7 Dec 2024 – Jess and Ben Smith have qualified New Zealand for the 2025 World Mixed Doubles Championship in style, winning their first two playoff games at the Qualification event in Dumfries, Scotland.

The two-life playoff format meant that teams needed two wins from a maximum of three games. The Maniototo siblings controlled their opening match against Türkiye, winning 7-1.

Playing Latvia next they found themselves 2-6 behind at the fourth end break, but a massive four-point steal in the sixth end turned the game around. Tied up going into the last end, the Kiwis kept their nerve with last stone advantage and took out a 9-7 win.

"We're super stoked, super proud of the week we put together," said Ben after their win. "It was a very tough week, some great teams, a great facility. We're excited for the Worlds!"

"We're just so stoked to pull off the win after a rough first half," added Jess. "To come back from down 6-2 at half time was huge. It was a big week with a lot of great teams. We had to work really hard to qualify."

"We are so excited about qualifying for the Worlds! A big thanks to our support coach Jordan, and to our super supporters Iain and Julia Cormack who were our Scottish parents for the week."

Earlier, the pair finished second in their group to earn their playoff spot.

They finished with the same 6-1 win-loss record as Finland and Poland. These sides all had a win and a loss against the other two, so the Draw Shot Challenge was used to rank the teams and find the two sides to qualify.

The Finns finished in the top spot with a 34.12 cm DSC, NZ's was 38.86 cm, and Poland were the unlucky side to miss out at 48.72 cm.

Although the Smith siblings won their third NZ Mixed Doubles title in August to earn their right to play here, this is the first time they have represented their country at a World Curling event. They prioritised their careers in 2019, and Covid forced the cancellation of the 2020 World Championship.

Spain, Finland and Türkiye were the other teams to qualify alongside NZ from this 29-team event. The 2025 World Championship will take place in Fredericton, Canada in April – at the same venue where Nat Thurlow and Hans Frauenlob earned a 5th placing for NZ in 2013. The 2025 World Championship is the last opportunity for nations to gain Olympic Qualification points for Milana Cortino 2026.

• World Curling tournament page – live scoring
   
• Streaming and replays on Curling Channel Europe (payments apply)
   
• New Zealand results at World Mixed Doubles

NZ tapping up blue for the win v Latvia

Team NZ v Türkiye

Ben Smith, NZ v Ukraine

Jess Smith, NZ v Ukraine

Jess played her 100th game for NZ vs India

Jess and Ben with supporters Iain and Julia Cormack