HeartChart Online - Day 4 - 2009 Scotties Tournament of Hearts

Official Newspaper of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts

Team Canada third Cathy OvertonClapham calls for the sweep during Canada始s nail-biting win over Ontario Monday night.

DAY 3

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 2

Quebec skip keeps emotions in check

Larouche has come of age S

he’s skipping at the Scotties for the fourth time this week and, heading to Victoria, she was generating the kind of positive hope you’d find in a back room full of Obama disciples.

But Marie-France Larouche and her Quebec express train hit an open switch Monday at the Save-On. The saboteurs were British Columbia and Alberta.

During one of her previous visits, Larouche might have allowed the experience to devour her insides. In younger years, there were times when emotion threatened to cause the derailments.

“Not now,” she was saying Monday. “I’m still emotional, yes, but maybe I am controlling it better. I think I am mentally good and my attitude is good. Now I know that if it works it is good and if it doesn’t, it’s too bad and, well, we’ve done our best and see you next year . . . or at the next tournament.

“There’s still the Canada Cup and the Play-

Larry WOOD ers’ championship this season. So I know now when I’m in the hack I cannot do more than my best. Just throw well and we will see. Before I took the year away from the game (following a heartbreaking performance at the 2005 Olympic trials), I was always putting pressure on myself. I kept

telling myself I couldn’t miss a shot. Now I know I’m not likely to play 100 per cent but I will try to do my best.”

She collided with a pair of hot hands tossing pistols on Monday.

“They (Marla Mallett and Cheryl Bernard) didn’t miss many shots,” she agreed. “But the games were close. We came back in the first one and needed a little more luck in the second.

“We came here knowing we are able to beat great teams. We’re focused on that. All the games are exciting for us because we know we need to play well to win here. We know we will be better than we were today and that’s what we have to be. We have to build on that, and build on it again tomorrow.”

Second player Annie Lemay recently told Lynne Bermel of Sun Media that “the stars have been aligned for our team all year long . . . our confidence is really high these days and our mindset is good.”

This team won five cashspiels this season,

including the Canada Cup qualifier at Ottawa and the star-studded Sobeys Slam at New Glasgow, N.S., and was runner-up in another, finishing the tour season at No. 2 in earnings with $46,800, three positions ahead of Scotties and Worlds defending champion Jennifer Jones.

“It’s our second year together and we are more consistent,” the 28-year-old Larouche maintains, “and we know we can make all the shots, all week. It’s the first time we have had that kind of confidence that we can win, that we can beat anybody in this game.

“We are so close but we have never won a national title.”

Well, not since junior days, anyway. MarieFrance and her vice-skip Nancy Belanger racked up 31 wins in four national junior championships before finally winning with an 11-3 record in their fifth try.

PLEASE SEE WOOD P11

Junior STARS Team: Northwest Territories / Yukon Shaelyn Rice Age 14 Nanaimo Curling Club Shaelyn is 14 years old and attends Dover Bay Secondary School in Nanaimo. Her favourite subjects are Science and History.

Shaelyn has been curling for 4 years and has been competing for 3 years in both the Junior and Ladies leagues.

She curls 4-5 times a week and also has a job at the curling rink cleaning the ice.

Shaelyn’s favourite positions are skip and lead and she hopes to one day play at the Scotties.

Team: Canada Alycia Streifel Age 12 Victoria Curling Club Hi! I’m Alycia. I’m in grade 7 and have been curling for 4 years! I curl at the Victoria Curling Club and I like it a lot.

TM T M

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3 Tuesday, February 24, 2009

B.C. skip Marla Mallett urges her rock to turn right during her afternoon game Monday against Quebec.

“A really good day.

A couple of close games and we had to steal the last one.

It’s always good to have a couple of those.”

— Jennifer Jones

Jones flying new route Defending champ puts pedal to the metal this time

By LARRY WOOD Heart Chart Editor

W

hat a difference a year makes!

On Tuesday morning 12 months ago at the Scotties in Regina, Jennifer Jones and Co., enjoyed a sleep-in prior to heading for the Brandt Centre, back-to-back losses and a 3-4 record with four round-robin matches remaining.

This morning at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre? The enemy is Stefanie Lawton of Saskatchewan but the Jones record is 5-0.

“Just goes to show,” said New Brunswick’s Andrea Kelly earlier in the day, “that you really don’t have to start worrying about records until tomorrow.”

