Harvey feels she’s young at Hearts

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This article was published 04/02/2009 (6398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEEPAWA — WHEN three-time Manitoba women’s curling champion Janet Harvey says she wants to be 22 again, she’s not just any 41-year-old having a bout of wishful thinking or a whimsical moment.

Harvey, the wily, fiery skip from Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club, WAS only 22 when she won her first provincial title, and it was right here in 1990 in Neepawa when she, Jennifer Ryan, Janine Sigurdson and Kim Overton did the trick.

Nineteen years and two other provincial titles (1997, 2006) later, but with no national championship yet, Harvey is seeded No. 3 headed into today’s start of the 2009 Scotties provincial Tournament of Hearts at Yellowhead Arena.

Ahead of her are Barb Spencer of Fort Rouge at No. 1 (2003 title as a skip) and No. 2 Kristy Jenion, who has never been able to win the province. The rink emerging from the 16-team event Sunday will go to the nationals in Victoria, B.C., Feb. 21-March 1.

Harvey takes on Springfield’s Karen Rosser in today’s 12:15 p.m. draw to begin the team’s quest. There are four draws daily, Wednesday through Friday.

On Saturday night, the first-place teams in each pool play one another, with the second-place teams doing the same. The winner of the 1 vs. 1 game advances directly to Sunday’s final, and the 1 vs. 1 loser plays the 2 vs. 2 winner in a semifinal.

The victor in that 9:30 a.m. Sunday semifinal goes to the 2 p.m. final Sunday afternoon. It’s the kind of intensity that Harvey cherishes.

“When you get out here, yeah, you do,” she said. “Leading up to it, definitely it runs through your veins. Maybe you don’t care about practising or maybe playing as much throughout the year.

“Or it’s not life-or-death or do-or-die, ‘Oh my God, I have to win this game or this bonspiel or whatever.’ But this is a different thing. This is the carrot that everybody wants.

“For me personally, yeah, I get out here and I think I’m 22 again, so hopefully I play like it.”

But whoever emerges from Manitoba will have a well-known, familiar adversary lying in wait in Victoria in the form of defending world champion Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg’s St. Vital Curling Club.

Jones, a two-time Canadian champ and four-time Manitoba titleholder, already has an automatic berth in Victoria as Team Canada. She’ll be leading a tough field that includes Alberta’s Cheryl Bernard and Saskatchewan’s Stefanie Lawton.

Spencer said she and her foursome have been playing Jones and most other top teams all season long on the women’s cashspiel circuit.

“If we get to the (national) Scott, it’s not going to be new to us to play her or any of those teams,” Spencer said. “Basically, we’ve played a lot of spiels this year outside of our province and we’ve qualified in everything.

“So we feel that if we get there, then we have just as good a chance as anybody else.”

chris.cariou@freepress.mb.ca

Here’s who’s rocking the house in Neepawa this week

Seeding and rink personnel (skip, club, third through lead) for the 2009 Scotties provincial

Tournament of Hearts at Neepawa’s Yellowhead Arena today through Sunday:

1. Barb Spencer, Fort Rouge (Darcy Robertson, Brette Richards, Barb Enright)

2. Kristy Jenion, Fort Rouge (Karen Klein, Theresa Cannon, Jillian Sandison)

3. Janet Harvey, Assiniboine Memorial (Cherie-Ann Loder, Kristin Loder, Carey Kirby)

4. Chelsea Carey, Morden (Kari White, Kristen Foster, Lindsay Titheridge)

5. Kim Link, East St. Paul (Colleen Kigallen, Pam Kolton, Renee Fletcher)

6. Karen Porritt, Fort Rouge (Janice Blair, Susan Baleja, Alison Harvey)

7. Maureen Bonar, Wheat City CC (Nancy Smith, Rhonda Ritchie, Dana Allerton)

8. Holly Scott, Fort Rouge (Tara Scott, Lisa DeRiviere, Jenna Scott)

Other entries:

Charlene Norquay, Burntwood CC (Tami Bodnaryk, Lynn Lambert, Gail Kearney)

Linda Stewart, Bowsman (Janice Sandison, Tammy Schoenrath, Jodi Proctor)

Lisa Blixhavn, Brandon CC (Jaimie Campbell, Lana Hunter, Tanya Enns)

Terry Ursel, Plumas (Sandra Pottinger, Jennifer Meloney, Brenda Walker)

Chris Scalena, La Salle (Lori Pellisier, Deb McCreanor, Nicki McKim)

Karen Rosser, Springfield (Cheryl Reed, Samantha Owen, Lindsay Edie)

Angela Wickman, Rossmere (Vanessa Foster, Heather Benci, Roxie Trembath)

Tina Kozak, Brandon CC (Korney Teale, Pam Robins, Krystal Stewart)