Manitoba will face old foes, new enemies in P.E.I.

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This article was published 31/01/2011 (5695 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ALTONA — The field for the 2011 Canadian women’s curling championship in Charlottetown next month will be a mix of accomplished veterans and promising young newcomers.

Topping that latter list will be 2010 Canadian junior champion Rachel Homan. Homan’s Ottawa foursome has been a force on the women’s cashspiel circuit and proved their mettle over the weekend by defeating Krista McCarville in the Ontario final.

New Brunswick is sending 2005 Canadian junior champion Andrea Kelly while Newfoundland is sending 2007 Canadian Juniors champion and Scotties rookie Stephanie Devereaux.

The P.E.I. playdowns don’t wrap up until today but the young foursome skipped by Kathy O’Rourke that advanced to last year’s Scotties final is still in the mix.

Other qualifiers Sunday were Alberta’s Shannon Kleibrink, Nova Scotia’s Heather Smith-Dacey, Kerry Galusha for the Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan’s Amber Holland. Kelly Scott won B.C. last week.

Three-time defending Canadian champion Jennifer Jones will represent Team Canada once again and will likely be the favourite to win her fourth straight title.

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The stands were full and expectations were exceeded as Altona made its first major curling event a big success. Co-chair Al Friesen said organizers generated $35,000 in ticket sales, $10,000 over their projections and the event will be a profitable one.

“The tickets sales and number of people here is a ringing endorsement of what we did,” said Friesen, “and it’s an affirmation for all the work the volunteers did, the fans, the companies who invested in this event and, ultimately, for the curlers themselves.”

So what now? Friesen said the profits will be divided between the Altona Curling Club, the Altona Community Foundation and the minor hockey association, who had to vacate the Millenium Exhibition Centre for 10 days to make way for the Scotties.

The crowds came out despite bad weather conditions, which even shut down some highways Friday night. Generous residents opened their homes to stranded travellers.

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The all-star team, as selected by the Manitoba Curling Media Association were: Lead, Raunora Westcott, Team Overton-Clapham; second, Kristen Foster, Team Carey; third, Kristy Jenion, Team Carey; skip, Karen Rosser.

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Jennifer Jones will head into the Canadian women’s championship on a winning note. She won the eight-team Karuizawa International Curling Championship in Japan over the weekend, defeating 19-year-old Satsuki Fujisawa in the final.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca