Einarson, Dunstone among 6 rinks added to 2026 Scotties and Brier fields
Four-time champion Kerri Einarson and her team from Gimli, Man., have been added to the field of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, set for Jan. 23-Feb. 1 at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga, Ont. She will be joined by Calgary's Kayla Skrlik and Christina Black of Halifax.
Hometown favourite and six-time champion Brad Gushue was added to the Montana's Brier, set for Feb. 27-March 8 at the Mary Brown's Centre in St. John's, N.L., along with Winnipeg's Matt Dunstone and Manitoba's Mike McEwen with his Saskatchewan-based foursome.
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The teams were awarded spots based on their 2024-25 Canadian Team Ranking System results.
Two-time defending Tournament of Hearts champion Rachel Homan of Ottawa and defending Brier champion Brad Jacobs of Calgary had already qualified for their respective tournaments.
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The remaining 14 teams in each tournament will be determined during the coming season.
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Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
McIntosh goes for 5 individual golds at world championships with Los Angeles Olympics in sight
Summer McIntosh won three individual gold medals a year ago at the Olympics, the star in the Paris pool alongside France's Léon Marchand. Apparently unsatisfied with three, she'll go for five gold medals starting Sunday at the world swimming championships in Singapore. Call it a trial run for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. The worlds is the highest profile swim meet since last year's Olympics, a showcase for newcomers as well veterans who hope to stick around until Los Angeles. McIntosh will be very busy during the eight days in the pool, packing her schedule with five individual events. She'll contend with prelims in some events, and she'll also add relays. 'This means 14 or 15 races she could swim in eight days, demanding races,' Canada's head coach Iain McDonald told The Associated Press. 'It's a very challenging schedule she's set for herself.' The 18-year-old Canadian set three world records in five days in June at the national trials. She broke her own 400-meter individual medley mark, dropping it to 4 minutes, 23.65 seconds, and set the 200 IM record (2:05.70) and the 400 freestyle record (3:54.18). She was also a mere half-second behind the 200 butterfly record, which has stood since 2009, and just off the 800 freestyle record set last month by American Katie Ledecky. 'She's such a versatile athlete, it's kind of tough to nail what her best events are,' McDonald said. 'She's pretty good right across the spectrum.' Opening day McIntosh will be the focus on Day 1 of the pool events in Singapore. She swims the 400 freestyle final, and comes back about 30 minutes later for a semifinal of the 200 IM. Despite holding the world record in the 400 free, she's never won gold in the event at the Olympics or worlds. This time she's ready, and credits coach Fred Vergnoux. 'I'm super pumped for the 400 freestyle and I'm really excited to see how I manage doing the double,' McIntosh told Canadian broadcaster the CBC. McIntosh said Vergnoux has boosted her endurance, pointing more to distance events. 'It's true that I haven't been able to do it on world stage yet,' she said of the 400. 'I think going into past big meets I haven't had the confidence in my training and my freestyle in general — technique-wise and endurance-wise — that I have now.' Ariarne Titmus was the gold medalist in Paris with silver for McIntosh, but the Australian swimmer is taking a year off. It's Titmus's record that McIntosh just broke. Ledecky, the bronze medalist in Paris, appears to be McIntosh's chief rival. McIntosh will also face Ledecky in the 800, which might be the only race where McIntosh is not favored. It's probably 50-50, and it might be the biggest race of the championships. Ledecky set the world record this year of 8:04.12, and McIntosh is right behind, having clocked 8:05.07. 'I think she loves it (the challenge),' Greg Meehan, the U.S. team director, said of Ledecky. 'There are always threats coming at you because you've set yourself to be the gold standard.' McIntosh dominates the two IM races, and should also be a favorite in the 200 butterfly. Ledecky's best race is the 1,500 where she holds the world record and also has the 23 top times in history in the event — and No. 25, too. McIntosh is not in the field here. McIntosh, who will swim this fall under Bob Bowman at the University of Texas at Austin, arrived on the scene aged 14 at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, finishing fourth in the 400 free. 'She's been such a strong performer through her entire career at such a young age,' McDonald said. 'But she always manages to surprise you, upping her game a little bit.' Attention on Yu Some of the attention in Singapore will be on 12-year-old Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi. Yu has qualified in the 200 and 400 IMs and the 200 butterfly and could face McIntosh in all three finals. Unbelievably, she could win a medal — at 12. Yu's time of 2:10.63 in the Chinese championships in May was the fastest by any 12 year old — female or male — in history. She's also swum 2:06.83 in the 200 fly and 4:35.53 in the 400 IM. Both of those times would have been good for fourth place in last year's Olympics. Astoundingly, Yu is 12 to 15 seconds faster than McIntosh was at age 12, depending on the event. That's roughly a half-lap of a 50-meter pool. 'There is always somebody coming up next,' McDonald said. ___ AP sports:
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
Indoor Aquatics Facility Project sparks debate among Regina city council
