BC Champion

Team Scott beat Team Knezevic 9-6 in 9 ends earning the right to represent British Columbia at the Scotties.  Skip Kelly Scott, of the Kelowna Curling Club, will be joined by third Jeanna Schraeder, second Sasha Carter and lead Sarah Wazney. 

These are the 4 teams coming to Kingston so far:

Kelly Scott-British Columbia

Stacie Devereaux-Newfoundland and Labrador

Kerry Galusha-Northwest Territories/Yukon

Heather Nedohin-Canada

PEI Playdowns Update

They begin on Thursday, January 24^th and end on the 27^th.  There are 3 strong contenders with Scotties experience - Suzanne Birt (formerly Gaudet), Kathy O'Rourke, and Kim Dolan.

Here is the link for all the fun in PEI!

www.peicurling.com/scotties/

New Brunswick Playdowns Update

They begin on January 30^th and end on February 3^rd.  I'm expecting Rebecca Atkinson with Andrea Kelly at fourth stone to be participating but there is no key information available at this time!

Nova Scotia Playdowns Update

They start on Tuesday, January 22^nd and end on the 27^th.  The teams to watch are Heather Smith-Dacey and Mary Anne Arseneault who is reuniting with Colleen Jones and Kim Kelly for what could be a record 6th Scotties title. This could be my dark horse pick folks!!

Here is the link for the results in Nova Scotia!

http://www.nscurl.com/index.php?view=details&id=180&option=com_eventlist&Itemid=610/index.php?/?view=details&id=180&option=com_eventlist&Itemid=610

Quebec Playdowns Update

They will start on Monday, January 21^st and end on the 27^th.  The top 2 contenders should be Marie-France Larouche and Eve Belisle.

Here is a link to tell you what’s going on in Quebec.

http://www.curlingqc.com/championnats-provinciaux/scotties/

Ontario Playdowns Update

They will begin on Monday, January 21^st and end on the 27^th.  The teams to watch are Tracy Horgan, Rachel Homan, Krista McCarville and Sherry Middaugh.  Tracy Horgan from Sudbury is the defending champion, but Rachel Homan is on a roll this year and wants to make a comeback for her second Scotties.  Past multiple time winners, Sherry Middaugh and Krista McCarville, are going to make this a great week of curling to represent the home province!

Here is the link for Ontario!

http://www.ontarioscotties.com/

Manitoba Playdowns Update

The playdowns will begin on Wednesday January 23^rd and end on the 27^th.  Jennifer Jones is favourite here, but her most fierce competitors are Cathy Overton-Clapham and Chelsea Carey.  At the Colonial Square Ladies Classic (November 2012), Carey came 2^nd, losing in the finals to Lawton. Carey is 3^rd right now on the World Tour money list so she is having a good year.  Overton-Clapham and Jones have a history, so it will also be heated there as well.

It should be an exciting playdown and a tight race to the finish. 

Here is the link to the playdowns in Manitoba!

http://www.manitobascotties2013.com/index.html

Saskatchewan Playdowns Update

They will begin on Wednesday, January 23^rd and end on the 27^th.  As I've said before, Stefanie Lawton is my pick here over Amber Holland!

Here is a link to the Saskatchewan playdowns!

http://www.saskcurl.com/scotties/ 

Alberta Playdowns Update

They will be starting on Wednesday January 23 and they will end on the 27^th.

Shannon Kleibrink is the favourite.  Cheryl Bernard’s team didn’t even qualify for the playdowns.

This is the link for Alberta’s playdowns!

http://2013albertascotties.com/index.php

BC Update

The BC champion will be decided today.  I will keep you posted.  After the Round Robin, 3 teams were tied with a 7-2 record:  my predicted winner Kelly Scott from the Kelowna Curling Club, Marla Mallett from the Cloverdale Curling Club and Patti Knezevic from the Prince George Curling Club.  Knezevic beat Mallett in the semis yesterday and will now face Scott at 2 pm Pacific Time in the final.

Here are the links for BC!

www.bcscotties2013.curlbc.ca/

www.playdowns.com/curlbc/  

 

Northwest Territories/Yukon

Kerry Galusha of the Fort Smith Curling Club of the Northwest Territories qualified for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts by winning her territorial championship on January 13^th.

Breaking News from Newfoundland and Labrador

Stacie Devereaux of the Bally Haly Curling Club has just upset Heather Strong 8-7, to represent Newfoundland and Labrador at the Scotties!

You heard it here first folks!  Stick with my blog for the most up to date information on the road to the Scotties!