Some have to be concerned more than others, of course. The angular Kelly had a pretty fair day at the ice rink on Monday, upending Krista McCarville of Thunder Bay 5-3 before losing a last-rock 5-3 duke to Jones in the af-

ternoon. That left the Herringchokers at 2-3 for us. We didn’t have a lot of opportunities but for her first five which means the wiggle room we probably could have been a little more agin the run for playoff berths on Friday is gressive when we had hammer, that could have tighter. helped.”

But not as tight the predicament Jones faced It was 3-3 playing the 10th when Kelly’s last a year ago this evening. With four guard swung too far, leaving half her losses, she couldn’t afford another setshot rock peaking out. Jones made the back. So she methodically tracked hit for a winning deuce. eight wins in a row, then moved over Then, in the evening, Jones needed to Vernon and won another 11 of 14 to steal the last end to subdue Mcstarts and claimed the world women’s Carville 6-5 and steal it she did, hiding curling championship. the bulk of her last rock in the button Hence, Jones set the standard for and watching McCarville wreck on a SEE perfect finishes in the wake of shaky guard with the hammer.

SCORES, starts at the Scotties and the knowledge “A really good day,” assessed the Page 15 should serve as good news for all those defending champ. “A couple of close scattered down the standings behind games and we had to steal the last one. her today.

It’s always good to have a couple of “I think we were in a position to beat her in those. We got it going in the last half, we figthe 10th but my last guard overcurled a bit,” ured out the ice a little better, it was curling said Kelly, the youngest skip in the current more, and we played better.” field, from Fredericton.

Although McCarville’s last shot was a “Otherwise it would have been a great day toughie, Jones thought it makeable.

“We cut the weight back, it had been tracking there,” said the Thunder Bay skip.

“It was the champion we were playing and we stayed with them but you have to do better than that to beat a champion.”

Meanwhile, British Columbia’s Marla Mallett of Vancouver pulled the string on her last shot against Alberta’s Cheryl Bernard to slip back a game to 4-and-1 alongside the Calgary team. Bernard had one stashed on the lid and Mallett required a cold four-foot draw.

Earlier, Bernard needed an extra end to shade Marie-France Larouche of Quebec 8-7 and Mallett extended her out-of-the-gate streak by topping Larouche 7-6.

“I throw one soft out of my hand and come up short and away we go,” said Mallett with a shrug following her first defeat of the piece in a low-scoring match featuring four blank ends at the outset.

PLEASE SEE SCOTTIES P7

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5 Tuesday, February 24, 2009 EDITOR Larry Wood ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dave Komosky PHOTOGRAPHER Andrew Klaver PUBLISHED BY The Victoria Times Colonist

Host city

1. Brother, can you spare a dime?

By PATTI DAWN SWANSSON For The Heart Chart

The official population of the City of Victoria is 78,057 (2006 census), but it’s actually 192,576 if you include our homeless.

W

elcome to Paradise, kids.

Unless you have something against flowers blooming in winter, double-digit temperatures in February, palm trees, mountain/ocean views, year-round golf, etc., you’re going to like it here.

I mean, what’s not to like?

We’re convinced you’ll enjoy your time in this City of Gardens, and all we ask is that you please ignore the fact that we pour our raw sewage into the Pacific Ocean, and that you don’t step on any of the homeless people sleeping in downtown shop doorways.

For you first-time visitors, there are a few things you should know about Victoria.

To wit:

1. Housing madness

1. We’re old, old, old

1. Have a drink, or two Given that I know

If you see someone walking down the street with a set of golf clubs, she/he hasn’t lost her/his mind. We get the sticks out 365 days of the year, because we have the best climate in the country and snow is as rare as an eight-ender.

1. Oh say can you see . . .

If you’re here for the Scott Tournament of Hearts and are new to the city, here’s what you should know about this jewel on the island.

The cost of purchasing a house here is a rather pricey bit of business. The average price for a single-family dwelling in Greater Victoria last month was $526,148. And that’s down about $100,000 from last summer.

Victoria was incorporated as a city in 1862, roughly the same year Colleen Jones won her first Canadian women’s curling championship.

1. Green, green grass of home

The old girl herself, Queen Victoria, stands regal outside the B.C. Legislature

curlers are the best party people on the planet, be advised that there are more than two dozen bars/pubs in the downtown area. Included in that number is the renowned Big Bad John’s in the Strathcona Hotel. That’s where you folks from Saskatchewan will want to bend your elbows, because it’s a hillbilly bar.

1. Sewage flows everywhere It’s true, we pour our raw sewage into the Pacific Ocean, 129 million litres of the crap each year. The rest of our raw sewage flows in the Legislature.

1. Will that be one lump or two?

You might want to check out Afternoon Tea at the Empress Hotel, but make sure you bring your credit card. The tab is $47.50 until March 1, when it’s jacked up to $53.50.

