Some of curling’s finest left in limbo

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This article was published 08/01/2021 (2043 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Some details of the Calgary curling bubble are carved in stone while others are about as clear as mud, leaving two of Manitoba’s finest teams to wait and wonder if they’ll be summoned to the unprecedented event.

Actually, the Tracy Fleury team from East St. Paul and Mike McEwen’s foursome from West St. Paul aren’t just held in high regard close to home but also in Canada and on the world stage. Yet, their participation in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and Brier, respectively, has yet to be determined.

That’s because Curling Canada, through not fault of its own, has finalized dates but has yet to release the format of its crown jewel championships, including who’s attending and from where. The Scotties kicks things off Feb. 20-28 at the Markin MacPhail Centre, followed by the Brier, March 6-14. Curling Canada has already stated there will be no wild-card games played in the bubble.

Selena Njegovan, third for the Fleury quartet that lost last year’s play-in game on the eve of the 2020 Scotties in Moose Jaw, Sask., said they’re hoping for some good news within the next few weeks. And all things considered in a most unusual season such as this, they believe they should be there.

“We think we should be in the bubble. We would be the first team in line to play in that wild-card game, but since there isn’t one we feel we are in a position to get that spot, due to where we’re ranked and the success that we had last year,” Njegovan said Friday. “The Scotties is definitely something you always dream of playing in. It just has a different feel to it. You have a sense of pride playing in the Scotties, so we’re really hoping to be there.”

Fleury, Njegovan, second Liz Fyfe and lead Kristin MacCuish captured the ‘Toba title in their first season together, representing the buffalo at the 2019 Scotties in Sydney, N.S., but didn’t qualify for the us playoffs.

The foursome has been brilliant sincej and is ranked second in the nation and third in the world behind only Anna Hasselborg of Sweden and Gimli’s Kerri Einarson. But Fleury’s squad hasnt played a game this season and hasn’t even thrown a practise rock since early November when provincial health restrictions included the closure of curling clubs.

“We understand why curling clubs aren’t a priority, so we need to make sure we’re physically and mentally prepared. I think that being mentally prepared is huge because this year has put a lot of stress on people, so if we can get into a good mindset that will be imporant,” Njegovan said.

Several provinces and territories have scrapped their traditional playdowns, owing to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and have appointed last season’s champions to represent them in Calgary. Manitoba did exactly that, making the same, tough decision to cancel provincials, just as Ontario and Northern Ontario did.

Jason Gunnlaugson’s Morris crew will return to the Brier, while Einarson goes to the Scotties as Team Canada — the defending national champion — and Jennifer Jones of St. Vital sweeps in as the 2020 provincial women’s runner-up. Fleury’s addition to field would strengthen an already potent Manitoba contingent.

Late this week, British Columbia and Alberta also pulled the plug on their provincials, and more are expected to follow suit as the virus proves to be the toughest opponent of all.

On the surface, McEwen’s inclusion in the Brier field seems as certain as leaving the three-time provincial men’s champion an open takeout on straight arena ice for a victory. McEwen, Reid Carruthers at third, Derek Samagalski at second and lead Colin Hodgson beat Glenn Howard of Ontario on the eve of the 2020 Brier in Kingston, Ont., to squeeze in as Team Wild-Card.

McEwen was also fifth in the Canadian Team Ranking System, prior to a pause to the 2020-21 competitive season — before it really got started — and seventh on the World Curling Federation’s ranking board.

It stands to reason the team should play a prominent role in Calgary; yet, they stand by for an invitation.

“It’s a little frustrating and the clock ticks very slowly when you’re waiting for some kind of confirmation. The wait is hard. But I believe we’re getting closer,” said McEwen. “We’re hopeful, given the circumstances, they’ll figure out a workable situation for us where we have a good argument that we’re deserving of a wild-card spot, especially being the defending wild-card team. In our situation, we have that going for us, so we’re hopeful.

“I’m hearing bits and pieces that we won’t have to wait too much longer to find out. It’s hard to release information on a format or field size with so many questions on the board. It’s out of our hands. You try to engage with your national team program people to try to get some sense of where this might go. And also for our own team and our families, what we may have to do to prepare, should we get that invite.”

The Scotties and the Brier have been staged with 16-team fields the last few years, each comprising 14 provincial/territorial winners, defending champion and wild-card team. But Curling Canada has already stated increasing the size of fields by a couple of teams remains a possibility.

Nolan Thiessen, director of broadcast and marketing for Curling Canada, said the organization is very aware some of the country’s elite teams, including a powerhouse such as Kevin Koe who didn’t win Alberta in 2020, need to know if and when an invitation is coming.

“In a normal year most teams wouldn’t know yet whether they were going to the nationals, but, obviously, this is a different year because you have to do a lot more planning for it,” he said. “We’re cognizant of that and realize teams need to know as soon as possible.

“It sounding more and more like there will be less (associations) that are going to have a playdown compared to when we first announced the bubble. We’re working with associations to see what they’re doing and whether they’re going to be able to field teams as well. They’ve all outlined their intentions to, which is great, but there’s always those concerns about quarantines, or people at the last second whose work says they’re not allowed to go, etc.

“We’re looking at the options for our nationals this year to ensure we have great fields.”

The third event in the bubble is the Canadian mixed doubles championship (March 18-25) and the duo of Samagalski and Krysten Karwacki, the ’20 provincial champions, will compete on behalf of Manitoba.

The world men’s championship will go April 3-11 followed by a pair of Grand Slam bonspiels — the Players’ Championship and the Champions Cup — to wrap up the nearly 10-week schedule at the arena at Canada Olympic Park

McEwen said one of the implications for inclusion in the Brier or Scotties field is maintaining an incredibly cautious approach before even jumping on a plane.

“One of the biggest preparation questions, too, for people is, ‘What are you doing for the 14 days prior to going to the bubble?’ If you’re 100 per cent committed to playing, there definitely needs to be some sacrifices during those weeks leading up to it,” he said. “(Players) will have to decide that, ‘Yes, I am going to do whatever I can do to test negative.’ So there’s sacrificing and planning to do, especially if you have a family.”.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell