Team Profiles - Newfoundland & Labrador

As promised, even though the Scotties are over, I'm updating the blog with some extra information I gathered during the week but didn't have time to post.

Before the Scotties began, I emailed teams who I could get contact info for and asked them some questions.  Thanks to Lisa Weagle (Ontario), Sarah Wazney (BC), and Stacie Devereaux (Newfoundland & Labrador) for responding to all my questions.  Thanks also to Mary-Anne Arsenault (NS) for taking the time to answer a couple of questions.

This is what Stacie Devereaux of Newfoundland & Labrador had to say.

They think it is amazing to put on their provincial team colours.  It makes them very proud!  They were very excited about Kingston and it was so much fun for them.  They all hadn't been to Kingston except Lauren Wasylkiw who had been here before the Scotties!  They wanted to play to their potential this year.  I think this was a very good goal!

When I asked them, “How do you manage being elite athletes with your careers and your families?, they responded with this answer: "We're still trying to figure it all out day by day and we have understanding families and bosses!"

Their most favourite thing about curling is the teamwork, Stacie said.

They love having crowd support!

I asked them, “What are your thoughts about the changes to the Scotties in 2015 with the addition of Northern Ontario and the pre-qualification for the bottom teams from the previous year?” Stacie said, "It will be a tough fight, that's for sure, not just for playoff spots but for placing.  There's good and bad in it."  

The team idolized Sandra Schmirler and Colleen Jones growing up.  Stacie said that their toughest competition would be everyone.  She said that Team Canada also may be their toughest competition.

They prepared for the Scotties with a lot of extra games and practice.  They get a little excited before a big game or competition.  They don't have a lot of nerves.  

She said, "It's weird to have people know stuff about you!"  After I asked her about sharing personal information with the fans!  They enjoy the fact that curling is a very fan accessible sport.  "It's weird but fine!”, Stacie said.  

Team Newfoundland and Labrador was very nice with the fans.  They were always so positive and friendly. Their coach gave a team broom to a young female fan after each game to encourage them in the sport of curling.  I thought that was really generous!

Even though they had a tough week in the standings, they really hung in there and had a lot of close games on the scoreboard that could have gone either way.  I hope they get another chance at the Scotties to improve their record and show the fans their true potential.

Team Profiles - British Columbia

As promised, even though the Scotties are over, I'm updating the blog with some extra information I gathered during the week but didn't have time to post.

Before the Scotties began, I emailed teams who I could get contact info for and asked them some questions.  Thanks to Lisa Weagle (Ontario), Sarah Wazney (BC), and Stacie Devereaux (Newfoundland & Labrador) for responding to all my questions.  Thanks also to Mary-Anne Arsenault (NS) for taking the time to answer a couple of questions.

This is what Sarah Wazney of British Columbia had to say.

Sarah said it feels pretty sweet representing BC at the Scotties.  This was here first appearance at the Scotties and she couldn't be more proud to represent BC.  She was very excited about going to Kingston.  "It's a dream come true!" she added.

She said her expectations this year were looking for a playoff spot and then see what happened after that.  I asked how the team manages being elite athletes with their careers and families.  Sarah's response was, "Having support from family and friends is so important."

She thinks everyone that went to the Scotties had the World Championships on their mind. They knew that it was still a long way away. "It's key to dial into each game and see where you are at the end of the round robin." she added.

She said that her favourite thing about curling was that it is a team sport and she loves spending time with the ladies on her team.  She likes practicing, travelling and competing with them.

Sarah said that her favourite hobbies outside of curling are cooking, baking and gardening.  She also likes playing golf in the summer.

They don't have a team that they don't like playing the most.  She thought that there would be a lot of tough games and possibly a few extra ends.

Sarah played a lot of different sports during Junior High but curling was her favourite and she started putting more time into it.  It then became her priority!

She joined the team because Kelly Scott, Jeanna Schraeder and Sasha Carter were looking for a lead and they put on a Nation-wide search.  She sent them an email saying that she was interested.

She grew up watching the Sandra Schmirler rink,  Jennifer Jones, Stephanie Lawton and of course, Kelly Scott's rink!

