21 Aug 2024 – Jess and Ben Smith won their third NZ Mixed Doubles Championship last weekend, five years after their last success.

They took the deciding match in a best-of-three final series 6-5 against defending champions Courtney Smith and Anton Hood.

Five of the six teams who earned entry to the Championship at June's qualifying tournament took to the ice at the Maniototo Adventure Park last weekend. Injury forced the late withdrawal of Tahlia and Petersen and Will Becker from the event.

There was plenty of interest in the last draw of the initial round robin, with the top three teams reaching the playoffs. The clash between the two previously unbeaten sides saw the Smith siblings take on six-time champions Bridget and Sean Becker. A crucial steal in the third end gave Jess and Ben the momentum they needed to register an 8-4 win, top the standings, and so take the direct path to the finals.

The winner of the other match between the Ruby Kinney / Hunter Walker pair and Courtney Smith / Anton Hood would qualify to face the Becker siblings in the semifinals. Defending champions Smith and Hood, facing five sudden-death games to reclaim their title, were up for the challenge and took the game 9-3.

Bridget and Sean had won their round robin match against Courtney and Anton, so took a 1-0 advantage into the best-of-three semifinal series. But it was the latter pair who struck form and claimed the two games they needed to head to the final.

Courtney and Anton were again 0-1 down starting the final series, but took four points with their powerplay in the seventh end of the second match for a 9-4 win to level the series. The decider was a tense match throughout, with Jess and Ben holding their opponents out to secure their one-point win.

Jess Smith was both relieved and delighted after their win, which also selected them as the national team for the Northern hemisphere season.

"It's been a long time coming to come back out on top," she said. "And it was a tough weekend! The skill and level of curling in New Zealand is growing so much, which is so good to see."

"Ben and I are very excited to finally be able to represent New Zealand in Mixed Doubles, and we will be giving it everything we've got to get NZ back to the Worlds. We will be starting the planning in the next few weeks, hopefully we can compete in a few Doubles comps in Canada before the World qualifier."

Despite their national titles in 2018 and 2019 they are yet to represent their country in Mixed Doubles. They prioritised their careers over the 2019 World Championship, and the 2020 Worlds were a casualty of the Covid pandemic.

They are both competing with the New Zealand Men's and Women's sides at November's Pan Continental Championships in Canada, giving them a month to prepare for the December World qualifying tournament.
 

• Full result details

Final Standings

1.  (5-1)  Jess Smith and Ben Smith
2.  (5-3)  Courtney Smith and Anton Hood
3.  (3-3)  Bridget Becker and Sean Becker
4.  (1-3)  Ruby Kinney and Hunter Walker
5.  (0-4)  Rachael Pitts and Sam Flanagan
    

2024 champions Jess Smith and Ben Smith

Silver medallists Anton Hood and Courtney Smith

Bronze medallists Sean Becker and Bridget Becker

4th place Hunter Walker and Ruby Kinney

5th place Rachael Pitts and Sam Flanagan