You can see the United States from here. Honest. This is not a Sarah Palin “I can see Russia from my house” joke.

Peer across the Strait of Juan de Fuca at night and you’ll see the bright lights of Port Angeles in Washington. And, of course, there’s Mount Baker, an active volcano that stands majestically about 50 km east of Bellingham, Wash.

1. Songstress our top celeb Singer Nelly Furtado is our No. 1 celebrity, but I’m not sure why.

1. What’s that shaking?

We get earthquakes. The Big One has yet to hit us, but earthquake survival kits sell better than cold beer on a hot summer day anytime the earth shakes ever so slightly.

So there you have your Victoria 101 primer. Now party hardy.

(Editor’s Note: Patti Dawn Swansson is a former journalist and a refugee from frigid Winnipeg. She made her escape to Victoria in 1999 and she doesn’t miss the cold.

Where’s defence?

By DAVE KOMOSKY Heart Chart Associate Editor

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T

here was never a dull moment when Saskatchewan’s Stefanie Lawton and Rebecca Jean MacPhee of P.E.I. locked horns Monday morning at the Scott Tournament of Hearts.

Defence was out the window as the two teams rung up numbers faster than a gas pump at the service station.

When the smoke had cleared, Lawton had her first win of the tournament and a sheepish grin after outlasting the Islanders 12-11.

“After six ends we were saying, ‘I don’t think we’ve ever been involved in a high-scoring game like this’.” said Lawton, who stumbled out of the gate with three straight losses. “It sure wasn’t the normal Saskatchewan game. The good thing about that game is we were scoring points.”

The points came fast and furious. The two teams swapped four- and three-enders in a game that fea-

tured almost no defence. There were only three singles scored in the entire game, one of them coming on a steal by the Saskatoon team in the 10th end to pull out the win.

The offensive production tied the record for most points (combined teams, one game) at the Scott Tournament of Hearts at 23.

The record was set in Draw 6 of the 1988 Scotties in Fredericton when Quebec, skipped by Francine Poisson of Montreal, hammered Manitoba’s Marlene Cleutinx of Winnipeg 14-9.

MacPhee admitted it was not your regular game.

“There were lots of rocks in play and a few misses along the way,” said MacPhee, who skips but throws third rocks. “Both teams were getting their chances to set up for big ends and there were some big shots made for big ends.

“We never really had a great lead so we kept trying to score points.”

The Islanders had a chance to win with Robyn MacPhee’s final draw to the four-foot but the rock hung out and “just didn’t finish.”

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7 Tuesday, February 24, 2009

“There was no need to really get into anything, we had our opportunities and made the most of them,” she said.

“They made a really good shot with their last one and we just didn’t follow it up.”

Bernard said it was “the lowest scoring game I’ve played in for about 20 years”.

An all-winter bonspieler trained primarily on eight-end games, Bernard said she thinks her team is prepared for the 10-end gauntlet here.

“I think this is why we’ve been bloody training hard all year,” she said with a grin. “Mentally, we’re getting lots of sleep. Physically we’re all in good shape. I think it will pay off.

My trainer thinks so, too.”

At the other end of the scoring spectrum, Saskatchewan’s Lawton got untracked in the morning with a record-tying 12-11 decision (see page 6) over Prince Edward Island’s Rebecca Jean MacPhee. Each team posted a three and a four en route.

The Green Machine later won its second straight, 8-4 over Nova Scotia’s Nancy McConnery.

MacPhee and Larouche were 3-and-2

TODAY’S QUIZ QUESTION OF THE DAY: During the past 48 Canadian women’s curling championship renewals, five one-time competitors have skipped teams to the national title. Can you name them and their hometowns?

1. How about the years they won and where?

2. Now, a total of 16 other one-time Canadian women’s championship competitors have skipped British Columbia teams over the years.

Name the 10 that have skipped since 1970.

3. How about their hometowns?

4. And how about the six that skipped prior to 1971. Good job if you can!

5. How about their hometowns?

6. Name two Canadian senior women's cham-

4. Margaret Fuller, Lesley Cmolik, Marg Cooke, Joy Mitchell, Myrtle Fashoway, Donna Clark.

5. (Fuller) Nanimo, (Cmolik) Kelowna, (Cooke) Vancouver, (Mitchell) Kitimat, (Fashoway) Cranbrook, (Clark) Burnaby.

