Change format

Dear editor:
Winter athletes had four years to prepare for the 2014 Winter Olympics being held in Sochi, Russia.
But for the curling competition, 16 teams were picked by points accumulated in the four-year period, then they played off at the “Roar of the Rings” in Winnipeg.
After round-robin play, Team Jones (women) and Team Jacobs (men) won the berth to their respective finals, with Team Jones losing only once while Team Jacobs won all seven games, which should be Canada’s best to represent our country.
But with the Canadian Curling Foundation and its Page playoff system, this is not so as either the second-, third-, and even fourth-place team could win the only game in the finals and that has happened before.
As an example, Team Jacobs beat all teams in round-robin but could have lost to a lesser opponent in the final.
To make sure we are sending our best to the Olympics, the “Roar” finals should be the best of three, not one.
Back a few years, the winner of round-robin play would determine our best curling teams to play for Canada.
But this is not the case in the system today.
(Signed),
Michael J. Baranowski
Nestor Falls, Ont.