Scotties Tournament of Hearts - Kamloops 2023

Einarson chasing Scotties history

MARTY HASTINGS STAFF REPORTER sports@kamloopsthisweek.com

Kerri Einarson and her Team Canada rink are within reach of history at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Colleen Jones of Nova Scotia is the only team that can lay claim to winning four consecutive Canadian women’s championship titles (2001 to 2004), but Einarson and her rink from Gimli, Man., are one gold medal shy of tying the record.

“That would be an absolute honour if we could do that,”

Einarson told KTW. “We’re definitely not going to put pressure on ourselves. We know it’s not easy and we will have a target on our backs. We have for the last three years.”

Team Einarson, which includes third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard and lead Briane Harris, is the No. 1-ranked women’s curling team in the world, thanks in part to an incredible run at Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling events.

The rink has reached the final in each of its last six Grand Slam appearances, winning twice.

“We get on a roll and we just get that feeling, knowing the ice and getting comfortable with it,” Einarson said. “Plus, we just go out there and play relaxed and have some fun.”

Einarson said rest and relaxation in between draws will be

important at the 18-team Scotties.

“We have a dart board, but it’s going to be tough to travel with those items,” Einarson said with a laugh. “We play board games. We play Marbles.

“It’s an extremely tough field and adding three Wild Card spots into that, it’s a long, gruelling week.”

The team cut back its playing schedule for the 2022-2023 campaign.

“We went so hard for the last four years,” she said. “We decided to dial it back a little bit and play more of the Grand Slam events and also the Pan Continental. We’ve had a really successful season, reaching finals in all of the Grand Slams and winning bronze in the Pan Continental.”

Gold at the world championship has eluded Einarson, who has her sights set on reaching the 2023 LGT World Women’s Curling Championship, which is being held from March 18 to March 26 in Sandviken, Sweden. The winner of this year’s Scotties in Kamloops will be off to Scandanavia.

“When you get there and you get that feeling, you want to get back,” Einarson said. “We won bronze [at the 2022 Women’s World Curling Championship in Prince George] and we definitely want to get back there soon and, hopefully, bring home gold for Canada.”

Team Canada will open its tournament on Friday. Feb. 17, against skip Laurie St-Georges and Team Quebec, a 6 p.m. start in Draw 1 action at Sandman Centre.

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CURLING CANADA/ MICHAEL BURNS PHOTO

Kerri Einarson, who is opting to leave the team dart board at home, will have a target on her back at the 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The three-time defending Scotties champion has reached six straight Grand Slam finals.

Grandy’s move to B.C.

MARTY HASTINGS STAFF REPORTER sports@kamloopsthisweek.com

Clancy Grandy moved across the country to chase her goal of reaching the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

The plan worked out in a hurry — and foiled Team Brown’s aspirations to compete on home ice at the women’s national curling championship.

Team Grandy, the Vancouver Curling Club rink that includes third Kayla MacMillan, second Lindsay Dubue and lead Sarah Loken, edged Brown’s Kamloops Curling Club team 10-9 in the Scotties B.C. Women’s Curling Championship final in January in Chilliwack, scor-

ing one in the 11th end to secure the provincial title.

“They’re a very strong team,” said Grandy, who avenged a pair of defeats to Brown earlier in the provincial championship.

“We knew it was going to be tough. I know they would have been a very great representative for B.C., but we’re thrilled to have the opportunity and we feel we deserve it.”

Grandy did get a taste of the Scotties in 2021, when she was an alternate for the Tracy Fleury rink (a Wild Card team skipped at the tournament by Chelsea Carey) and saw action in one end at the tournament, which was played behind closed doors in Calgary amid the pandemic.

The 2023 event will mark

her first significant experience at the national championship.

“I have goosebumps thinking about that moment,” Grandy said.

“It’s always been a big goal of mine and it’s always been a big goal of all of the girls on the team.

“It will be really special to get to share that first experience all together. For all four of us, we’re in the same situation.”

MacMillan skipped the team last season and the rink, which then included third Jody Maskiewich, suffered an 8-6 defeat to Kelowna-based Mary-Anne Arsenault in the 2022 B.C. Scotties final.