6. Ada Calles, Pat Sanders.

7. Maymar Gemmell.

8. Played lead for Joan Greenwood of Ontario in 1993.

9. Linda (Tweedie) Moore, Georgina (Hawkes) Wheatcroft, Jodie Sutton, Julie Sutton (Skinner), Jeanna (Richard) Schraeder.

10. Debbie Massullo, Melissa Soligo.

11. Four skips won the Scotties since 1981 with less than 10 wins.

12. Colleen Jones, 9 wins in 1982, Penny LaRocque, 9 wins in 1983, Alison Goring, 9 wins in 1990, Colleen Jones, 9 wins in 1999.

From Page 3

Hearts Trivia pion skips from British Columbia who also won Canadian women's championships.

7. Name one other curler who skipped a B.C. team in the Canadian Seniors but won the senior title playing for a team from another province.

8. She played what position for which skip from where in which year she won the seniors title?

9. Name five British Columbia junior champion skips who went on to win the Scotties. Alternate players excluded.

10. Name two other B.C. junior champion curlers who went on the win the Scotties.

11. Susan Seitz of Calgary was the first Canadian women’s champion skip required to win 10 games. Since her victory, how many skips have won the Canadian title with less than 10 wins?

12. Name them, the years they won the national title with less than 10 wins, and the number of wins required.

(Answers) QofD: Mabel DeWare, Moncton; Peggy Casselman, Winnipeg; Betty Duguid, Winnipeg; Dorenda Schoenhals (Bailey), Saskatoon; Emily Farnham, Saskatoon.

1. DeWare won in 1963 at Saint John; Casselman won in 1965 at Halifax; Duguid won in 1967 at Pointe Claire, Que.; Schoenhals won in 1970 at Calgary; Farnham won in 1974 at Victoria.

2. Sharon Bettesworth, Karin Kaese, Joan Dexter, Chris Stevenson, Lisa Walker, Diane Dalio, Jodi Busche, Sue Garvey, Shelley Macdonald, Toni Fister.

3. (Bettesworth) Kitimat, (Kaese) Nanaimo, (Dexter) New Westminster; (Stevenson) Victoria; (Walker) Richmond; (Dalio) Prince George; (Busche) Fort St. John; (Garvey) Kamloops, (Macdonald) Richmond; (Fister) Maple Ridge.

Scotties

headed into this morning’s round while four teams including Saskatchewan were 2-3.

Chief icemaker B.J. Gagnon, in explaining the difficulties of fashioning perfect playing conditions in humid, coastal locations, said St. John’s skip Heather Strong summed it up best in Monday’s Heart Chart.

“I’ve never played in a Scotties where there’s no snow on the ground, so I don’t think it’s an easy task to get great ice,” Strong opined.

“The trouble with ice,” said Gagnon, “is if you get something you don’t like you just can’t fix it in five minutes. It takes a draw or so.

“Never mind the frost creeping in, that doesn’t make any difference. It’s a visual thing. I remember Sandra Schmirler looking at frost on the ice in 1997 at Vancouver. She had to go out into it for a draw and she thought it was going to be heavier out there and threw the draw into the bumper. And she looked back at me and said, ‘I can’t believe that, it has to be heavier out there’.

“The draw weight doesn’t change at all just because you can see frost out there.

“Hey, you know the problems going in. It’s warm and its humid here. On the Prairies it’s cold and it’s dry. Actually, I think it’s too cold in here right now and we’re going to let it warm up a bit.”

Be sure to check page 14 for HeartStop Lounge information!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 8

Profiles: Nfld/Labrador HOME CLUB: RE-MAX CENTRE, ST. JOHN’S

FACTS

Heather Strong SKIP

AGE: 32 RESIDEN CE: St. J oh FAMILY: Two SPC n’s A cats, Bert and Ernie, an d Bernese mountain dog, Jersey EMPLOY ME Fox Foun NT: Terry dati Provincia on; NL lD SHE IS: S irector tubborn, competi tive calm(ish , ) LOVES C UR BECAUS LING E: Great way to c hannel competi tive energy and ha fun at th ve e same time.

Cathy Cunningham THIRD AGE: 49 RESIDENCE: St. John’s FAMILY: Married to Geoff, daughters Jennifer 20, Jessica 17.

EMPLOYMENT: CWT/Harvey’s Travel Ltd., regional manager THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE HER: Intense, determined, focused LOVES CURLING BECAUSE: I like competition and what Kruger does for our sport.

