HeartChart Online - Day 3 - 2009 Scotties Tournament of Hearts

Official Newspaper of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts

DAY 2

Monday, February 23, 2009

Monday, February 23, 2009 2

Curling fans dig deep for ‘Sandra’

By DAVE KOMOSKY Heart Chart Associate Editor

C

TSN announcer Vic Rauter was front and centre at the Telethon.

urling fans from across Canada opened their hearts and wallets during Sunday’s Sandra Schmirler Day Telethon on TSN which was staged on the upper concourse at the Save-On-Foods Centre.

The Telethon goal was $170,000 for the Sandra Schmirler Foundation. The tally at the end of the night was $145,000, but that will grow over the next few days.

The Foundation was created by the Canadian Curling Association and Scott Paper as a legacy to the late, great Olympic gold-medal winer from Biggar, Sask. Schmirler and her teammates won three Canadian and World titles as well as Olympic gold in Nagano, Japan in 1998.

The Foundation is dedicated to helping families with seriously ill children.

This year, hospitals in the Season of Champions event sites will receive funds to aid their programs. It’s expected funds will be distributed to: Victoria General Hospital ($30,000) Children’s Hospital of Alberta in Calgary

($50,000) and Moncton General ($25,000).

The largest corporate donation during the telethon was $10,000 from Co-Op and MarketPlace, while kicking in $5,000 apiece were Value Drug Mart — Apple Drugs and Super A Foods — BestWay Foods.

Curling fans across the country kept the phones ringing at the Save-On-Foods Centre for the entire 14-hour production. Personal donations ranged from $10 to $2,000 Members of the Victoria Hospital Foundation handled the phones, but curling celebrities also took their turn, including members of the Nova Scotia, Territories and Saskatchewan teams competing in the Scott Tournament of Hearts.

Junior STARS Team Nova Scotia Matt Heywood Age 13 Kerry Park Curling Club Matt’s home town is Cobble Hill, BC and he is 13 years old. He goes to George Bonner Middle School and is in grade 8. Matt is in his fourth year of curling and his favourite position is third.

Matt received a 3rd place medal at Bear Mountain Arena in the 2008 Junior Curling Classic. He was also a 2008 Zone Participant.

He likes Tae-kwon-do and electric guitar. His favourite trip was an Alaskan Cruise and he plans to become a landscape architect.

Team: Saskatchewan Tyler Nobel Age 14 Nanaimo Curling Club

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Tyler was born in Victoria. This is his second year of curling. Tyler also enjoys sailing. He has his White Sail 2.

He was very active in Navy and Sea Cadets. Tyler is in grade 9 at Nanaimo District Secondary. His favorite class is mechanics.

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3 Monday, February 23, 2009

So far, so good for three B.C. team raises eyebrows to stay among unbeaten

By LARRY WOOD Heart Chart Editor

T

hey haven’t been dominating performances but the homestanding British Columbia team skipped by Marla Mallett of Vancouver was unbeaten after two days at the Scotties, thereby suggesting the team’s decision to opt out of the preceding Ford Hot Shots may have been a brilliant stroke of strategy.

“I think we made a wise choice,” said the 38year-old Mallett, moments after staging a monstrous rally to derail Ontario’s Krista McCarville of Thunder Bay 8-7 in a Sunday night battle of unbeaten squads at the Save-On Memorial Centre.

“The team made that decision because of the scheduling and we expected a lot of tight games and that has happened. I think, for us, it was the smartest choice. It could be a factor in our record. We basically said it could affect our play here and we’re going to take the time we think it takes to be ready for the roundrobin.”

Mallett trailed McCarville from the third end but took control with a killer three in the ninth for a two-point lead and McCarville narrowly missed a big-weight shot to manufacture a tying deuce at the last gasp.

“We have had luck on our side but I have nothing to do with that,” quipped Mallett. “I just throw ’em up and throw ’em back and see what happens. But 3-and-0 to start? I would have believed. We’ve come in looking for the best results we can achieve. Every game is going to be like that, the best teams in Canada are here. We have to play well every game as a unit and keep getting the breaks.”

Mallett earlier required an extra end to ditch Heather Strong’s Newf-Labs 9-8 in 11 ends.

Joining B.C. in the leader’s bracket with three wins were heavily-favoured Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, the defending champion, and Quebec’s Marie-France Larouche.

Jones blitzed Nova Scotia’s Nancy McConnery 9-1 in the afternoon and then hammered Manitoba counterpart Barb Spencer 12-5 in a nightcap.

“Obviously, we’re where we want to be but just as obviously we’ll have to be a bit sharper as we go along,” offered Jones.

Spencer professed disappointment at being stationed at the other end of the spectrum with

Nancy Belanger and the rest of the Quebec team have been right on the money.

three losses.

“It’s disappointing,” she admitted. “This ice is a little straighter and trickier than what we we’re used to. The rocks aren’t finishing and it’s very weight sensitive as well. We just have to keep faith that if we keep throwing well it’s going to turn around for us.”

In what began as a wild-scoring affair, the defenders jumped in front with three in the fifth, a theft of one in the sixth and another deuce in the seventh.

“We’re throwing well and it just isn’t happening for us.” sasid Spencer. “But, last year, Jennifer lost four before she got it going so maybe it’ll work the same way for us.”

Larouche, who makes a habit of staying under the radar while piling up Scotties wins, clob-

bered Rebecca Jean MacPhee of Spud Island 94 in the only match of the day for both teams.

McCarville remained at 2-and-1 along with MacPhee and Calgary’s Cheryl Bernard who lost to Jones in her opener.

Bernard bounced back Sunday to stop Manitoba 6-5 and Nova Scotia 6-4.

“We’re catching on to the ice,” said the Alberta champ. “The main thing is we have to make sure we don’t give away any dumb games, that would be the worst.”

Most of the competitors agreed the ice conditions are generally straighter at this point than they’ve seen at the Scotties.

But, allowed Jones: “All arena ice is weight sensitive. I haven’t seen any unexpected problems. I think it helps

the more you play on the arena ice.”

Added Strong of St. John’s, who scored a big five in the eighth to deal Saskatchewan’s Stefanie Lawton her third straight loss, 10-7, on the Sunday night shift: “I think they’re still tweeking the ice to get more curl but it leaves doubt in your mind as a thrower. There are some straighter spots out there and it’s making for some big ends and some entertaining line scores. There have been more flashes than we’re used to at the Scotties but it’s Sunday and we’re still getting used to the conditions. It’s the straightest I’ve ever seen at the Scotties. But you know what? I’ve never played at a Scotties where there’s no snow on the ground, either, so I don’t think it’s an easy task to get great ice.”

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5 Monday, February 23, 2009 EDITOR Larry Wood ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dave Komosky PHOTOGRAPHER Andrew Klaver PUBLISHED BY The Victoria Times Colonist

The Wood file

Larry WOOD

W

hen a guy like Rick Lang makes a proclamation where the attributes of a curler are concerned, you’d be advised to listen.

This affable gent from Thunder Bay owns impeccable credentials, you understand.

Not only is he a fully-accredited coach, he is a two-time world curling champion, a three-time Brier champion and a 10-time Brier competitor. In fact, only three curlers in history will have played in more Briers two weeks from now.

But, these days, the Tim Hortons Brier isn’t high on the 55-year-old Lang’s list of priorities. He is now a semi-retired Lakehead social worker and the last time he really got into tossing boulders, in 2006, he and old cohort Al Hackner won the national seniors title.

This week, he’s coaching Ontario’s team in the Scotties at the Save-On and unabashedly predicting great things for 26year-old Krista McCarville and her three-time provincial champion team.

The second-youngest skip in the field, McCarville nevertheless is playing in her third Scotties in four years. And the campaign last, when she missed the trip to this affair, she lost in the provincial final to Sherry Middaugh.

Now, McCarville is executing crucial shots in tight-fit matches and exhibiting an ability for rebounding from adversity that may have been lacking in her team’s makeup at Scotties past.

“I think,” says Lang, “she (McCarville) is one of the best shotmakers in the country if not the best.

“I started coaching this team this year so I have had a lot more time to watch her, par-

ticularly at the provincial championship, and she has the ability to throw all the shots, particularly with the big weight. Her delivery is so solid. She gets locked in so early, she doesn’t take a lot of time to think about it. She throws like a pro. It doesn’t matter what the weight, a high hard one or a soft one. I just think she’s technically so sound.”

If you’re a betting person, you might want to listen up and consider . . .

“Twice they played amazingly well in the province before they got here and they didn’t perform their best at the Scotties,” Lang muses.

“I don’t know if it was the arena, the ice, the inexperience, she’s still very young, you know. She’s just 26 and she’s played in five provincials. Since they were here last I think they’ve played in two big cashspiels, the Players’ championship final and another big final, and they’ve played a lot more as a team.

And McCarville, formerly Scharf, has matured as a skip and a strategist.

“We’ve worked hard on game plans and strategy and I think you’ll see it’s a little different than it used to be,” Lang assesses.

“Krista is more confident in her calls. She plays a strong game and I think she can play with anyone.”

For her part, McCarville jokes that her coach is laying on the pressure when he says he’s one of the best in the nation.

“But you know what?” she asks. “I feel great. I don’t know how many months we’ve been curling really well now, and our team is special, we really gell together like I’ve never gelled with a team before.”

Aside from coach Lang, his wife Lorraine, who plays lead on the team, is an ongoing calming factor. Lorraine, of course, is

Rick Lang (right) is high on Team Ontarioʼs ability. a two-time Scotties winner and a one-time world champion in her own right.