“To get this moment was a big goal for our season,” Grandy said.

Skip Clancy Grandy (left), second Lindsay Dubue, third Kayla MacMillan and lead Sarah Loken will represent B.C. at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts this month in Kamloops.

sparks trip to Scotties

Grandy, 32, is from Ontario and curled there in the women’s ranks until 2022. MacMillan, also from Ontario, attends UBC and has a relationship with Grandy, formed in part through coaching together.

“I knew a few of the girls,” Grandy said. “They had actually reached out to me a while back, as well as the coach. She [MacMillan] had the idea to play together and after talking to the rest of the group, I needed to do whatever I could to get on board and be able to play on this team.”

Grandy sought work in B.C. and found it with one of her new team’s sponsors, Langley-based Rebound Sport and Spine.

“When we put the team

together, this was a fouryear plan,” Grandy said. “I will definitely be in B.C for a minimum of four years. After this Olympic cycle, we’ll see where we’re at as a team and go from there.”

Team Brown third Erin Pincott spoke to KTW following the defeat to Grandy in the B.C. final.

“It probably doesn’t come around again in my curling career, so that’s probably the part that stings the most right now and will sting over the next however many weeks leading up to the Scotties,” Pincott said of the rare chance to play in the national championship in one’s hometown.

“I’m sure I’ll go watch. Right now, I don’t want to,

but I know I will. I’ve got some friends from across the country that will be playing, so I’ll be supporting them — and Kamloops always shows up for good tournaments.”

Added Grandy: “I’m sure it would be extremely tough [to watch]. They put up a really big fight.”

Team B.C. will square off against Prince Edward Island in Draw 1 action on Friday, Feb. 17, a 6 p.m. start at Sandman Centre.

“It’s huge,” Grandy said, noting her team is excited to play in front of a national TV audience. “Curling in Canada, specifically the Scotties and the Brier, is kind of the pinnacle of our sport. It’s a really special moment for all of us.”

MICHAEL BURNS/CURLING CANADA

Clancy Grandy and Team B.C. will play Prince Edward Island on Friday at Sandman Centre.

SCOTTIES TOURNAMENT OF HEARTS

OFFICIAL DRAW

Get acquainted with the

The national women’s curling championship will take place at Sandman Centre in Kamloops from Feb. 17 to Feb. 26.

Team Canada, represented by the Kerri Einarson rink of Gimli, Man., will begin its pursuit of a recordtying fourth consecutive Scotties Tournament of Hearts title against Quebec’s Team Laurie St-Georges on Feb. 17 to open the tournament.

teams in each pool advance to the playoffs. The second- and thirdranked teams in each pool cross over to play in Page playoff qualifier games on Friday, Feb. 24, at 1 p.m.

The winners advance to play the winners of Pool A and Pool B on Friday, Feb. 24, at 6 p.m. The winners of those games go to the Page first versus second game, while the losers will compete in the Page third versus fourth game.

Tuesday, February21

Wednesday, February22

108:30a.m.WC2vsNBBCvsNUMBvsNTSKvsWC1

111:30p.m.CAvsSKNBvsWC3ABvsPEYTvsMB

126:30p.m.NTvsNOQCvsWC1WC2vsNLNUvsNS

138:30a.m.QCvsPEWC2vsMBSKvsNUWC3vsON

141:30p.m.NBvsNLABvsNSNOvsYTWC1vsBC

156:30p.m.NUvsWC1NLvsNOQCvsBCNTvsWC2

Thursday, February23168:30a.m.YTvsWC3PEvsSKNBvsONCAvsAB

171:30p.m.ONvsWC2YTvsNTNLvsWC3MBvsNB

186:30p.m.BCvsABNUvsCAPEvsWC1NSvsQC

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The event will feature 18 teams — Team Canada, 14 provincial/territorial champions and three wild card teams — split into two pools of nine, seeded based on their standing in the Canadian Team Ranking System as of Jan. 30.

Friday, February24

PO-11:00p.m.#2vs#3-TBD

PO-26:00p.m.PoolWinnervs#2/#3Winner-TBD

Team Kaitlyn Lawes (Winnipeg), Team Casey Scheidegger (Lethbridge, Alta.) and Team Meghan Walter (East St. Paul, Man.) nailed down the wild card berths.