THE PROVINCE Population: 533,800 Area: 405,212 sq km Joined Confederation: 1949 Motto: “See ye first the Kingdom of God” Capital City: St John’s Languages Spoken: 98.6% English, 0.4% French, 0.7% other, 0.3% bilingual Principal Products: Fish, forestry products, iron ore NEWFOUNDLAND/LABRADOR AT THE SCOTTIES Last four years: 2008 — Heather Strong, St. John’s (7-5) 2007 — Heather Strong, St. John’s (5-6) 2006 — Heather Strong, St. John’s (7-5) 2005 — Heather Strong, St. John’s (1-10) Last championship — None.

Canadian titles — None World titles — None

Laura Strong SECOND NICKNAME: Lu AGE: 29 RESIDENCE: Mount Pearl PARTNER: Nope EMPLOYMENT: Co-ordinator for Adults with Developmental Disabilities, Visions Employment THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE HER: Driven, empathetic, funny.

LOVES CURLING BECAUSE: Just genuinely love the game! Great friendships, fans and sponsors.

DID YOU KNOW. . .

■ There are no snakes, skunks, deer, porcupines or groundhogs on the island of Newfoundland. Chipmunks were introduced to Newfoundland from Nova Scotia in 1962 and 1964.

■ Newfoundland is one of the largest islands in the world. It is not possible to see the whole island in just a few days and at least 10 days are needed for even a brief look around.

■ Between 1857 and 1949 Newfoundland issued its own postage stamps.

They are still valid for mail posted anywhere in Canada.

Peg Goss LEAD NICKNAME: Maggie Liz AGE: 49 RESIDENCE: Mt. Pearl FAMILY: Husband Glenn, son Benjamin 16 EMPLOYMENT: Scotiabank, manager personal banking THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE HER: Detailed, crafty, caring LOVES CURLING BECAUSE: It challenges me. I love the travel, new friendships, the Scotties and the fact that I had the opportunity to be a competitor.

9 Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Profiles: Nova Scotia HOME CLUB: DARTMOUTH CURLING CLUB

FACTS

Nancy McConnery

THE PROVINCE Population: 942,700 Area: 55,284 sq km Joined Confederation: 1867 Motto: “One defends and the other conquers” Capital City: Halifax Laguages Spoken: 93.2% English, 3.5% French, 1.8% other, 1.5% bilingual Principal Products: Milk, hogs, lobster, paper products, coal, gypsum NOVA SCOTIA AT THE SCOTTIES Last three years: 2008 — Mary-Anne Arsenault, Halifax (6-5) 2007 — Jill Mouzar, Halifax (3-8) 2006 — Colleen Jones, Halifax (8-5) Last championship — Colleen Jones, Halifax (2004 as Team Canada) Canadian titles — 4 (7 including Team

SKIP

AGE: 46 on RESIDEN Feb. 26 CE: Dartmouth FAMILY: Ma Peter, so rried to ns 17, Jamie Jason, 1 EMPLOY 6.

MENT: V P of admin . for Tran slogic Dis trib Services ution /m sage the asrapist MOTTO: Liv love, lau e, gh LOVES C UR BECAUS LING E: The strategy , co petition. m-

Jennifer Crouse THIRD NICKNAME: Jen AGE: 29 RESIDENCE: Timberlea FAMILY: Partner Jeff, cat Francie, puppy Sampson EMPLOYMENT: Regional marketing specialist – Atlantic Canada, Manulife Financial SHE IS: Silly, hyper, driven LOVES CURLING BECAUSE: It challenges me to do better, both in strategy and in ability.

Sheena Gilman SECOND AGE: 30 RESIDENCE: Dartmouth PARTNER: Long-term boyfriend, Tero (pronounced ‘taro’ like tarot cards) EMPLOYMENT: Fowler, Bauld and Mitchell, architecture SHE IS: Creative, quiet, independent LOVES CURLING BECAUSE: Everyone who plays it loves it.

Canada) World titles — 1 (Colleen Jones in 2001) DID YOU KNOW. . .

■ Nova Scotia has 59 automated lighthouses.

■ Some famous Nova Scotia expressions include: The early bird catches the worm; live and let live; raining cats and dogs.

Jill Thomas LEAD AGE: 33 RESIDENCE: Cole Harbour PARTNER: Long-term boyfriend, James McNeil EMPLOYMENT: Owner/operator Scotia Poultry Farm Ltd., egg producer SHE IS: Happy, friendly, confident LOVES CURLING BECAUSE: A team sport where in order for a team to be successful every player has to do her job.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 10

Curlers stick to superstitions when winning

The same socks, every day!

S

o you want to know what it’s like to play on a provincial champion in the Scotties?

Well, upon assurance of participation, each team will establish a set of routines, rules and guidelines that will be adhered to throughout the week. And the purpose of this is to contribute to the successes of the team.