The biggest item discussed at Regina's executive committee meeting on Wednesday, both in scope and cost, was the Indoor Aquatics Facility Project. The debate centered around committee recommending that city council approve a total project cost for the facility of $285.1 million. A new report put in front of city councillors this week has increased the price tag of the new aquatic facility by $40 million. To fund these additional costs, it is being proposed $30 million come from the re-prioritization of projects in the 10-year Recreation/Culture Capital Plan. That includes $1.28 million from the city's outdoor dog parks to the IAF Project. Ward 5 Coun. Sarah Turnbull proposed a motion to take the $1.28 million from the city's outdoor pools budget instead of dog parks, but the motion was lost by a vote of nine to one. The allocation of the remaining $10 million needed for the facility is proposed to be added to the city's available debt funding, increasing it from $146 million to $156 million. According to administration, the extra $10 million added to the city's debt would result in an increase in taxes of 57 cents per median household per month. Ward 10 Coun. Clark Bezo was not satisfied with this number figure though and motioned to table the IAF discussion until September during budget meetings, so that administration could provide a more thorough dollar figure on Regina residents' debt and tax bill. That motion was lost by a vote of eight to three, with Bezo, Ward 1 Coun. Dan Rashovich, and Ward 2 Coun. George Tsikilis voting in favour. A handful of delegates were at Regina City Hall to make their case for the aquatic facility to move ahead. Cyril Dorgigne with Regina Water Polo and Water Polo Saskatchewan claimed that Regina can't currently support national and international water polo competitions due to the small pool size at the Lawson Aquatics Centre and that the new facility will allow the city of Regina to host such events. 'We are the only top 10 club in the country that cannot host national finals, because we need two feet of deep tank and right now, we can only have one in Regina,' he said. Tracy Moser, the president of the Regina Piranhas Summer Swim Club, said there is limited pool space in Regina for competitive speed swimming. This summer, the club was forced to use some of the outdoor pools in the city due to a six-week closure of the University of Regina indoor pool. She said this challenge would be mitigated with a new aquatic facility. When questioning Moser, Bezo suggested putting a roof onto the recently renovated Wascana Pool. 'We've got Wascana Pool which is a brand-new state of the art facility,' he said. What are your thoughts if we put a roof over that one and cancelled this project?' Moser responded that would be a waste of dollars and would not sufficiently support sports like competitive swimming and water polo. 'Wascana would not meet the needs that we are looking for. We need 50 metres of length, you would never be able to host an event at Wascana, first of all with a roof overtop of it.' Marj Walton, who is on the Indoor Aquatic Facility Community Advisory Committee, encouraged council to get the ball rolling when it comes to the facility, saying it is the mandate of a municipality to have a high-level indoor aquatic facility, and Regina is currently falling behind. The motion to approve the new estimated cost of $285.1 million was passed by a vote of eight to one, with only Coun. Bezo voting against. The decision still requires final council approval next week.
Global News
4 hours ago
- Global News
Old school baseball carries Blue Jays past Yankees
TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays made a strong case for old school baseball in their series win over the long-ball loving New York Yankees. Bo Bichette's two-run homer capped off a wild victory as Toronto held on for an 8-4 win over the visiting Yankees on Wednesday. The Blue Jays' other six runs came from smart baserunning, heads-up plays, and forcing New York into a handful of errors. 'Geez, we can score runs in so many different ways,' said Ernie Clement, who went 2 for 4 at the plate, including a triple, scoring a run and driving in another. 'Pitching has been a common theme for the last few years. Those guys just give us a chance to win every single night. 'Now we're rounding it out, we've got a little offence to go along with it. I think we really have a team identity. Whether that's old school baseball or just playing the game the right way, I don't know.' Story continues below advertisement Toronto benefited from New York's four errors and other fielding miscues, eking out runs on walks, dropped balls, wild pitches, and overthrows. Bichette's two-run blast — his 13th home run of the year — was the Blue Jays' cleanest score of the game as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had led off the inning with a double. Clement believes that Toronto's hard-nosed approach put pressure on the Yankees' fielders to play defence faster, leading to their handful of mistakes. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'They know we play the game hard,' said Clement. 'There's no doubt that they pick their heads up (after fielding the ball) and we're halfway to first base, head down, running hard. 'As a fielder, that puts all the pressure in the world on you. You've got to be clean. If you bobble the ball at all, I mean, we're safe.' Story continues below advertisement The Blue Jays and Yankees have played seven games at Rogers Centre in the past two weeks, with Toronto going 6-1 to take a four-game lead in the American League East, lock up the season series and therefore the tiebreaker should the two teams end the year with identical records. 'In these two series, we've given them too many outs and it's cost us,' said New York manager Aaron Boone. 'You can't give good teams extra outs. 'And, again, that's what we've done in these two series.' Chris Bassitt (11-4) was solid for 7 1/3 innings, striking out eight and allowing four runs — three earned — on three hits and no walks. Blue Jays relievers Justin Bruihl and Yariel Rodriguez preserved the win. 'Every single day, they're working their absolute butts off, and then they go out there and they're giving effort,' said Bassitt of Toronto's positions players. 'Extremely old school, I would say. 'If you know me, I'm a fan of old school. I love this team.' By contrast, New York lives and dies by the long ball. All four of the Yankees runs came from homers on Wednesday. New York entered the game with a Major League Baseball-best 162 home runs, five more than the Los Angeles Dodgers. Shohei Ohtani had L.A.'s one homer in its 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins earlier Wednesday. Story continues below advertisement The Blue Jays travel to Detroit for a four-game series starting Thursday. The Central-leading Tigers play a more scrappy style of baseball similar to Toronto and it shows in their record. The Blue Jays (60-42) are tied with the West-leading Houston Astros for the best record in the American League, with Detroit a half-game behind them. 'We're going to play a team that does the exact same thing in Detroit, so you have to be ready for it,' said Toronto manager John Schneider. 'This game is hard, you know what I mean? This game is hard. 'I think that every team is built a little bit differently, so we really pride ourselves on taking care of the baseball.' Eric Lauer (5-2) will take the mound for the Blue Jays in Detroit. Reese Olson (4-3) gets the start for the Tigers (60-43). This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2025.
