Njegovan will be able to support team after all

Team Lawes vice Selena Njegovan will be able to serve in a support role at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts after all despite initially being told she'd have limited access on site while on pregnancy leave.

The change, confirmed Tuesday by Curling Canada's Nolan Thiessen, will likely put an end to a weeklong series of developments stemming from the organization's unveiling of a pregnancy exemption eligibility policy ahead of the national championship.

That policy was walked back twice last week to allow all teams — not just the top five in the national rankings — to apply for this year's event.

But the Njegovan situation — in particular her desire to support her team while on leave — didn't change until Tuesday afternoon.

A lot on the line for Team Dunstone

As the No. 1-ranked team in the country, Matt Dunstone’s rink knows they can afford to fall short this week in Neepawa for the Manitoba men’s curling provincials.

Curlers ask for transparency and communication after pregnancy exemption uproar

A Canadian interim rep for the Curling Players' Association has renewed a call for improved transparency and collaboration with Curling Canada after an uproar about pregnancy exemption rules resulted in an about-face from the organization.

"This is a classic example of a situation where I think if the players had been consulted, we might have come to a better ruling earlier," Team Homan's Emma Miskew said Monday.

After three days of outcry from several high-profile curlers, Curling Canada changed its exemption rule last Friday so that any team in this year's 18-team national championship field could apply.

The federation initially allowed just the top five teams in the national rankings to consider adding an out-of-province curler as a replacement for a pregnant player.

Saskatchewan’s Kelly Knapp, Jamie Koe of Northwest Territories punch tickets to Brier

Saskatchewan's Kelly Knapp and Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories won their respective men's provincial and territorial curling finals Sunday to advance to the Tim Hortons Brier.

Knapp edged Steve Laycock 5-4 in Estevan to take Saskatchewan, while Koe was an 11-3 winner over Greg Skauge at the Fort Smith Curling Club to win in N.W.T.

Koe will skip a Territories team at a Canadian men's championship for the 16th time in his curling career, while Knapp is a relative rookie.

The Saskatchewan skip appeared in one game as an alternate in the 2011 Brier.

Curling Canada does about-face, offers pregnancy exemption to all Scotties teams

With three members of Team Lawes trying to balance pregnancy with curling at times this season, Selena Njegovan was pleased her squad received an exemption to add an out-of-province replacement player for the national championship.

What was disappointing, Njegovan said, was that only the top five teams in the national rankings were allowed to apply.

The Curling Canada decision to limit eligibility for a pregnancy exemption at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts was a hot topic in the sport's circles after details were released with Tuesday's draw.

"It's just not fair to the other women and the other teams," Njegovan said from Winnipeg.

Curling Canada says pregnancy exemption to be expanded in 2024

Curling Canada says it is opening up its pregnancy exemption eligibility to all teams competing at next year's Canadian women's and men's championships, with the announcement coming a day after the organization came under fire for limiting the exemption to just the top five teams in the rankings.

In a release issued Thursday evening, Curling Canada said the expanded rule will take effect for the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Calgary and will also be applied for the 2024 Brier in Regina.

The exemption allows a team to use a replacement player even if the athlete didn't play in the provincial/territorial championship or meet residency requirements.

Curling Canada's existing policy, which will remain in force for the 2023 women's and men's championships, allows the top five teams to add an out-of-province free agent at the national playdowns.

Two-time world champion David Murdoch named Curling Canada high-performance director

Curling Canada has gone international to find a replacement for longtime high-performance director Gerry Peckham.

Two-time world champion David Murdoch, who has served as national and Olympic coach for British Curling since September 2018, was named to the post on Thursday.

"The talent pool in Canada is incredible and you have incredibly experienced athletes and incredibly experienced coaches," Murdoch said on a video call. "But maybe there's something different that I hope to offer.

"I'm certainly going to do my best to make sure that that brings success."

Curling Canada under fire for limiting eligibility for pregnancy exemptions

Residency rules. Pregnancy exemptions. Confusion, questions and ire.

A Curling Canada news release intended to confirm the draw for the national women's championship instead sparked a debate about inclusivity, equality and options for teams with players who are pregnant.

Prominent curlers from across the country took the national sports organization to task this week for the wording and creation of an exemption that only allowed teams ranked in the top five to apply.

When a fourth-ranked team was able to bring in an out-of-province free agent as a replacement for a player close to her due date, queries about the rules — along with some sharp criticism — started rolling in.

Four Manitoba teams to compete at Scotties

The field is set for the 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Kamloops, B.C.

Lawes, Scheidegger, Walter get wild-card spots for Scotties Tournament of Hearts

Laura Walker has felt quite comfortable in a substitute role on the Manitoba-based team skipped by Kaitlyn Lawes this season.