Schedules are created based on a number of factors. Depending on the times of your games, they determine wake-up times, meal times, nap times, down times (which could include walks, sightseeing or shopping) and family/friend times. Specific snacks will fill the rooms. And flags, good-luck cards and faxes among other things may even clutter the walls of the hotel rooms.

Upon arrival at the championship site, things may start to formulate a little differently than originally planned. Once a team members view the hotel, meet their driver, tour the city and the arena, changes are made

Melissa SOLIGO to their schedules and more customs are established.

This is an ongoing and time-consuming process, so the sooner it is ratified, the better.

And before you know it, these routines soon become “superstitions”.

I remember my competing days, and be-

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lieving so strongly in our habits. If one practice was off, or one schedule wasn’t followed, there could be consequences to those that messed it up. I find it quite amusing that after talking to a number of former competitors that are at this event, many of the “superstitions” are actually shared with teams.

A few that I can remember and some that I have heard: n The hotel — the same two team members will share the same two-bedded room (again), they will sleep in the same bed (closer to the bathroom or not) and they will decide who showers first in the morning; some players will even go so far as to climb into the same side of the bed every night. n Dressing — have you heard of putting the same sock on first every time? And if you do it wrong, you have to take them both off and start again. It can happen. And if you are one of the winning teams, it is not unusual to wear the same shirt every game until you lose.

If you stand close enough to a player, you can probably figure out who these people are. n Driving to the arena — once a route is established, the same path must be followed to and from the hotel every game (this, of course, could change after a loss or a series of losses). n The vehicle — it is imperative that every player sit in the same seat in the van on the way to the games unless, of course, there is a loss and then time will be spent deciding whether or not to stick with the current seating plan or change it up a little; the team drivers also are asked to park the vehicle in the same spot every time. n Eating — some foods work and some don’t (especially if you have a life-threatening allergy to nuts); if you have a good meal, and you have a great performance, it the same meal can be eaten again and again and again, ad infinitum.

PLEASE SEE SOLIGO P11

11 Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Soligo

Wood

From Page 6

From Page 2

n The music — picking the theme song for your team takes a lot of thought and inspiration; it has to be perfect and it has to put you in the mood for game time. Possible choice of songs — and you decide what past championship era they may have come from: Girls Just Want To Have Fun, When The Tough Get Going, The Going Get Tough, Spirit In The Sky, Hot ’N Cold, Hooked On A Feeling, Play That Funky Music, I Am Canadian, I Am Woman. n New superstitions apply once teams reached the arena — team members enter the building in the same sequence; brooms are removed from the broom bag in the same order; practices are identical every time, with each player throwing in the same order. n Game routines — cleaning

the rock three times, every time; walking down the same side of the ice every time; highfiving the same player in the same order. n Game breaks — going to the bathroom in the same stall each time; practice times at night; matching rocks daily basis to ensure that no changes in rocks or ice have taken place.

In curling, there definitely are routines that are established. A team may be less obsessive than another in sticking to those routines, but regardless it would be a challenge for me to find a team without their own customs. If things are going good, the routines keep going and if the unthinkable happens, and too many games are lost, changes must be made!

Then again, some curlers don’t believe in superstitions . . . they just do things repetitively.

The next year, Marie-France was on hand for her first Scotties as an alternate for Janique Berthelot.

“I remember the first time I played against Connie Laliberte at the Scott,” she was recalling. “I played in the one game in 2000 and it was against Connie. And I think the first five ends I just watched her. I was mesmerized. I was so impressed to play against her. I may have been intimidated then. Maybe I was afraid.”

She skipped the Quebec entry at the Hearts the next time around, won seven games and lost the Page Three-Four playoff. In 2004 she skipped the Scotties runnerup.

“If there was fear back then it was playing in front of the big crowd,” she recalled. “And maybe knowing that all the teams we were playing wanted to be here as much as we did. I started that first year 1-and-4. Then we won six in a row. So after that my fear was behind me.

“But now I think we’re one of the top teams at the Scotties. Now I’m OK with that. I have no fear now because we’ve played a lot of top teams in ’spiels. There’s no pressure because I know the good teams know they have to play well against us. It’s because in Quebec we are always the favourites and we’re used to that. After 2005, there was too much of that kind of pressure. And now I don’t feel that pressure any more.”

When she records her next Scotties win, surely at the Save-On any time now, Larouche will move beyond Agnes

Marie-France Larouche has matured.

Charette as Quebec’s top winner at the national women’s championship.

“The difference is we are more consistent and we’re more positive. We believe.

“My goal is just to be here and that attitude is best for us.