Teams will play a complete eight-game round-robin within their pools. From there, the top three

The standard Page playoffs commence with the winner of the Page first versus second game on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 6 p.m., advancing directly to the final and the loser playing the winner of the Page third versus fourth game (scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday) in the semifinal.

The semifinal (Sunday, Feb. 26, at noon) winner will take on the winner of the Page first versus second game in the Scotties title tilt at 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Tickets are available online at curling.ca/tickets, in person at the Sandman Centre box office or by

phone at 250-828-3339.

The winner will represent Canada at the 2023 LGT World Women’s Curling Championship, which is being held from March 18 to March 26 in Sandviken, Sweden.

THE SCOTTIES FIELD

(Teams are listed according to overall seeding, with players listed in order of skip (player calling the shots), vice-skip (player holding the broom for the skip), second, lead, alternate, coach).

POOL A

• 1. Team Canada: Kerri Einarson (Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard, Briane Harris, Reid Carruthers; Gimli, Man.)

• 4. Wild Card 1: Kaitlyn Lawes (Laura Walker, Jocelyn Peterman, Kristin MacCuish, Lisa Weagle; Winnipeg)

• 5. British Columbia: Clancy Grandy (Kayla MacMillan, Lindsay Dubue, Sarah Loken, Katie Witt; Vancouver)

tournament draw, field

• 8. Nova Scotia: Christina Black (Karlee Everist [throws second stones], Jenn Baxter [throws third stones], Shelley Barker, Carole MacLean, Stuart MacLean; Halifax)

• 9. Alberta: Kayla Skrlik (Geri-Lynn Ramsay [throws second stones], Brittany Tran [throws third stones], Ashton Skrlik, Crystal Webster, Shannon Kleibrink; Calgary)

• 12. Prince Edward Island: Marie Christianson [throws third stones] (Suzanne Birt [throws fourth stones], Michelle Shea, Meaghan Hughes, Sinead Dolan, Danny Christianson; Cornwall)

• 13. Saskatchewan, Robyn Silvernagle (Kelly Schafer, Sherry Just,

Kara Thevenot; North Battleford)

• 16. Quebec: Laurie St-Georges (Alanna Routledge [throws second stones], Emily Riley [throws third stones], Kelly Middaugh, Émilie Desjardins, Michel St-Georges; Glenmore & Laval-sur-le-Lac, Que.)

• 17. Nunavut: Brigitte MacPhail (Sadie Pinksen, Kaitlin MacDonald, Alison Taylor, Donalda Mattie; Iqaluit)

POOL B

• 2. Ontario: Tracy Fleury [throws third stones] (Rachel Homan [throws fourth stones], Emma Miskew, Sarah Wilkes, Kira Brunton, Ryan Fry; Ottawa)

• 3. Manitoba:

Jennifer Jones

(Mackenzie Zacharias [throws second stones], Karlee Burgess [throws third stones], Lauren Lenentine, Emily Zacharias, Glenn Howard, Winnipeg/ Altona)

• 6. Wild Card 2: Casey Scheidegger (Kate Cameron, Jessie Haughian, Taylor McDonald, Joan McCusker; Lethbridge, Alta.)

• 7. Wild Card 3: Meghan Walter (Abby Ackland, Sara Oliver, Mackenzie Elias, Howard Restall; East St. Paul, Man.)

• 10: New Brunswick: Andrea Kelly (Sylvie Quillian, Jillian Brothers, Katie Forward, Daryell Nowlan; Fredericton)

• 11. Northwest

Territories: Kerry Galusha [throws lead stones] (Jo-Ann Rizzo [throws fourth stones], Sarah Koltun, Margot Flemming, Megan Koehler, Shona Barbour; Yellowknife)

• 14: Northern Ontario: Krista McCarville (Sarah Potts [throws lead stones], Kendra Lilly [throws third stones], Ashley Sippala [throws second stones], Rick Lang; Thunder Bay, Ont.)

