5 Team Canada sports to watch this weekend: April 5-7
Team Canada fans have plenty to watch this weekend, with Team Gushue continuing their campaign for gold at the World Men’s Curling Championship in Schaffhausen, Switzerland as Team Canada begins its quest for gold at the IIHF Women’s World Championship in Utica, New York.
Canada’s Paris 2024-bound women’s soccer team will lace up their cleats at the SheBelieves Cup in Atlanta, while Canadian rugby players take on the latest SVNS series stop in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, Canadian fencers face their last chance for Olympic qualification at the FIE Pan American Zonal Qualification Event in San José, Costa Rica.
Here’s what you don’t want to miss:
Curling
Team Gushue aims to continue its strong performance at the World Men’s Curling Championship, taking place in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. The Canadian team composed of skip Brad Gushue, vice-skip Mark Nichols, second E.J. Harnden, lead Geoff Walker, and alternate Kyle Doering, secured a playoff spot after their win against Norway on Thursday morning.
READ: Team Canada advances to playoffs at World Men’s Curling Championship
The Canadians will next face off against Sweden, who lead the standings with a 9-0 record, on Thursday afternoon. They’ll close out round robin play with two games on Friday against Japan (3-6) and Switzerland (6-2). If Team Gushue finishes in the top two in the preliminary round, they’ll receive a bye into Saturday’s semifinals.
In their five world championships appearances together, the combo of Gushue, Nichols, and Walker have never missed a playoff berth. The trio were part of the team that won gold in 2017, as well as silver medals in 2018, 2022, and 2023, the latter of which was their first season with Harnden.
Medal games are set for Sunday, April 7.
Hockey
Team Canada will play its first game at the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship against Finland on Thursday night. The Canadians will enter the game with some confidence, having defeated Finland 8-2 in their only exhibition game ahead of the tournament, which is taking place in Utica, New York.
READ: Team Canada seeking gold at 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship
Team Canada will be striving for a reversal of last year’s result in Brampton, where Team USA defeated Team Canada on home ice, as they hope to take the Americans down on their home ice. Canada and the United States have met in every gold medal game in women’s worlds history except for 2019 when host Finland defeated Canada in the semifinals.
Canada’s roster for this year’s tournament bears a strong resemblance to last year’s, with 20 players returning. Team Canada will features only two players–cousins Julia and Nicole Gosling–who have not appeared in a world championship before. Along with the Goslings, only two other players–Danielle Serdachny and Sarah Fillier–played college hockey this year. The vast majority of Team Canada has played this season in the newly-minted PWHL.
Team Canada is playing in Group A alongside the United States, Czechia, Finland, and Switzerland.
Soccer
Team Canada’s women’s soccer squad will continue their preparations for Paris 2024 and their defense of the Olympic title as they gather for the 2024 SheBelieves Cup. Canada will face Brazil on Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia. The winner of that game will meet the winner of USA vs Japan for the championship on Tuesday.
“Now that we know our Olympic path and with the Games getting closer, everything we do now is with Paris 2024 in mind. Our recent W Gold Cup experience was critical in the development of how we play, roster evolution and tight turnaround processes, and the SheBelieves will continue to build on that,” said head coach Bev Priestman.
Canada and Brazil last matched up for a friendly series in the fall of 2023, in which Brazil won 1-0 in Montreal, and Canada won 2-0 in Halifax. Team Canada clinched its Paris 2024 qualification with a series win over Jamaica in September.
READ: Canada locks up Paris 2024 qualification in women’s soccer
Rugby
Team Canada’s rugby players are in Hong Kong for the sixth stop on the SVNS series. The tournament will take place April 5-7.
The Canadian women are currently ranked fifth overall in the SVNS standings and have made it to the semifinals of their last two SVNS series stops, including a bronze at home in Vancouver. Olympians Julia Greenshields and Pamphinette Buisa will taking to the field in Hong Kong, competing in their first tournament of the season.
The Canadian women’s team qualified for Paris 2024 at the 2023 Rugby Americas North Sevens tournament in August.
The Canadian women will play in Pool C alongside Japan, Spain, and USA. The Canadian men will play in Pool A with Australia, Fiji, and France.
Fencing
Two Canadian épéeists will be looking to qualify for Paris 2024 at the FIE Pan American Zonal Qualification Event being held in San José, Costa Rica. Nicholas Zhang will be in action in the men’s individual épée on Saturday, while Angel Xiao will take part in the women’s individual épée on Sunday. Only one qualifying place for the next Olympic Games is available for each gender in each weapon. This is the last opportunity for Canadian fencers to qualify for Paris 2024.
Canada has qualified full teams of three athletes each for women’s foil, men’s foil and men’s sabre. In women’s sabre, Pamela Brind’Amour qualified individually via the FIE World Rankings.