“We have a chance to win this — if I didn’t think so I wouldn’t be here — but we will see at the end.”

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Tuesday, February 24, 2009 12

ROAD TO THE SCOTTIES TOURNAMENT OF HEARTS

Lawton celebrates emotional victory S tefanie Lawton of Saskatoon kept it all together until the finish of the provincial Scotties at Swift Current.

She held her emotions in check while guiding her Saskatoon team through to a 9-6 victory over Humboldt's Rene Miettinen.

Afterward, Lawton tearfully dedicated the win to her mother, Linda Miller of Shellbrook, who has been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour and is undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

“This one means so much,” Lawton told Murray McCormick of the Regina LeaderPost. “With my mom being so sick right now and having all of that . . . This one means more than anything. She is the reason why I'm curling. She helped me get started.”

Still, Miller was in the curling club when Lawton beat Kronau's Amber Holland 7-3 in the A-B collision to produce a finalist and was there again for the final watching daughters Lawton and vice-skip Marliese Kasner along with second Sherri Singler and lead Lana Vey. “I was so proud to have my mother here,”

SASKATCHEWAN (Combined 4 previous appearances) said Lawton, who is coached by her father Bob Miller. “We’re a very tight family and we really support each other through everything.”

“You become friends with them and it affects you as well,” said Vey, who won the 2007 Saskatchewan women’s title as a third for Regina’s Jan Betker. “It was tough week for everyone to get through. It was nice that we could win it and have (Linda) here.”

Lawton’s only previous Scotties appearance culminated in a 7-5 record and a fourth-place finish at St. John’s in 2005. But this time she

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played just five games to emerge as Saskatchewan’s unbeaten champion.

Miettinen, seeded seventh in the 12-team triple knockout affair, played 10 and reached the final with a 6-5 victory over the Regina's Jolene McIvor in the battle of C qualifiers and a 7-6 win over Holland in the semi-final when the Humboldt skip scored a first-end three but had to draw the button in the 10th end looking at a pair of offending stones.

Lawton cracked a three in the second end of the final when Miettinen twice missed runback attempts. But the Humboldt team scrapped back into it with a tying three in the sixth when Lawton wrecked on a guard. The third threeender of the match, scored by Lawton in the eighth, decided the issue.

Lawton opened the tournament with three A qualifying wins — 6-4 over Ros Stewart of Saskatoon, 11-7 over former champion Sherry Anderson of Delisle and 10-2 over Miettinen.

Holland qualified from B with an 8-5 victory over defending champion Michelle Englot of Regina after losing 9-4 to Miettinen in

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Saskatoonʼs Stefanie Lawton the A semis. Miettinen dumped Anderson 8-7 and McIvor stopped Englot 8-7 in C qualifiers.

Miettinen finished 7-3, McIvor was 5-3, Holland and Anderson 4-3. Englot was 3-3 while Stewart and Chantelle Eberle of Regina were 2-3, former champion Cathy Trowell of Regina was 1-3 and former champion Tracy Streifel of Saskatoon, Jennifer Duczek of Yorkton and Sherrilee Orsted of Estevan each drew blanks in three starts.

13 Tuesday, February 24, 2009

ROAD TO THE SCOTTIES TOURNAMENT OF HEARTS

Champs ranked high to defend their title F ew have forgotten the last-rock theft that Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones perpetrated in the 2008 Scotties championship final against Alberta’s Shannon Kleibrink of Calgary.

Jones was in the process of staging a monstrous comeback while Kleibrink had rolled through the piece with 11 wins in 12 starts. And it looked like Kleibrink would make it 12 wins in final end until Jones buried her last rock and Kleibrink, trying for the raisesplit, narrowly missed by jamming and leaving Manitoba’s Jones with the winning point, a date at the Ford Worlds and an automatic return to the Scotties this year as Team Canada.

Manitoba was 3-4 after 11 draws at Regina before they began to turn up the heat. And the long sudden-death road back included (a) three in the 10th end for an 8-7 squeaker over Heather Strong of Newf/Lab, (b) a theft of a

CANADA (Combined 20 previous appearances) deuce in the eighth which proved the difference in a 7-5 win over Saskatchewan’s Michelle Englot; (c) an 8-4 doubling of B.C.’s Allison MacInnes of Kamloops; (d) a 9-4 whipping of defending champion Kelly Scott of Kelowna; (e) three stole ends and a 6-3 conquest of Strong in a tiebreaker; (f) a stolen deuce in the sixth to grab control en route to a 6-5 win over Marie-France Larouche of Quebec in the Page Three-Four tussle; (g) an extra-end theft for a 9-8 win

over Ontario’s Sherry Middaugh in the semi-final; (h) the 10th-end theft for the 6-4 duke against Kleibrink in the final.

