4 May 2025 – Jess and Ben Smith achieved their primary goal of requalification at the World Mixed Doubles Championship that finished in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada last weekend. And they did so in style, only narrowly missing out on the playoffs.

NZ teams had finished in the bottom four at the 2022 and 2024 World Championships and were relegated from the top flight. Avoiding a repeat was at the top of the list for the pair.

Despite being competitive in their opening four matches in Fredericton, they only had a solitary win against Spain to their name. But they then put together a string of solid performances, starting with a comeback 6-3 win against Japan on the fourth morning. In their evening game, a stunning last-stone runback for three from Jess earned the duo an 8-5 win over Turkiye.

The following day they stunned the Swiss pair, previous world champions, outplaying them for an 8-7 victory. A next-up win against Czechia gave NZ four in a row, and they sat in a four-way tie for second place going into the last round of pool games.

Here they came up against their good mates, Australia's Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt. The Kiwis couldn't make it five on the bounce though – the Aussies took the game to head the pool, while Jess and Ben finished fifth in the group with a very respectable 5 win - 4 loss record and ninth place overall.

The 12 Olympic qualification points they earned took New Zealand's tally to 14, and thirteenth spot on the ladder. The top eight qualified directly for next year's Milano Cortina Games: Italy (hosts), Estonia, Sweden, Great Britain (Scotland), Norway, Canada, Switzerland and USA.

"We’re so proud of the week we've had," said Ben Smith. "Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us this week. We hope we did you all proud too."

Speaking to their coach, he added, "Kimberly Tuck, you are an absolute superstar! Thank you for everything you’ve done for us this week."

"We couldn’t have asked for a better coach or fit for our team. With only working with you on the ice for a couple of days before the competition, you worked your magic and really managed to bring the best out of us this week as a team. Your knowledge and passion for the game is inspirational. We can’t thank you enough for your dedication and support!"

All nations that have competed at a World Championship in the last two years but not yet qualified for February's Winter Olympics have one more chance. A final Olympic Qualification Event for the remaining two places in the Mixed Doubles, Men’s and Women’s fields will be held in Kelowna, Canada this December.

New Zealand is eligible in all three categories.

• World Curling tournament page
• NZ results at World Mixed Doubles
• Team Smith on Instagram | Facebook
  
   

Jess and Ben Smith

A runback scores 3 for NZ to beat Türkiye

Ben Smith, NZ v Norway

Jess Smith, NZ v Spain