Homan Wins Trials for 2026 Olympics, Skips Scotties

Team Canada’s Rachel Homan secured an Olympic berth for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games by sweeping the women’s final at the Montanas Canadian Curling Trials in Halifax last weekend, but the victory means her squad will skip the upcoming Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Instead, Kerri Einarson’s rink from Gimli, Manitoba, will don the Maple Leaf as Team Canada at the national women’s championship, set for January 23 to February 1 in Mississauga, Ontario.

Homan’s team, featuring third Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew, lead Sarah Wilkes and alternate Rachelle Brown, defeated Christina Black’s Halifax squad 2-0 in the best-of-three final. In Saturday’s decisive second game, Homan’s side outshot Black 91 percent to 71 percent, scoring four in the third end to pull ahead decisively in a 12-3 win. The Friday opener ended 5-4 in Homan’s favor. “There’s no words,” Homan said afterward, reflecting on the achievement with her teammates. “It was our dream four years ago, putting this team together. That was the goal.”

Curling Canada announced Tuesday that Homan’s group is prioritizing Olympic preparation and will not defend its back-to-back Scotties titles from 2024 and 2025. The...