• 15. Newfoundland and Labrador: Stacie Curtis (Erica Curtis, Julie Hynes, Camille Burt, Eugene Trickett; St. John’s)

• 18: Yukon: Hailey Birnie (Chelsea Jarvis, Kerry Campbell, Kim Tuor, Jenna Duncan; Whitehorse)

The 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Kamloops will mark Jennifer Jones’ 17th appearance at the national women’s curling championship.

MICHAEL BURNS/CURLING CANADA

BROWN RINK PLAYED HEARTS OUT, FELL ONE WIN SHORT

in the A Event final.

Team Brown found itself in the throes of dumbfounding pebbled-ice desolation on Jan. 15 in Chilliwack, reeling from an extra-end setback that dynamited its aspirations to compete this month at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the national women’s curling championship.

“My heart breaks for them,” Brown coach Jim Cotter told KTW. “It breaks my heart for the city of Kamloops. They left it all out there. They played their hearts out. I couldn’t be more proud of them for that.”

Team Grandy of Vancouver Curling Club scored one in the 11th end to prevail 10-9 over Brown in the Scotties B.C. Women’s Curling Championship final and punch its ticket to nationals.

“The sun still came up, so that was good,” Brown third Erin

Pincott told KTW with a laugh the morning after the loss, chuckling at her own gallows humour. “The disappointment is pretty raw. I don’t actually fully know yet if it has sunk in. It will be a bit sad when the Scotties are going on here and we’re not a part of them.”

Skip Clancy Grandy, third Kayla MacMillan, second Lindsay Dubue and lead Sarah Loken surrendered five points in the third end, but recovered from the 5-3 deficit to avenge a pair of defeats to Brown earlier in the event — 12-8 in the 1 vs. 2 game and 10-8

Second Dezaray Hawes and lead Samantha Fisher round out the Kamloops Curling Club quartet.

“A couple missed, key shots here and there,” said Brown, noting her appreciation for fans and sponsors. “We definitely had our opportunities and, at times, we didn’t capitalize when we needed to. That was really the difference, some opportunities we’d like back, for sure.”

Cotter, a 10-time Brier veteran, took over coaching duties for Team Brown in time for the 20222023 campaign and watched the rink roll through the B.C. championship tournament, posting a 4-0 record en route to the final.

“They were, in my opinion, the best team that week,” said Cotter, a Kamloops product who lives in Vernon. “It’s tough to beat a really good team three times.

“One thing about coaching is I’m still competing. You under-

stand how they feel. I felt terrible for them because they played really, really well and could have easily pulled that game out and won it.”

The B.C. Men’s Curling Championship ran concurrently with the Scotties at the Chilliwack Curling Club.

Cotter was on double duty, coaching Team Brown and skipping his own rink, which includes third Grant Olsen of Kamloops.

Team Cotter was ousted in the semifinal round by 2022 B.C. champion Team Pierce, which includes second Jared Kolomaya, a Kamloopsian who is married to Fisher, the Brown rink’s second.

“It’s funny,” Kolomaya said. “Sam made the comment that misery loves company.”

Team Gauthier scored three in the ninth end and held on to scuttle Pierce 8-5 in the men’s provincial final, dashing Kolomaya’s hopes for back-to-back Brier appearances.

“It was a sad drive home, but we lean on each other pretty hard in times like these,” Kolomaya said. “You just have to move on to the next one.

“It’s the joy of sports. Sometimes, it’s great. Sometimes, it’s not great. That’s why we keep coming back.”

Consequential defeat can stick with athletes forever, moments of misery that fade, but never quite lose their sting.

This one hurts — and the 2023 Scotties will always be the one that got away.

But the sun did show up, as Pincott pointed out, and so did the army of Brown-rink backers who love their team rain or shine.

“It’s tough for the girls,” Kolomaya said. “They were really looking forward to the hometown Scotties. They would have been the toast of the town, those girls, for sure, but it’s just unfortunate. “Sometimes, they just don’t go your way.”

MARTY HASTINGS STAFF REPORTER sports@kamloopsthisweek.com

CORRYN BROWN

Scotties adds to Kamloops curling hosting prowess

Kamloops will soon host the 42nd Scotties Tournament of Hearts, featuring top curling talent from across Canada.

