Koe to test his new lineup in World Cup of Curling

The World Cup is set to join an already crowded curling calendar. But for Kevin Koe, the timing is right, the money is good and his new lineup needs reps.

So a few short months after wearing the Maple Leaf at the Winter Olympics, Koe dons it again for the first leg of the World Curling Federation’s newest property.

The World Cup of Curling is four tournaments of team and mixed doubles competition involving the top curling countries in the world. Each country determines its representatives for each leg.

Rachel Homan’s team and the mixed doubles duo of Kirk Muyres and Laura Walker round out the Canadian contingent competing Wednesday to Sunday in Suzhou, China.

The second stop is Dec. 5-9 in Omaha, Neb., followed by the third in Jonkoping, Sweden, from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3. The grand final May 8-12 in Beijing will include winning teams from the previous three stops.

The World Cup offers a total of US$775,000 for a prize pot. Winning one event is worth up to $33,000 to a team and that number doubles in Beijing.

With third Marc Kennedy on a curling hiatus and second Brent Laing departing for John Epping’s foursome, Koe is breaking in B.J. Neufeld at vice and Colton Flasch on his front end while retaining lead Ben Hebert.

“Obviously the teams are good, the prize money is good and for us, we’re looking at it as if we have a new team,” Koe said.