So Jones, third Cathy OvertonClapham, second Jill Officer and lead Dawn Askin are back on a freebie this time and ranking high among the favourites to cadge it all again.

This will be Jones’ sixth Scotties in eight seasons and the 10th kick at the marbles for Overton-Clapham, a threetime champion already. Officer is in for the fifth time and Askin for the third.

The team warmed up for the Scotties with various and sundry bonspiels, a made-for-TV skins game and the Continental Cup back in December at Camrose.

Of course, they prevailed at the Ford Worlds last March in Vernon with a performance many rate as a comingof-age endeavour for this team.

Jennifer Jones (left) is playing in her sixth Scotties.

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Tuesday, February 24, 2009 14

LOUNGE 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 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

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

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

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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 Tuesday, February 24, 2009

STANDINGS W Team Canada (Jones) 5 Alberta (Bernard) 4 B.C. (Mallett) 4 PEI (MacPhee) 3 Quebec (Larouche) 3 Manitoba (Spencer) 2 N.B. (Kelly) 2 Ontario (McCarville) 2 Saskatchewan (Lawton) 2 Newf/Lab (Strong) 1 N.S. (McConnery) 1 Y/NWT (Galusha) 1

L 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4

LINESCORES

Ontario (McCarville) 100 010 100 0 — 3 N.B. (Kelly) 010 101 010 1 — 5 S P % S P % ONT. 80 2359 81 N.B. 80 282 88 NL (Strong) 010 401 002 00 — 8 Y/NWT (Galusha) 202 010 010 21 — 9 S P % S P % NL 88 304 86 Y/NWT 88 276 78 021 020 200 0 — 7 000 102 011 1 — 6 % S P % 88 QUE. 80 251 78

Sask. (Lawton) 203 040 101 1 — P.E.I. (MacPhee) 040 202 030 0 — S P % S P SASK. 80 272 85 P.E.I. 80 243

TODAY

Newfoundland/Labradorʼs Cathy Cunningham takes a close look.

MONDAY DRAW 6 8:30 a.m.

B.C. (Mallett) Quebec (Larouche) S P B.C. 78 273

DRAW SCHEDULE

12 11 % 76

N.B. (Kelly) Team Canada (Jones) S P N.B. 80 247

001 001 001 0 — 3 100 010 100 2 — 5 % S P % 77 CAN. 80 270 84

Alberta (Bernard) 000 002 001 1 — 4 B.C. (Mallett) 000 020 100 0 — 3 S P % S P % ALTA. 80 291 91 B.C. 80 293 92

P.E.I. (MacPhee) 010 113 020 x — 8 N.S. (McConnery) 101 000 301 x — 6 S P % S P % P.E.I. 79 241 76 N.S. 79 216 68

N.S. (McConnery) 001 010 020 x — 4 Sask. (Lawton) 200 301 101 x — 8 S P % S P % N.S. 72 235 82 SASK. 72 248 86

Quebec (Larouche) Alberta (Bernard) S P QUE. 87 261

DRAW 8 6:30 p.m.

002 001 211 0 — 7 220 120 000 1 — 8 % S P % 77 MAN. 80 240 75

Team Canada (Jones) Ontario (McCarville) S P CAN. 80 248

101 010 101 1 — 6 020 200 010 0 — 5 % S P % 78 ONT. 80 253 79

Manitoba (Spencer) NL (Strong) S P MAN. 80 269

010 020 001 4 — 8 001 100 010 0 — 3 % S P % 84 NL 79 230 73

SHOOTING PERCENTAGES (CUMULATIVE)

DRAW 7 1 p.m.

Y/NWT (Galusha) Manitoba (Spencer) S P Y/NWT 80 246

000 203 010 10 — 7 011 010 202 01 — 8 % S P % 75 ALTA. 88 285 81

Skip Third Second Lead TEAM

Can.

B.C.

Alta.

Sask.

Man.

Ont.

Que.

N.B.

PEI

N.S.

80 86 79 79 81

79 83 81 81 81

78 84 83 85 82

78 79 86 89 83

70 78 79 87 78

74 80 79 84 79

81 77 76 87 80

83 74 78 83 79

72 80 73 85 78

70 74 74 78 74

NL Y/NWT 77 84 79 87 82

74 75 79 75 76

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. D — Alta. vs. Sask.

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

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

A — N.S. vs. NL B — Alta. vs. Ont. C — Man. Vs. Sask.

D — Can. 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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