One winner and 15 broken Hearts

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This article was published 06/01/2010 (6039 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KILLARNEY — There is the usual collection of past champions, grizzled veterans of the roaring game and fresh new faces.

But as the 16-team field completed final preparations for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts provincial women’s curling championship Tuesday afternoon in advance of this morning’s opening draw there was one universal sentiment from all involved: there is little room for error in an event like this.

 

And given the field lacks a clear-cut favourite, just about every team here honestly believes they have a shot at this thing.

"The field’s going to be tough," began Janet Harvey, the Assinibone Memorial skip who ranks in the top 10 on the provincials Scotties games-played list. "You’ll probably only be able to lose one game (in the round-robin) because in the last couple of years two losses knocked you out of the playoffs. You have to go and try to win every single game and if you don’t you have to hope and pray the field all sorts itself out and you’re there at the end.

"I’ve been to a few of these and if I didn’t enjoy being here, I wouldn’t be playing. That’s sort of the way I look at things. I’m very competitive and I’m here to win. That’s why we’re here."

Harvey and her crew of third Cherie-Ann Loder, second Kristin Loder and lead Carey Kirby are back for the second straight Scotties as the second seed, behind defending champ Barb Spencer of Fort Rouge.

Spencer and her crew of Darcy Robertson, Vanessa Foster and Barb Enright, meanwhile, is eager to get back to the national championship after finishing just 2-9 in Victoria last year.

"We’re very motivated. We had a strong team last year and we feel like we have a really strong team this year," said Spencer after Tuesday’s practice session at the spanking new Shamrock Centre. "There’s nothing like going to the Canadians, so we’re really driven to go back.

"Everybody wants to go the Canadian championships. We’ve been fortunate to be there three times and each time it just gets better. We just want to go back and hopefully improve on what we did last time."

Now, while Harvey and Spencer have been-here-done-that many, many times over the years, it’s all new to Kaileigh Strath and her new Winkler foursome as they make their first appearance at the Scotties.

"We’re going to not try to think too far ahead and just focus on the game we’re playing," said Strath. "You can’t think about the standings or if we give up a three or something like that… we can only stay in the game and keep fighting.

"A day like (Tuesday, the practice day) is super important just to help with everybody’s nerves so that it’s not a shock when you see all the teams wearing their new jackets. That can be intimidating.

"The Scotties is different than the juniors, that’s what I’m noticing in my first time here. There’s a lot of people here, a whole hospitality group wanting to do everything for you. It’s like, ‘Wow, this is nice.’ We like being the underdogs."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

 

Provincials primer

 

A brief look at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Provincial Women’s Curling Championship:

 

When: Jan. 6-10.

Where: Shamrock Centre, Killarney

The prize: The right to represent Manitoba at the 2010 National Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Jan. 30-Feb. 7 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

 

 

THE TOP SEEDS

1. Barb Spencer — Fort Rouge 2. Janet Harvey — Assiniboine Memorial

3. Chelsea Carey — Morden 4. Karen Fallis — Wildewood

5. Jill Thurston — Deer Lodge 6. Kim Link — East St.Paul

7. Lisa Blixhavn — Brandon 8. Joelle Brown — Fort Rouge

 

The rest of the field: Tanis Fortin, The Pas; Kari Goethe, Swan River; Liza Park, Wheat City, Brandon; Terry Ursel, Plumas; Kaileigh Strath, Winkler; Karen Rosser, Springfield; Linda Stewart, Fort Rouge; Shauna Streich, Fort Rouge.

The format: The 16-team field is divided into two pools, red and black. The top two teams from each pool qualify for the Page playoff: first in each pool plays in one playoff game with the winner advancing to the championship. The two second-place teams play in one semifinal, the winner of that game will face the loser of the first-place game for a spot in the championship.

Background: The first provincial women’s championship was held in 1952… Beginning in 1973, 16 teams competed in four groups playing a semi-modified knockout with the winner of each group playing a straight knockout championship… From 1977 to 2000, the teams played a semi-modified knockout event with the current round-robin draw and Page playoff introduced in 2001.

FYI: Curling fans in western Manitoba will be able to watch televised games courtesy Westman Communications Group beginning with Wednesday’s 4 p.m. draw with Brandon’s Liza Park facing Karen Fallis of Wildewood. Westman will televise six round-robin games, any tiebreakers as well as the semifinal and final on Sunday. Fans not in the western part of the province will be able to watch the games online at curlmanitoba.org.