“Even though Lorraine is 52 and I’m only 26 we’re the best of friends and fit together perfectly,” says McCarville.

“We’ve been very consistent and we had a great provincials. We played so well that whole week and if we can duplicate that we should be in the playoffs here.

“I think I have more confidence as a skip and Rick really helps me with that. He builds my confidence. He’s so honest with everything we do. He’s there for us and I trust him in anything he does and tells us to do. That really helps me.”

McCarville admits nerves may have undermined her resolve under the big top in the past.

“Just being here in the spotlight and with so much going on, it was bothersome” she says. “But we’ve learned. We’re here to curl. We have to forget about it. We don’t care about the rest of the things. We know they’re exciting and we’ll enjoy them in the moment but we won’t think about them, we’ll just play our game and have fun out there and not worry about the end result.

We’ll just worry about the game.”

So far, that mental approach has been working for the most part, to the tune of a 2-and-1 record that could have been 3-and-

0 except for a late collapse on Sunday’s Scotties late shift.

“Things turned out our way this year,” says McCarville.

“For some reason, we (Tara George is the third and rookie Kari MacLean is the second) were supposed to win our province and play in the Scotties and we want to go forward.”

And they’ve honed their game against the best men’s teams in the far north of Ontario.

“We had an awesome week and made it to the semi-finals in a Northern Ontario men’s ‘spiel,” McCarville relates, “and that’s the great game we want to bring here.

“Yeah, we’re on a high, we’ve been curling good. And much more consistent. We just have to believe we can beat any team and we just have to curl the way we know

we can curl to beat any team.”

So far, so good.

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t is truly amazing how things change. To have a perspective from those who have witnessed it all is quite exciting.

Curling was a popular sport in Victoria in the old days and the number of people involved in the sport at all levels was huge. Although there was only one curling club — the Victoria Curling Club — in the early 1950s, many more came about soon after.

The Playland Curling club was built in 1958, followed by the Esquimalt club in 1961. In the years to come, four more clubs — Victoria Racquet Club, Oak Bay, Juan de Fuca, and Glen Meadows — were formed.

The love of the game and the spirit of the sport showed true through a number of many successful championships that were held in Victoria.

These were: The 1958 Macdonald Brier won by Alberta’s Matt Baldwin; The 1974 Macdonald Lassie won by Saskatchewan’s Emily Farnham;

Melissa SOLIGO The 1979 Pepsi Junior Nationals won by Manitoba’s Mert Thompsett; The 1984 Labatt Brier won by Manitoba’s Mike Riley; The 1991 Canadian senior championships won by Northern Ontario’s Eila Brown and Manitoba’s Jim Ursel; The 1999 Canadian Mixed won by Nova Scotia’s Paul Flemming

The 2004 Karcher Junior Nationals won by Nova Scotia’s Jill Mouzar and New Brunswick’s Ryan Sherrard; The 2005 Ford World Men’s Curling Championship won by Canada’s Randy Ferbey; and The 2009 Scotties Tournament of Hearts to be determined March 1.

Many of you, like me, may not have been born when Victoria first hosted the national women’s curling championship in February 1974, at the Memorial Centre. At that time, it was called the Macdonald Lassie championship, sponsored by Macdonald Tobacco, (who also sponsored the Brier from 1927 to 1979).

I was fortunate enough to correspond with Saskatchewan skip Emily Farnham (teammates Linda Saunders, Pat McBeath, Donna Collins), the 1974 Lassie champion, and she offered some great insights into the ’74 Lassie compared to the 2009 Scotties.

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7 Monday, February 23, 2009

Hearts Trivia

dren’s sport programming is for each child to have fun and to

Three provinces/territories never have produced a Canadian women's curling champion.

Name them.

1. What is British Columbia’s worst-ever record in the Canadian women's curling championship?

2. In which championship, where and when and who was the skip and where was she from?

3. How many B.C. teams have failed to win more than three games at the Brier?

4. Can you name the skips, hometowns, the years, championship venues and records?

5. Nine B.C. skips have finished second, either alone, tied, or as the Team Canada representa-

(Answers)

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Lee, Edmonton (1968), Dorenda Schoenhals, Saskatoon (1970), Vera Pezer, Saskatoon (1971), Emily Farnham, Saskatoon (1974), Cathy Pidzarko, Stony Mountain, Man. (1978), Marilyn (Bodogh) Darte, St. Catherines (1986), Heather Houston, Thunder Bay (1988), Colleen Jones, Halifax (2001).

8. Linda Moore, Cathy (King) Borst, Anne Merklinger, Shannon Kleibrink.

9. Moore (1986 at London), Borst (1995 at Calgary), Merklinger (2000 at Prince George), Kleibrink (2008 at Regina).

10. Marilyn Darte (Bodogh) (1986), Connie Laliberte (1995), Kelley Law (2000), Jennifer Jones (2008).

11. Ontario (1986), Manitoba (1995), British Columbia (2000), Manitoba (2008).

12. Colleen Jones (three times), Nova Scotia; Suzanne Gaudet, P.E.I.; Marie-France Larouche, Quebec.

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TODAY’S QUIZ

tive at the Canadian women's curling championship. Can you name all of them?

