A pair of teams ranked in Canada’s top ten, plus two more with more modest national rankings, have been made the top seeds in the draw announced today for CurlManitoba’s RME Women of the Rings Championship presented by Case IH.
Kate Cameron’s Heather team, currently #7 on the Canadian Team Ranking System list, is the #1 seed in the minds of the competing teams in the championship. The event takes place January 21-26, 2025 in Pilot
Mound’s Millennium Recreation Complex. CTRS #8 Beth Peterson (Assiniboine Memorial), Manitoba Curling Tour champion, CTRS #26 Kristy Watling (East St. Paul), and CTRS #31 Lisa McLeod (Pembina) are seeds #2, #3 and #4 respectively.
Team rosters and season highlights for the top four:
SEED #1: Kate Cameron – Heather (Taylor McDonald, Allison Flaxey, Mackenzie Elias, Brianna Cullen) – playing a mostly out-of-province schedule, the CTRS #7 team had finalist finishes in a pair of early season Alberta events, reached the semifinals of two others, and qualified for the playoffs at the DEKALB SuperSpiel (Morris).
SEED #2: Beth Peterson – Assiniboine Memorial (Kelsey Calvert, Katherine Remillard, Melissa Gordon Kurz, Meghan Walter, Coach Kyle Kurz) – the CTRS #8 team qualified in three out-of-province events, reached the final in a pair of MCT events, and won the recent MCT Championship playoff.
SEED #3: Kristy Watling – East St. Paul (Laura Burtnyk, Emily Deschenes, Sarah Pyke, Coach Tom Clasper) – the CTRS #26 team was a semi-finalist finish at DEKALB SuperSpiel, MCT Atkins Classic, and qualified for the playoffs at the MCT Championship.
SEED #4: Lisa McLeod – Pembina (Christine MacKay, Victoria Beaudry, Jolene Callum, Jennifer Clark-Rouire, Coach Lyall Hudson) – the CTRS #31 team had one win and 3 semi-finalist finishes in MCT events, including the MCT Championship.
The 12-team field includes two more teams from Assiniboine Memorial (Rachel Kaatz, Darcy Robertson) as well as a pair of teams from the Granite (Sarah-Jane Sass, Lane Prokopowich). A second team from the Heather (Cassidy Dundas) completes the Winnipeg club competitors list. Rural Manitoba clubs represented include Carberry (Alyssa Calvert), Manitou (Cheyenne Ehnes), and Neepawa (Hailey McFarlane).
Joining the list of Manitoba Women’s championship host communities for the first time, with a population of about 675, Pilot Mound also becomes the smallest community to host a Manitoba Men’s or Women’s arena curling championship event.
The champion will wear CurlManitoba’s crest at the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts February 14-23, 2025 in Thunder Bay. They will join Manitoba teams skipped by Kerri Einarson and Kaitlyn Lawes who pre-qualified for the Canadian Championship.
CurlManitoba will continue its past policy of livestreaming one game on each draw in Pilot Mound. Curling fans unable to attend in person will find the broadcasts on the CurlManitoba YouTube channel.