The Future

My Predictions:

Round Robin

Nedohin will finish first followed by Scott and then Homan.  It will be a tossup between Lawton and Jones for 4^th place. 

Playoffs

I think Homan will beat Nedohin in the finals.  If Lawton gets in, then she will beat Kelly Scott for the bronze.

I’m excited to see what unfolds this February.

The Present

I am predicting that if Jennifer Jones and Kelly Scott make it out of their provinces this year, which they probably will, they will be some of the toughest competitors standing in the way of Nedohin repeating as champion. 

Jennifer Jones has a lot of experience. She’s been to 9 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, 4 World Championships and has 1 World Title.  She missed part of the season because she was just on maternity leave, but performed well at the Continental Cup and should be okay to defend her provincial crown. 

Kelly Scott has won 2 Scotties Tournament of Hearts and 1 World Championship. 

But, the competition doesn’t end there!  There are strong competitors who could potentially be at the Scotties from Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan as well.

Rachel Homan is my pick coming out of Ontario.  Rachel Homan has an excellent shot at winning this tournament but a lack of experience with only 1 Scotties appearance may be her downfall.  She did not make it to the Scotties last year, losing to Tracy Horgan in the Ontario finals.  She has had some success on the CCA Season of Champions circuit with a win at the Masters Grand Slam of Curling (November 2012). Rachel Homan beat Chelsea Carey in the finals.  Team Rachel Homan has had a good season so far and are on top of the World Curling Tour money list. With the Scotties coming to Kingston this year, Team Homan would have a home field advantage because they are from just up the road in Ottawa.

Sherry Middaugh can also give Rachel Homan and Tracy Horgan a run for their money as she and her team have experience, are sagacious and very dangerous.  At the Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic (October 2012), Sherry Middaugh beat Rachel Homan in the finals.   Middaugh was 2^nd on the money list last year. 

With Heather Nedohin already returning as Team Canada, the teams to watch out for in Alberta are Sheryl Bernard (2010 Olympic silver medalist) and Shannon Kleibrink (2006 Olympic bronze medalist). 

The 2 teams to watch out for in Saskatchewan are Amber Holland and Stefanie Lawton.  Amber Holland has only won 1 Scotties and silver at the World Championships in 2011, but she’s a fierce competitor But Holland will have to get by Stephanie Lawton who is 2^nd on the World Curling Tour money list this year.  At the Manitoba Lotteries Women's Curling Classic (October 2012), Stefanie Lawton beat Rachel Homan in the finals. At the Colonial Square Ladies Classic (November 2012), she beat Chelsea Carey in the finals.  At the Canada Cup of Curling this year (November/December 2012), she beat Team Jones in the finals.  Team Stefanie Lawton is very hot right now and I predict that they will make it out of Saskatchewan this year.      

The Past

In 1981 Scott Paper Limited made a commitment to the Canadian Curling Association (CCA), to sponsor the Canadian Women’s Curling Championships. The Scotties Tournament of Hearts started in 1982 (then known as the Scott Tournament of Hearts).  This year is the 30^th consecutive year of the Scotties (a brand of Kruger Products).  Kruger is the longest national corporate sponsor of amateur sports in Canada.  It is the leading manufacturer of Consumer and Away From Home paper products in Canada.

The widely recognized Scotties Tournament of Hearts logo is a cluster of 4 hearts.  Those hearts represent the 4 curlers that make up a team and recognizes the importance of teamwork.  The hearts also recognize the “Spirit of Curling” and the friendship that characterizes the sport. 

 

Colleen Jones (Nova Scotia), Jennifer Jones (Manitoba) and Kelly Scott (BC) combined have won the last 8 out of 10 Scotties. I think Jennifer Jones and Kelly Scott have the most dominant teams and they will probably be in the running to win the Scotties this year.  Amber Holland who won 2 years ago and Heather Nedohin, who won last year, are also big contenders.

 

Last year, Heather Nedohin’s team from Alberta won the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.  Coming out of the round robin, they had a record of 7-4, good enough for the last playoff spot in fourth position.  She had only lost to Kerry Galusha (Northwest Territories/Yukon Territory), Amber Holland (Canada), Rebecca Atkinson (New Brunswick) and Marie-France Larouche (Quebec).  In the 3-4 Page Playoff, she beat Marie-France Larouche from Quebec.  In the Semi Finals, she beat Jennifer Jones representing Manitoba.  In the finals, she beat Kelly Scott out of British Columbia in a dramatic extra end.

For a complete list of previous winners, check out this link!

http://www.curling.ca/championships/scotties/history-of-the-scotties/past-champions-of-the-tournament-of-hearts/