6. How about the years of those bridesmaid finishes?

7. And the Scotties champs and their hometowns?

8. Four skips in Scotties history have won 11 games and failed to win the event with that number of victories. Can you name all four?

9. How about the year each won the dozen and missed the title and where?

10. Can you name the skips who did win those events?

11. They were from which provinces?

12. Name skips representing provinces other than British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Ontario who have won 10 or more games in one Canadian women's championship and their home provinces. (Hint: There are three from three provinces).

QofD: Newfoundland, P.E.I., Territories.

1. Two wins, seven losses.

2. Sharon Bettesworth of Kitimat in 1972 at Saskatoon.

3. Four, including Bettesworth.

4. Heather Kerr of Richmond was 3-8 in 1986 at London; Kelley Law of Richmond was 3-8 in 1997 at Vancouver; Pat Sanders of Victoria was 3-8 in 1999 at Charlottetown.

5. Ian Hansen (twice), Myrtle Fashoway, Donna Clark, Marion Radcliffe, Heather Haywood, Linda Moore, Pat Sanders, Kelley Law. 6. Hansen (1963 and 1971). Fashoway (1968), Clark (1970), Radcliffe (1974), Haywood (1978), Moore (1986), Sanders (1988), Law (2001).

7. Mabel DeWare, Moncton (1963), Gale

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Monday, February 23, 2009 8

Profiles: New Brunswick HOME CLUB: CAPITAL WINTER CURLING CLUB, FREDERICTON

Andrea Kelly

FACTS SKIP

NICKNA ME: Ang e AGE: 23 RESIDEN CE: Fred ericton PARTNE R: No! EMPLOY ME Brunswic NT: New k – Departmen t of Safety, h Public um sources an readvisor SHE IS: F un termined , de..

LOVES C .

URLING BECAUS E: H taught m as e lo of life les ts sons.

Denise Nowlan THIRD AGE: 37 RESIDENCE: Moncton FAMILY: Married to Daryell Nowlan (coach), sons Joshua 8, Jacob 5 EMPLOYMENT: Homemaker SHE IS: Trusting, loyal and funny (well, I think so ) LOVES CURLING BECAUSE: It’s the only sport I do well at .. plus it’s the best sport ever!

THE PROVINCE Population: 757,100 Area: 72,908 sq km sq Joined Confederation: 1867 Motto: “Hope restored” Capital City: Fredericton Laguages Spoken: 86% English, 31.4% French, 0.6% other Principal Products: lumber and other forestry products, potatoes, lead NEW BRUNSWICK AT THE SCOTTIES Last three years: 2008 — Syvie Robichaud, Moncton (110) 2007 — Sandy Comeau, Moncton (110) 2006 — Andrea Kelly, Fredericton (5-6) Last championship — Mabel DeWare, Moncton (1963) Canadian titles — 1

Jodie deSolla SECOND NICKNAME: Jode AGE: 23 RESIDENCE: Fredericton PARTNER: No EMPLOYMENT: Campaign assistant, Muriel McQueen Fergusson Foundation SHE IS: Happy, hardworking, funny LOVES CURLING BECAUSE: It keeps me active and I have met so many people through the sport!!

World titles — None.

DID YOU KNOW. . . n Magnetic Hill, located outside the city limits of Moncton, is an optical illusion. Legend has it someone parked their car at the site and it rolled uphill. n St. John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada.

Lianne Sobey LEAD AGE: 24 RESIDENCE: Fredericton PARTNER: Engaged to Rob Faulkner EMPLOYMENT: RCMP – Criminal Intelligence Service, New Brunswick, assistant.

SHE IS: Dedicated, determined and funny…(what can I say, we’re a funny team!)

LOVES CURLING BECAUSE: it is a teambased sport and it keeps me active.

9 Monday, February 23, 2009

Profiles: Team British Columbia HOME CLUB: VANCOUVER CURLING CLUB

FACTS

Marla Mallett SK

AGE: 38 IP RESIDEN C FAMILY: E: Langley Married to Mike, da ughter A s ley, 6 hEMPLOY M gional m ENT: Reanager o f administr a dustry C tion, Inan SHE IS: H ada a working rd, determined, fo c LOVES C used URLING BECAUS E: team, th My e people I’ve met, th places I’ e ve seen and th competi e tion.

