8 Aug 2024 – Ellie McKenzie and Darcy Nevill are the 2024 NZ Junior Mixed Doubles champions. They beat Tahlia Petersen and William Loe 6-4 in a tense final on Sunday afternoon.

Twelve teams contested the title, two more than last year's inaugural event. The teams played the preliminary rounds in two pools of six.

Petersen and Loe were topped one pool with a 5-0 record, thanks to a steal in the extra end of the opening round. 2023 champions Olivia Russell and Jed Nevill were the other qualifiers, dropping just one match.

Three teams were in contention for the two qualification spots in the other pool with a 3-1 win-loss record as they started their last round. Tylah James and Ben Kinney claimed one spot after a win in their last game, as did Petersen and Loe. The latter finished on top as they had earlier won the head-to-head match.

Five points in the sixth end sealed a 10-3 semi-final win for Petersen / Loe over the James / Kinney duo. The other semi was a much tighter affair as Russell / Nevill scored in the last three ends to tie the match against Ellie McKenzie and Darcy Nevill after the regulation eight ends. A score of three in the extra end broke the deadlock for McKenzie / Nevill to claim a 10-7 victory.

A two-point steal in the fourth end proved to be the difference in the final win for McKenzie and Darcy Nevill. Russell and Jed Nevill were dominant as they won the bronze medal match 10-2.

Ellie and Darcy won more than the title of national champions. Last month the World Curling Federation announced that first-ever World Junior Mixed Doubles Curling Championship will debut in Edmonton, Canada in May 2025.

New Zealand Curling followed with confirmation that the winning team from this championship will have the first option to be the NZ representatives at that World Championship.

• Full results
• Championship History

Final Standings

1.  (6-1)  Ellie McKenzie and Darcy Nevill
2.  (6-1)  Tahlia Petersen and William Loe
3.  (5-2)  Olivia Russell and Jed Nevill
4.  (4-3)  Tylah James and Ben Kinney
5.  (4-3)  Lucy Simon and Oscar Cao
6.  (4-3)  Jess Becker and Jack Steele
7.  (3-4)  Tahlia Jones and Will Day
8.  (3-4)  Trinity Cowie and Abraham Chanwong
9.  (1-4)  Talika Chalmers and James Avenell
10.  (2-3)  Bella Stuart and Freddie Hore
11.  (0-5)  Indi Hepi and Jonty Russell
12.  (0-5)  Catalina Nock and Mēkalo Jackson

Ellie McKenzie and Darcy Nevill, 2024 champions