Canadian Olympic curling trials field complete: Jacobs, Morris, Sonnenberg and Sweeting earn berths at The Roar Of The Rings

The field is set for the 2013 Roar Of The Rings tournament in Winnipeg where, next month, the very best curling teams in the land will do battle for the right to wear the maple leaf at the Olympic Games in February.

With six top teams on each of the men's and women's sides already qualified, the final four berths (two women's, two men's) have now been decided, after a week of curling at the Road To The Roar in Kitchener, Ontario.

Renee Sonnenberg, John Morris, Val Sweeting and Brad Jacobs all stepped forward after a grueling week of curling.

Question for each of the four is: What chance does a last-chance qualifier have to win in Winnipeg?

A reasonably good one, if you consider the respective pedigrees of each of these party-crashing skips. Especially the two men's winners, Morris and Jacobs. Morris is a Brier, world and Olympic champion. Jacobs is the reigning Canadian champ.

There is an example of a team making it to The Trials and then being completely overmatched. In 2009, Jason Gunnlaugson skipped his team to a win at the last-chance spiel and then proceeded to rack up seven losses in seven games at the Trials. However, that rink was very young and inexperienced and just a tad one-dimensonal, often opting for spectacular upweight takeout shots over required touch shots.

Knowing when a delicate draw can be every bit as devastating as a raise triple takeout is an absolutely essential ingredient for any championship team.

Inexperience will not be an albatross for the four teams that have added their names to the invitee list for The Roar. They are each capable of holding their own and, in fact, should either Morris or Jacobs win the right to represent Canada at the 2014 Games, it would not come as a shock at all.

Morris would not have needed to qualify for The Trials had he stayed with his longtime team in Alberta. When he opted to leave Kevin Martin at the end of the 2012-2013 season to join Jim Cotter, it meant he'd added a step in his quest to repeat as an Olympic champion. Morris' win here cements his team's status as one of the favourites going in to the Olympic Trials, as he and his new mates have meshed beautifully so far this season.

Cotter thinks Morris gives his team a decided advantage.

"He (Morris) reads the ice like... I’ve never seen anyone read the ice like he does. He picks up on it so much faster than the other teams," he said after the team beat Brad Jacobs to earn their Olympic Trials berth.

Jacobs then had a second chance to win a ticket to Winnipeg and he secured it by beating Brad Gushue in the final game of the week, 7-5, on Sunday night.

For Jacobs, a trip to Sochi might provide him with some solace, after having to settle for a silver medal at last Spring's World Men's Curling Championship. After his squad emerged as champions at an incredibly deep Brier last March, no one should sell them short.

Sonnenberg has two Scotties appearances to her credit (1999 and 2001) and would have skipped in a third in 2013 if not for former teammate Kristie Moore besting her in the Alberta championship, drawing the button in an extra end to do it. Sonenberg's team was terrific at the Pre-trials, going 5 and 1 and avenging their only loss with a 12 - 4 dismantling of Kelly Scott in the game that got them their Olympic Trials invitation.

The fourth qualifier, 26 year old Sweeting, has been to one Scotties as a skip, leading her Edmonton crew to nationals in 2010. Of the four who emerged in Kitchener, her team would be considered by most to be the longest shot to win in Winnipeg next month. However, Sweeting showed her cool resolve by drawing top of the button with her last stone against Scott, to complete a 6-4 win and score the last women's trials opening.

The pre-trial provided plenty of ups and downs, some breathtaking shotmaking as well as some head-scratching misses. All the thrills and chills you'd expect at a top drawer spiel.

The process by which the final 16 teams left standing is decided is a little complicated, a little trying and not without its detractors.

Some teams earned berths in the trials by winning designated big events. Martin and Jennifer Jones qualified by winning titles at the 2011 Canada Cup. Jeff Stoughton and Stefanie Lawton got in by taking the 2012 titles at the same tournament.

Some secured spots by being the top team in the CTRS standings (Canadian Team Ranking System) over the course of one season. Others made their way by being a top team in the standings over the course of two years.

(The standings can be accessed by clicking HERE)

Then, there were the good teams that didn't quite make the grade. They were the ones invited to this last-ditch effort tournament and a chance to make good.

Although the system is, perhaps, not perfect - and there is grumbling among some players about it - it does ensure that a good balance of performance reward is evident.

Win a big, designated event? That proves your mettle. Be consistently good over one or two seasons? That rewards ongoing performance. Win the last chance Road To The Roar? That means four teams that are hot at the right time get into the dance.

All in all, the best that Canada can offer on the sheets at this time are all taking part in Winnipeg beginning December 1st.

"There's no pressure like the Olympic Trials," said Morris on the weekend. "I think it's even more than the Olympics itself. It's a grind."

A fine grind, for curling fans, who now get to look ahead to one of the best tournament fields in the history of the game.

SKIPS TAKING PART IN THE "ROAR OF THE RINGS" DECEMBER 1ST THROUGH 8th

WOMEN

Jennifer Jones

Heather Nedohin

Stefanie Lawton

Rachel Homan

Sherry Middaugh

Chelsea Carey

Renee Sonnenberg

Val Sweeting

MEN

Kevin Martin

Glenn Howard

Jeff Stoughton

Kevin Koe

Mike McEwen

John Epping

John Morris

Brad Jacobs