Grace MacInnes THIRD NICKNAME: Gracer AGE: 37 RESIDENCE: Langley PARTNER: Husband Terry EMPLOYMENT: Produce manager, Thrifty Foods SHE IS: Fun, grateful LOVES CURLING BECAUSE: It’s a team sport, I like team sports CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Junior nationals

THE PROVINCE Population: 4,095,900 Area: 944,735 km sq Motto: “Splendour without diminishment” Joined Confederation: 1871 Capital City: Victoria Languages Spoken: 80.9 % English, 1.4% French 3.2% bilingual, 14.5% other Principal Products: Lumber, pulp and paper products, processed foods B.C. AT THE SCOTTIES Last three years: 2008 — Allison MacInnes, Kamloops (4-7) 2007 — Kelley Law, New Westminster (5-6) 2006 — Kelly Scott, Kelowna (11-2, champion) Last championship — Kelly Scott, Kelowna (2005, 2007 as Team Canada)

Diane Gushulak SECOND NICKNAME: Di AGE: 39 RESIDENCE: Vancouver FAMILY: Married to Brent, daughter Emma 2 EMPLOYMENT: Domestic engineer, Gushulak household SHE IS: Generous, spontaneous, witty LOVES CURLING BECAUSE: Of the competition CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Three-time national (Scotties) participant.

Canadian titles — 9 (10 including Team Canada) World titles — Linda Moore, 1985; Pat Sanders, 1987; Kelley Law, 2000; Kelly Scott, 2007 DID YOU KNOW. . . n B.C. is the third-largest film and television production centre in North America after New York and Los Angeles.

Jacalyn Brown LEAD AGE: 37 RESIDENCE: Burnaby PARTNER: Jason EMPLOYMENT: Registered nurse, cardiac intensive care unit, St. Paul’s Hospital SHE IS: Funny, competitive LOVES CURLING BECAUSE: Of the competition and my team CAREER HIGHLIGHT: Winning my first B.C. women’s title.

Monday, February 23, 2009 10

Curlers rankled by Ranking System W

ith the Olympics less than a year away, Canada’s top curlers have become scoreboard watchers — and not everyone is happy about it.

Several teams taking part in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre also are jockeying for position in the Canadian Team Ranking System, which helps determine which teams will qualify for pre-Olympic trials at Prince George in November and the Olympic trials proper held in Edmonton in December.

The CTRS ranks teams using a number of different variables, including strength of field and available prize money at a given event.

Initially, the CTRS did little more than confuse and irritate fans and curlers alike. Now that most of the bugs have been ironed out, a new problem Bisson has surfaced.

It has become a major distraction.

Ontario skip Krista McCarville of Thunder Bay recently suggested her team was focused too much on its place in the CTRS, a pre-occupation that affected its performance in tournaments. Former world champion Randy Ferbey of Edmonton also has voiced his displeasure with the amount of time spent talking about the CTRS. Alberta skip Cheryl Bernard of Calgary said she real-

Battle for points can be distracting ized it had become a problem for her foursome prior to the provincial playdowns.

“I think we got caught a little bit in it for a while,” said Bernard, ranked second in the CTRS women’s points race. “At end of December, we as a team sat down and talked about it and said, ‘We need to go back to what got us to this point, which is playing games and winning and not looking around to see who’s winning and who’s losing.’

“We’ve let it drop from our mind, though it’s tough because everyone wants to ask about it.”

Saskatchewan skip Stefanie Lawton of Saskatoon admitted to checking the overall standings frequently.

“I definitely look at it,” said the No. 4-ranked Lawton.

“I kind of like to see where we are, and I do a little bit of analyzing.”

Lawton insisted she has a good reason.

“I’m an accountant,” Lawton joked. “I like to analyze things.”

(James Bisson is a writer with the Canadian Press)

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Stefanie Lawton (centre) likes to ʻanalyzeʼ.

11 Monday, February 23, 2009

Soligo From Page 6 From Emily’s standpoint, a lot of things have stayed the same over the 35-year gap between the two events: The city’s beauty, the green grass, the flowers, the lack of snow, the host hotel (the Empress), and the dedicated, hardworking volunteers. The fans always were great then and now, and having so many Saskatchewan transplants made her team feel right at home.

Something else that never changes, but only gets better from year to year. It’s the national, provincial and local sponsor’s unequivocal commitment to women’s curling in this country. Because of this incredible support, curlers always have been treated like royalty. The age of the youngest curler at the 1974 event is the same as it is at this year’s event, 23.

There is no doubt that things change and here are some examples. Ford now supplies the cars and transportation (compared to the Rolls Royces that Emily and team rode around in). The arena has been replaced by the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.

The ice was good in 1974, but it is amazing now. With state of the art equipment and expert icemakers (thanks B.J. Gagnon), Emily was

happy to see how matched the rocks are and how keen the ice is. In ’74, a rock would come to a complete stop eight or 10 inches on one side of the sheet due to the frost build-up from the TV lights. It didn’t matter how hard you through it.

The technology was not there to deal with enthusiastic crowds filling the arena to capacity.

