Curler at her second world championship of the season

CALGARY It was FOMO — or fear of missing out — that has Joanne Courtney representing Canada at a world curling championship for the second time in less than a month.

Courtney’s teammates Rachel Homan, Emma Miskew and Lisa Weagle were playing mixed doubles and Courtney didn’t want to be the only one among them not giving it a go.

“It’s tough to sit at home and feel left out of something,” Courtney said. “It’s nice to be a part of the development of a new discipline in curling. It’s a sport we’re all passionate about.”

Courtney and Reid Carruthers, who skips a Winnipeg men’s team ranked third in the world, will wear the Maple Leaf at the world mixed doubles championship beginning Saturday in Lethbridge, Alta.

Homan, Miskew, Courtney and Weagle won their first women’s world title and Canada’s first since 2008 in Beijing on March 26.

Courtney and Carruthers then beat Homan and John Morris in the national mixed doubles final April 9 in Saskatoon, which sent Courtney to yet another world championship.

“To get to the wear the Maple Leaf one time was the most amazing thing,” the 28-year-old from Edmonton said. “How well we did at worlds was incredible. “To turn around and get to wear it again right away is a feeling not a lot of people have experienced.”

Canada is a world powerhouse in men’s and women’s curling, but not in mixed doubles. In the 10 years of world championships, one bronze medal in 2009 is the country’s best result.

This year’s 39-country world championship ultimately determines which seven nations will join host South Korea next year when mixed doubles makes its Olympic debut.

Jeff Stoughton, who manages Curling Canada’s mixed doubles program, says a topfour finish should be enough to punch Canada’s ticket to Pyeongchang.

“Canada has a reputation of being one of the curling powerhouses, but we definitely haven’t been in mixed doubles yet,” Carruthers said.

“We have lots of pressure on our backs, but we’re used to that from our men’s and women’s teams, so we kind of relish that.”

Mixed doubles games are eight ends instead of 10 and each team has six stones instead of eight.

The big wrinkle is one stone belonging to each team is positioned before the end — one a centre guard and the other on the back edge of the button — with both eligible to count towards scoring.

Mixed doubles is running in conjunction with the world senior curling championship at the ATB Centre.

Six-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts winner and former world champion Colleen Jones of Halifax and Ottawa’s Bryan Cochrane will represent the host country in the seniors event.

“To get to the wear the Maple Leaf one time was the most amazing thing... To turn around and get to wear it again right away is a feeling not a lot of people have experienced.”” – Joanne Courtney