Manitoba curling fans are in for a treat January 24-29, 2023 when 12 of Manitoba’s best Women’s curling teams compete in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts presented by RME in East St. Paul.
Four former Scotties champions are skipping teams they hope can take them back to the national Scotties where they will challenge the best in Canada including Team Canada skipped by Gimli’s Kerri Einarson.
Jennifer Jones (St. Vital), skipping the defending champion Mackenzie Zacharias team; Jones’ former third Kaitlyn Lawes (Fort Rouge), skipping part of the former champion Tracy Fleury team; Chelsea Carey (East St. Paul) with Liz Fife from that Fleury team; and Darcy Robertson (AMCC), with a young but capable supporting cast, all know the pressures and pleasures of playing and winning the Manitoba final game.
The group of four former champions will be tested this year by a group of eight challenger teams which includes three teams in the CTRS top 30 (as of December 18); a pair of teams aiming for a Manitoba Junior title this season, and three other very competitive teams.
Abby Ackland (East St. Paul), an MCT rankings qualifier; Beth Peterson (AMCC), the Minnedosa berth bonspiel winner who was so impressive in a 2021 national Scotties wildcard appearance; and 2022 Manitoba Scotties finalist Kristy Watling (East St. Paul) are currently ranked #8, #21, and #29 on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS).
Winnipeg Scotties berth winners Katy Lukowich (Granite) and Grace Beaudry (St. Vital), who are CTRS #85 and 97 respectively, both have aspirations to win the Manitoba Junior title in Portage in mid-January. Both will be hoping to play the East St. Paul Scotties as a tune-up for the national Juniors.
The final three entries for this year’s provincial Scotties are also well experienced at the women’s and junior competitive levels in Manitoba. They include Lisa McLeod (Portage), Alyssa Vandepoele (Carberry) and Emma Jensen (Heather).
Full event passes ($175) and day passes ($50) for the Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts can be purchased by connecting from the CurlManitoba website (https://curlmanitoba.org/scotties-tournament-of-hearts-presented-by-rme/).
THE COMPLETE LIST OF SCOTTIES QUALIFIERS:
2022 CHAMPION: Jones/Zacharias (St. Vital)
2021-22 Season CTRS: Kristy Watling (East St. Paul)
2022 MINNEDOSA ‘SPIEL BERTH: Beth Peterson (AMCC)
MCT Champion: Lisa McLeod (Portage)
MCT Points Berth: Abby Ackland (East St. Paul)
NOVEMBER 22, 2022 CTRS: Kaitlyn Lawes (Fort Rouge)
WESTMAN: Alyssa Calvert (Carberry)
WINNIPEG: Chelsea Carey (East St. Paul)
WINNIPEG: Katy Lukowich (Granite)
WINNIPEG: Emma Jensen (Heather)
WINNIPEG: Darcy Robertson (AMCC)
WINNIPEG: Grace Beaudry (St. Vital)