One huge change over the years is the television coverage and the sophistication of the shows.

CBC put together a 30-minute summary of the ‘74 final and aired it at a later date. TSN and its crew, is now airing three shows a day, every day. The professional productions provide detailed information not only about the strategy, the game, the ice and the shots, but also about the players. It is an excellent opportunity for curling to be profiled across the country, allowing all curlers and noncurlers to enjoy and learn about the roarin’ game.

In 1974, there were not the same opportunities to reach world and and Olympic tournaments as there is now. One can only imagine what the greats of those years would be like playing with the greats of today!

If you ask any curler, male or female, recreation or elite, 1974 or 2009, there is one commodity that remains the same for everyone. That is the friendships that are created throughout every event. Curling is a close-knit family and whether it is your opponents, an official, a volunteer, a camera man, a reporter or a fan, you will create a special bond that will last a lifetime.

If looks could kill: Heather Strong peers down the ice.

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Monday, February 23, 2009 12

ROAD TO THE SCOTTIES TOURNAMENT OF HEARTS

Strong wind keeps blowing off the Rock F or the fifth straight winter — and the ninth in the last 12 — Heather Strong left no doubt she’s queen of the frozen rings in Newfoundland and Labrador women’s curling last month.

Strong, whose best-ever Scotties finishes (75) were registered in the 2006 and 2008 renewals, skipped four provincial titlists in a row from 1998 to 2001.

Not coincidentally, her current vice-skip Cathy Cunningham skipped Newfie Heather Strong teams in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and turned in a runner-up finish (86) to Colleen Jones of Halifax in 2003 at Kitchener-Waterloo.

In fact, to find the last Newfie team to play at the Scotties without either Cunningham or

NFLD/LABRADOR (Combined 33 previous appearances) Strong in the lineup you have to scan back to 1992 when veteran Sue-Ann Bartlett of Labrador City made her last appearance.

At Victoria, Cunningham will be playing in her 12th Scotties, tying Bartlett’s provincial mark, while Strong will be on hand for the ninth time.

Directing a front end that saw Peg Goss (second) and the skip’s sister Laura Strong (lead) switched from a year ago, Heather Strong defeated St. John’s Re/Max Centre clubmate Michelle Jewer 8-6 in the championship final at Bally Haly, St. John’s.

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“It was a tight game and came down to the last end,” said Strong, who won seven straight games without a loss in the seven-team tournament.

“We were ahead throughout the game but I don’t know if you could ever say we were in control at any point. We missed a couple of opportunities to get some padding points and they missed a couple of opportunities to tie the game.”

Actually, Strong stole three points and rolled into a 4-0 lead after three ends against Jewer and her unit of Kelli Turpin, a former Ford Hot Shots winner, Jill Waite and Leslie Ann Walsh.

Jewer battled back into it with a fourth-end deuce and a stolen single in the fifth.

Strong could have put the game out of reach in the fifth with a shot at scoring five. But her runback for the nickel ticked the guard “It was a hard shot, but it was certainly available to us,” Strong noted.

But Strong clicked for two in the sixth with an open hit and eventually led by one in the 10th with the hammer she used for a four-foot draw.

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Had Jewer won the affair, a second match would have been necessitated.

“We were pleased with how we played throughout the week,” said Strong, who defeated Jewer 9-4 during the round robin. “We felt we were in control for the most part. We were able to finish off the close games that could have gone either way.”

Since late January, the team has been “in practice mode” in anticipation of the Save On Foods Memorial Centre action.

Jewer slugged veteran Barb Pinsent of St. John’s 9-3 in the semi-final. In addition to the pair of losses to Strong, Jewer also lost a 9-1 pasting to Pinsent earlier to finish with a 5-3 record. Pinsent was 3-4.

Missing the playoffs, Strong’s former viceskip Shelly Nichols managed only a 2-4 record which was matched by the other contenders skipped by former national junior champion Stacie Devereaux, Susan Hannan and Cindy Miller.

All provincial qualifiers hailed from St. John’s.

13 Monday, February 23, 2009

ROAD TO THE SCOTTIES TOURNAMENT OF HEARTS

Larouche makes qualifying look easy F or the second straight year, the Quebec Scotties shootout boiled down to Marie-France Larouche and Eve Belisle. And for the second straight year, the Larouche team from St-Romuald emerged triumphant.

The competition, in fact, was a veritable breeze for the Larouche team of Nancy Belanger, Annie Lemay and Joelle Sabourin. In 11 games, it outscored the opposition 99-35.

Winner of 25 games in three previous Scotties, Larouche won eight in a row and lost her last meaningless match in the 10team provincial round robin at Trois-Rivieres, then hammered 2006 champion Belisle 9-4 and 7-2 in playoff confrontations.