It made her a good fit to join the Lawes' lineup as Team Wild Card One at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. With vice Selena Njegovan being granted a pregnancy leave by Curling Canada, Walker will again fill in at third at the Feb. 17-26 event in Kamloops, B.C.

"They've just really welcomed me with open arms and made me feel like I was a part of the team from Day 1 and not just a spare or a fill-in," Walker said. "I've been on Team Lawes and that makes it really easy for me and makes it a lot of fun for me too."

Wild-card positions were finalized Tuesday after the national rankings were updated with results from recent provincial and territorial championships. The berths went to the three highest-ranked teams not already qualified.

Team Manitoba with a taste of the Maritimes

Lauren Lenentine couldn’t wait to pick up the phone this past off-season to tell her family back home in Charlottetown, P.E.I., that Jennifer Jones, someone she grew up watching and idolizing, was now her teammate.

Team McEwen finds spark at Ontario Tankard to earn berth at Tim Hortons Brier

After a mediocre first half of the season, Mike McEwen's new-look team finally found the spark it was looking for at the Ontario Tankard.

Now the foursome will wear home province colours at the March 3-12 Tim Hortons Brier in London, Ont.

"It just all came together," third Ryan Fry said Monday. "Hopefully we can ride that wave into London and make a bit of noise and see if we can find ourselves playing on the (last) weekend."

McEwen, Fry, Brent Laing and Jonathan Beuk endured a slow start to the campaign after forming the lineup in the off-season.

Matthew Manuel wins Nova Scotia men’s curling final to advance to Brier

Matthew Manuel's team booked a ticket to the Tim Hortons Brier with a 5-4 win over Owen Purcell in the Nova Scotia men's final Monday morning.

With the scored tied 4-4 coming home, Manuel stole a point in the 10th end for the victory at the Bluenose Curling Club. Manuel prevailed with a three-man team in the final because second Jeffrey Meagher was ill.

Manuel's third Luke Saunders is the son of six-time Canadian and two-time world champion Colleen Jones.

Purcell's 8-7 win in an extra end over Manuel on Sunday evening forced a rematch Monday to decide the province's representative at the national championship March 3-12 in London, Ont.

Jones can win with anybody

EAST ST. PAUL — Jennifer Jones and her crew of twentysomething rock stars completed an unbeaten run at the provincial women’s curling championship Sunday afternoon.

Jennifer Jones returns to Canadian women’s curling championship in Manitoba colours

Jennifer Jones will skip a team at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts for the 17th time in her career after beating Abby Ackland 10-5 to win Manitoba's women's curling championship Sunday.

Only Colleen Jones (21) and her vice Kim Kelly (18) have appeared in more national women's championships than Jones, who is a six-time winner.

Winnipeg's Jones scored deuces in four of the first six ends and iced the victory with another pair in the eighth end Sunday against Ackland.

Three-time Hearts winner Rachel Homan earned Ontario's berth at this year's women's championship Feb. 17-25 in Kamloops, B.C., with a 9-2 rout of Hollie Duncan.

McEwen to wear Ontario colours in Canadian men’s curling championship

Mike McEwen defeated Glenn Howard 8-3 to win the Ontario men's curling championship Sunday and qualify for the Tim Hortons Brier.

McEwen stole four points over the first three ends and scored another three in the fifth in Port Elgin where Howard shook hands after seven ends. McEwen has represented Manitoba in seven Canadian men's championships during his career.

In other men's provincial and territorial finals Sunday, Nathan Young defeated Greg Smith 8-6 to win Newfoundland and Labrador, Tyler Smith earned Prince Edward Island's crown with a 9-5 victory over Darren Higgins, and Tanner Horgan beat Sandy MacEwan 7-5 to take Northern Ontario.

In Nova Scotia, Owen Purcell's 8-7 win in an extra end over Matthew Manuel forced a rematch Monday to determine that provincial champion.

Jones shooting for ninth crown

St. Vital’s Jennifer Jones will be gunning for an unprecedented ninth provincial women’s curling title Sunday afternoon.

Jones, Lawes to play for spot in Scotties final

Kaitlyn Lawes of Fort Rouge and St. Vital’s Jennifer Jones will go head-to-head later today in an epic game at the provincial women’s curling championship.

McLeod exceeds Scotties expectations

Lisa McLeod had modest expectations at the beginning of this week’s provincial women’s curling championship.

Jones still at top of her game

She may be a living legend but there is nothing past tense about Jennifer Jones. Manitoba’s top curlers are still playing catch-up.

Decorated skip, new mom makes quick return to pebble

Kaitlyn Lawes was just being herself Thursday morning.