The event, which will be held from Feb. 17 to Feb. 26, is the last piece of the puzzle for Kamloops.

“We’ve done the world championships, the Brier — the Canada Cup, I think we had here five times. This is our last national event to make it a complete package,” said Linda Bolton, who is serving as the tournament’s vicechair for volunteers and special events.

Kamloops has twice hosted the Brier, the men’s equivalent competition, once in 1996 and again in 2014.

The Scotties, much like other large tournaments, will help put Kamloops on the map, encouraging people to later return to the

city as tourists or for business.

“The cities always want to put their best foot forward and show off what they have to offer,” she

said. “We have a city that offers so much. We’re a four-season capital.”

Initially, volunteer numbers

were low and Curling Canada was concerned, Bolton said. But she knew that Kamloops’ volunteers would come through. And they did.

Bolton said the roster currently includes 319 volunteers, as well as 20 on the waitlist, which she said is necessary to ensure every position is covered once the tournament begins.

Volunteers will have a range of duties, including watching the doors, checking in on the athletes, checking accreditations, working at the tournament’s entertainment venue, the Patch, and organizing teams for autograph sessions.

Now, with a few days to go before the tournament begins, Bolton is busy working on the fine details, like food packages and hotels.

“Everything has to line up now,” she said.

Bolton has been to more than 20 iterations of the Scotties and

although she loves curling, she won’t have much time to take it all in.

“I’m used to not watching a lot of curling, but of course, once it gets down to the finals, you want to peek and see what’s going on,” she said.

Bolton said she’s looking forward to the characters who tend to appear in curling audiences, cheering for their provinces, and for people to encounter the tournament champions in town and around Sandman Centre.

Upon hosting the 2023 Scotties, Kamloops will be just the fifth city that has hosted all four major Season of Champions events — the Tim Hortons Brier, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the World Men’s Championship and the World Women’s Championship. The others are Winnipeg, Brandon, Man., Saint John, N.B., and Lethbridge, Alta.

LET'S ROCK THE HOUSE!

Scotties Participants & Spectators!

Linda Bolton is vice-chair for volunteers and special events at the 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. She is pictured outside the Kamloops Curling Centre.

DAVE EAGLES/KTW

SEAN BRADY STAFF REPORTER sbrady@kamloopsthisweek.com

Volunteers and construction crews are hard at work preparing the Sandman Centre for the 42nd annual Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Trucks from Curling Canada arrived on the weekend and were unloaded by a team of volunteers led by Brian Fisher, who is overseeing logistics for the setup of the tournament.

“We do have quite a number of volunteers who are going to be working with the ice crew, and a volunteer construction crew, as well,” Fisher said.

For Curling Canada, an ice crew led by Mike Merklinger will oversee the preparation of the ice surface, with help from some 20 volunteers.

“They use the existing ice, but turn it into curling ice, so to speak,” Fisher said.

The prep will conclude

O N ’ T M I SS

H E S C OT T I E S

U R N A M E N T

F H E A R TS .

before Friday, Feb. 13, when teams begin practising on the finished ice surface.

Take bus for free during Scotties tournament Work well underway at Sandman Centre

Construction crews will oversee the installation of scoreboards and carpeting and a scaffolding team will build the area for the TSN booth and make the arena broadcastready.

“I’m hoping we don’t have too many challenges,” Fisher said, pointing to the expertise of the ice crew.

“The ice crews have done

this a number of times and they do it a number of times per year. They’ve got it down to a pretty good science.”

Other considerations for Fisher include accessibility and washroom access, which was something that needed to be addressed for the Kamloops Curling Club, he said.

“There’s been a few challenges, but I think we’re in a good spot and everything seems to be going well at this point in time,” Fisher said.

Free public transit will be offered to Scotties Tournament of Hearts same-day ticket holders, accredited staff and volunteers registered for the tournament, according to BC Transit and the City of Kamloops. The tournament will run from Feb. 17 to Feb. 26 at Sandman Centre.

Eventgoers must show a copy of their ticket or an accreditation badge to the driver when boarding the bus.