They prepared for the Scotties with a lot of practice.  "Practice, practice, practice!" Sarah said.   She said that she gets nervous before big competitions and big games.  She has learned to breath and zone in.

I asked Sarah how the team felt about sharing personal information with the fans and she responded, "Depends on what is being asked!"   She also likes the fact that curling is a very fan accessible sport.

I appreciate Sarah taking the time before such an important competition to answer my questions. I had the opportunity to spend sometime with BC during the week because I was their junior star.  They were all so nice! 

Team BC performed quite well in Kingston ending up with a Bronze medal.  Congratulations to Kelly, Jeanna, Sasha, Sarah, Diane and Coach Brent! 

Post Scotties Wrap Up

There was so much going on during the week that I haven't had a chance to finish all my posts!  I will be doing more posts and reviewing the Scotties this week so stay tuned.  I might even be following Team Canada at the Worlds!

2013 Scotties Champions and Final Standings

Congratulations to Team Homan from Ontario for being the 2013 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Champions!  Team Homan will now represent Canada at the Women's World Curling Championships in Riga, Latvia from March 16th to 24th.  Team Homan will also be going to the Scotties in 2014 as Team Canada in Montreal from February 1st to 9th. You Gotta Be There!  I hope I will be there!

Final Standings

Team Rachel Homan (Ontario)

Team Jennifer Jones (Manitoba)

Team Kelly Scott (BC)

Team Heather Nedohin (Canada)

Team Jill Shumay (Saskatchewan)

Team Andrea Crawford (New Brunswick)

Team Mary Anne Arsenault (Nova Scotia)

Team Suzanne Birt (PEI)

Team Allison Ross (Quebec)

Team Kerry Galusha (Northwest Territories/Yukon)

Team Stacie Devereaux (Newfoundland & Labrador)

Team Kristie Moore (Alberta)

This is Team Rachel Homan's 1st Scotties Championship..  This is Ontario's 6th championship.

They weren't rookies but for only their second year at the Scotties, they really showed their experience.  The Sandra Schmirler MVP award went to Lisa Weagle.  The shot of the week award went to Rachel Homan for her hit through the tight port against Manitoba in Draw 12 in the round robin.

Scotties - The Final Day Review

Day 9 at the Scotties – Sunday, February 24

Semi-final Game

9 am was the Semi-final with Jennifer Jones facing off against Heather Nedohin.

Jones (Manitoba) 6

Nedohin (Canada) 5

It was a close game between Jennifer Jones and the defending champion Heather Nedohin.  It was Jones who came out with the 6-5 victory.  The difference in this game was in the 8th end.  Heather Nedohin was in control of the game up till then.  Nedohin tried to tap Jennifer Jones's rock back to score 1.  She ended up tapping Jones's rock at the top of the 4 foot in to give up 2.  It was 6-4 Manitoba at that point.  Beth Iskiw curled 90% and Kaitlyn Lawes curled 75%.  The team percentages were 89% for team Canada and 82% for team Manitoba.  This shows that team Canada really controlled the game.

Bronze Medal Game

2 pm was the Bronze Medal Game with Kelly Scott facing off against Heather Nedohin.

Scott (BC) 10

Nedohin (Canada) 8

Kelly Scott rebounded after yesterday afternoon's loss to Team Canada to beat Team Canada 10-8.  Kelly stole 1 in the 10th after Heather Nedohin failed to make a double to win.  Jeanna Schraeder curled 89% compared to Beth Iskiw, who curled 71%.

Final Game

7 pm was the Final Game with Rachel Homan facing off against Jennifer Jones.

Homan (Ontario) 9

Jones (Manitoba) 6

Rachel Homan won the Scotties Tournament of Hearts over Jennifer Jones by a final score of 9-6.  Homan ran Jones out of rocks in the 10th to claim the championship!  Homan started the game off with a 3 in the first but by the 5th end it was tied at 4. It looked like momentum was going Manitoba's way until Ontario got 3 in the 7th and got a steal of 2 in the 8th.  Alison Kreviazuk curled 96% while her counterpart,  Jill Officer, curled 80%.   Overall, both teams curled 89% but it was big shots or misses at important points in the game that was the difference.