian men's squads in action at this week's Grand Slam of Curling tournament. They’ll even get a dress rehearsal, with preliminary round games against Team John Epping and Team Matt Dunstone — opponents they’ll face again at the trials.
“It's a bit of a pleasant surprise, for sure, playing a couple trials teams that are definitely going to be in the hunt,” McDonald said before Monday’s practice. “To see them once before the trials is probably a big key for us. Just knowing what to expect and kind of seeing what kind of level we need to play at, that'll be good for us.”
The KIOTI GSOC Tahoe is also the Grand Slam of Curling’s first international event, taking place during the milestone 25th season of the series. It was one of the tournaments McDonald was aiming to play in — along with January’s Players’ Championship close to home in Steinbach, Man., of course — and he was fortunate enough to receive a sponsor's exemption.
"We were really excited when we got the invite to the Slam," said McDonald, whose team is ranked 19th in the world. "This was one of the ones we were hoping to get into, other than the hometown one in Steinbach. Tahoe's an unbelievable place. It's a really cool spot.
“I think with winning the pre-trials, getting that little prep before the trials, too, is really helpful as well, so it's super great to be here.”
McDonald said his team had a bit of a rough start to the season, although they were also on the wrong side of the inch for some last stone draw totals. They missed the playoffs in the AMJ Masters Tier 2 as a result and despite a strong run at the PointsBet Invitational, they fell into a three-way tie with Dunstone and Team Mike McEwen for a spot in the final where the LSD didn’t go in their favour either.
“That's part of learning about the game, and it's an important part of the game,” McDonald said. “I think it finally really clicked at the PointsBet and the pre-trials there, and that's kind of when we wanted to click as well. We wanted to peak there. Super happy of how things are going right now and hope to carry it on forward.”
McDonald also made a lineup change ahead of this season, bringing in Jacques Gauthier to play third. Although it might be weird to call Gauthier the “veteran” of the team at age 27, it’s all relative considering both McDonald and lead Cameron Olafson are 22, while second Elias Huminicki is 21.
Gauthier has competed in the Brier three times, most recently with Kevin Koe’s team in 2024, and multiple Grand Slam events. While his experience is huge, McDonald highlighted some of the other attributes Gauthier brings to the team (besides being old enough to rent a car).
“I think just keeping us calm on the ice,” McDonald said. “One thing with lacking experience is we tend to get emotions, ride the emotional roller-coaster a bit. Just keeping us level out there, and obviously, great shot-making is super helpful too.”
TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE/RESULTS
Watch all games on rockchannel.com.
Draw 1
• Ha 7, Yoshimura 6 (shootout)
• Fujisawa 7, Gim 4
• Edin 6, Xu 5
• Epping 6, McDonald 4
Draw 2: 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT
• Tirinzoni vs. Wrana
• X. Schwaller vs. Lawes
• Retornaz vs. Kleiter
• Mouat vs. Muskatewitz
Draw 3: 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT
• Einarson vs. Kang
• Homan vs. Kitazawa
• Dunstone vs. Waddell
• Whyte vs. Allen
Draw 4: 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT
• Hasselborg vs. Wang
• Tabata vs. Morrison
• Y. Schwaller vs. Hoesli
• Jacobs vs. McEwen
ABOUT THE KIOTI GSOC TAHOE
The KIOTI GSOC Tahoe is the third stop of the Grand Slam of Curling season, featuring 16 men’s teams and 16 women’s teams from around the world.
The preliminary round runs through to Friday evening, with the top eight teams advancing to the playoffs. If necessary, one tiebreaker round will be played Saturday morning. The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, with both finals on tap Sunday.
Teams can blank only one end per game. If a team blanks again at any other point in the game, they will lose the hammer.
There are no extra ends. If a game is tied after eight ends, even in the playoffs, a draw-to-the-button shootout will determine the winner.
During the preliminary round, teams receive three points for a regulation win (in eight ends or fewer), two points for a shootout win, and one point for a shootout loss.