The slender 28-year-old Larouche was Scotties runnerup to Colleen Jones in 2004 at Red Deer. She finished fourth in 2001 at Sudbury and last year at Regina.

During a spectacular junior career, Larouche played in five Canadian cham-

QUEBEC (Combined 14 previous appearances) pionhips and won the last one.

She stole a fourth-end deuce for a 3-0 lead on Belisle in the final, then cracked three more to go in front 6-1 after six panels.

Larouche was up 6-2 after four ends in the Page One-Two playoff after finishing round robin tied at 8-1 with Belisle, who also lost their penultimate-round collision by a 9-4 count.

Veronique Brassard of St-Romuald, a clubmate of Larouche’s, was the only skip

to conquer the winner — 7-5 in the final round.

Brassard qualified for the Page ThreeFour playoff with that victory but subsequently was walloped 11-4 by Allison Ross of Ormstown.

Belisle doubled up on Ross 10-5 in the semi-final.

Streaming through the preliminaries, Larouche defeated Annie Cadorette of Montreal 9-3, Ross 9-3, former champion Chantal Osborne of Thurso 9-4, Gaetane Tremblay of Quebec City 9-3, Karine Marchand of Trois-Rivieres 10-3, Johanne Tremblay of Lachine 14-0 and Elaine Roy of Kenogami 9-2 before drubbing Belisle in three of the last four matches.

Larouche finished 9-1 to Belisle’s 9-3.

Ross was 7-4 and Brassard was 6-4.

Up the track, Osborne was 5-4, Roy 45, Marchand and Cadorette 3-6, Gaetane Tremblay 2-7 and Johanne Tremblay 0for-9.

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Marie-France Larouche returns.

Monday, February 23, 2009 14

LOUNGE MONDAY, FEB. 23 Noon Autograph Session – Ontario 4:45 p.m. Up Close and Personal with Al Cameron – Calgary Herald and Paul Wiecek – Winnipeg Free Press 5:30 p.m. Autograph Session – NWT/Y 10:30 p.m. Johnny Vallis TUESDAY, FEB. 24 Noon Autograph Session – Manitoba and Canada 4:45 p.m. Up Close and Personal with Francine Poisson, Sandra Schmirler – Foundation President, and Diane Gushulak – BC Curler and mom 5:30 p.m. Autograph Session – Saskatchewan

A daily draw is required for admission to the HeartStop Lounge, conveniently located in the Victoria Curling Club.

10:00 p.m. Flatline

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 25 Noon Autograph Session – New Brunswick 4:45 p.m. Up Close and Personal with Team Canada 5:30 p.m. Autograph Session – Alberta 10:30 p.m. Crosstown Bus THURSDAY, FEB. 26 Noon Autograph Session – Nova Scotia 4:45 p.m. Up Close and Personal with Past Champions Julie Skinner (’91, ’00) and Pat Sanders (’87) 5:30 p.m. Autograph Session – Quebec 10:00 p.m. Bryden Street Party Band

FRIDAY, FEB. 27 4:45 p.m. Up Close and Personal with TSN Commentators Vic Rauter, Linda Moore and Ray Turnbull 10:00 p.m. Timebenders SATURDAY, FEB. 28 3:00 p.m. Team Autograph Session 8:00 p.m. The Chevelles SUNDAY, MARCH 1 2:00 p.m. The Chevelles 8:15 p.m. The Chevelles Schedule subject to change.

What’s on the menu HeartStop Lounge Victoria Curling Club Two Menus to Choose From 7:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m.

Breakfast Burger (served daily 7:30am-10:30am)

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Daily sports, commentary and the latest results.

Pulled Pork on a Bun Char Broiled Burger Chili & Bun Clam Chowder & Bun Assort. Cold Sandwiches (egg salad, salmon, ham) Daily Soup Fries Caesar Salad Veggies & Dip Pizza by the Slice

Food For Thought Menu 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Choice of West Coast Seafood Chowder or Soup of the Day Entrees: Chicken or Beef Pot Pies Moroccan Chicken Peppers, Onions & Sweet Spices Balsamic Chicken with choice of sides Indian Curry (Chicken or Beef) yogurt East Indian spices Beef Dip with au jus Wraps Choice of sides and salads: Rice Noodles Roasted potatoes Caesar Salad Baby Mixed Greens California Pasta olives, sundried tomatoes, artichokes Apple & Fennel Slaw Green and red cabbage, carrot Chicken & Rice Indian Curry, rice, Caesar salad Balsamic Chicken roast potatoes, apple & fennel slaw Beef Dip ciabatta bun, Caesar salad (For any above meals substitute soup for salad for an extra $2.00) Food For Thought Combo Build your own combination 1 entrée and 2 sides

15 Monday, February 23, 2009

STANDINGS W Team Canada (Jones) 3 Quebec (Larouche) 3 B.C. (Mallett) 3 Alberta (Bernard) 2 Ontario (McCarville) 2 PEI (MacPhee) 2 N.B. (Kelly) 1 NL (Strong) 1 N.S. (McConnery) 1 Manitoba (Spencer) 0 NWT/Yukon (Galusha) 0 Saskatchewan (Lawton) 0

L 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3

DRAW SCHEDULE TODAY

SUNDAY DRAW 3 8:30 a.m.

NL (Strong) B.C. (Mallett) NL

020 102 010 20 — 8 002 010 401 01 — 9 S P % S P % 88 304 86 B.C. 88 277 79

Ontario (McCarville) Sask. (Lawton) S P ONT. 80 251

202 002 100 1 — 8 020 120 020 0 — 7 % S P % 78 SASK. 80 267 83

Manitobaʼs Barb Spencer has had a tough opening two days.

LINESCORES Alberta (Bernard) Manitoba (Spencer) S P ALTA. 79 254

DRAW 5 6:30 p.m.

DRAW 4 1 p.m.

Team Canada (Jones) N.S. (McConnery) S P CANADA 48 172

321 012 xxx x — 9 000 100 xxx x — 1 % S P % 90 N.S. 48 121 63

PEI (MacPhee) Quebec (Larouche) S P PEI 72 226

101 000 110 x — 3 020 311 002 x — 9 % S P % 78 QUE. 71 259 91

Y/NWT (Galusha) 101 010 202 0 — 7 N.B. (Kelly) 020 201 020 1 — 8 S P % S P % Y/NWT 80 248 78 N.B. 79 262 83

010 020 110 1 — 6 001 102 001 0 — 5 % S P % 80 MAN. 80 236 74

Sask. (Lawton) NL (Strong) SASK.

022 010 101 0 — 7 100 102 050 1 — 10 S P % S P % 80 252 79 NL 79 266 84

N.S. (McConnery) 010 000 201 0 — 4 Alberta (Bernard) 201 000 020 1 — 6 S P % S P % N.S. 79 237 75 ALTA. 80 273 85 Manitoba (Spencer) Team Canada (Jones) S P MAN. 72 243

010 300 010 x — 3 201 031 203 x — 12 % S P % 84 CAN. 70 225 80

B.C. (Mallett) Ontario (McCarville) S P B.C. 79 231

100 020 203 0 — 8 002 102 010 1 — 7 % S P % 73 ONT. 80 249 78

SHOOTING PERCENTAGES (CUMULATIVE) Skip Third Second Lead TEAM

Can.

B.C.

Alta.

Sask.

Man.

Ont.

Que.

N.B.

PEI

N.S.

82 86 81 76 81

73 77 72 80 76

75 83 77 84 80

74 79 84 89 82

65 79 78 88 78

70 78 80 85 78

83 78 81 87 82

79 71 78 81 77

74 79 73 89 79

71 72 72 80 74

NL Y/NWT 80 86 79 88 83

79 67 77 74 74

8:30 a.m. Draw A — Ont. Vs. N.B. B — NL vs. Y/NWT C — B.C. vs. Que. D — Sask. Vs. PEI 1 p.m. Draw A — Y/NWT vs. Man. B — N.B. vs. Can. C — PEI vs. N.S. D — Que. vs. Alta.

6:30 p.m. Draw A — Alta. vs. B.C. B — N.S. vs. Sask.

C — Can. Vs. Ont. D — Man. Vs. NL TUESDAY 8:30 a.m. Draw A — Can. Vs. Sask.

B — Man, vs. B.C. C — Alta. vs. NL D — N.S. Ont. 1 p.m. Draw A — NL vs. PEI B — Ont. vs. Que. C —Sask. vs. Y/NWT D — B.C. vs. N.B. 6:30 p.m. Draw A — Que. vs. N.S. B — PEI vs. Alta.

C — N.B. vs. Man. D — Y/NWT vs. Can. WEDNESDAY 8:30 a.m. Draw A — N.B. vs. Alta.

B — Y/NWT vs. N.S. C — Que. vs. Can. D —PEI vs. Man. 1 p.m. Draw A — Man. Vs. Ont. B — Can. Vs. NL C — N.S. vs. B.C.

&RP &RPPLWWHG WR WKH VLJQLÀFDQFH RI FRPPXQLW\ PPLWWHG WR WKH H VLJQLÀFDQFH R RI FRPPXQLW\\ Monsanto is proud to be the official team sponsor of Team Jennifer Jones, the 2008 Canadian and World Women’s Curling Champions. We are also pleased to lend our support as a Diamond sponsor to the 2009 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

As a company committed to creating a better future for our customers, employees and consumers, we are proud to support the passion, camaraderie and competitive spirit that an event like the Scotties Tournament of Hearts inspires in communities across the country. Whether as Team Canada or as provincial representatives, all participants have shown great commitment and dedication. We have enjoyed the entertainment every step of the way and wish all competitors the best of luck.

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