The field for the 2018 sa国际传媒 Scotties Women鈥檚 Curling Championship appears to be as wide open as the parking lot behind the Victoria Curling Club.
Only, the path to the title will surely be filled with a few bumps and potholes for the field of eight teams in search of the berth to represent the province at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Canadian women鈥檚 curling championship, slated for Jan. 27 to Feb. 4 at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton.
The defending sa国际传媒 champion, Marla Mallett, is not here and neither is the 2015 victor, Patti Knezevic.
鈥淚t is pretty wide open,鈥� said Steph Jackson-Baier, who along with Carley Sandwith forms the local half of Holly Donaldson鈥檚 split Vancouver/VCC team, which also includes Lindsay Hudyma. 鈥淭here are some teams who we thought would be here that aren鈥檛 and that always makes for an interesting week.
鈥淭here are a few favourites going in, but I think the field is fairly even this year. That鈥檚 always exciting to go into for the week.鈥�
Donaldson鈥檚 team is back for a second straight year, but has a new look with Jackson-Baier now throwing third stones with Hudyma at second and Sandwith at lead. Last year, Hudyma skipped but this season she started playing third, after flipping positions with Donaldson.
Jackson-Baier and Sandwith, both of the VCC, were part of Kesa Van Osch鈥檚 provincial championship rink from 2014 that ended a run of four straight titles by Kelly Scott, who has since retired.
鈥淪ince Scott won so many in a row, everybody鈥檚 kind of won one since,鈥� said Jackson-Baier. 鈥淚t was us and then it was Patti K and then it was [Karla] Thompson and then Mallett.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 four teams in four years, so there鈥檚 no dominant team in sa国际传媒 right now. Even amongst the favourites, if you go head-to-head and see who has played and who has won, it鈥檚 kind of up in the air. Which is exciting and I think it鈥檚 going to come down to the wire.鈥�
Thompson, of Kamloops, is back and so is veteran Diane Gushulak of the Royal City Club. Kayte Gyles (Royal City), Randi Ludwar (Kelowna) and Kim Slattery (Vernon), who calls the game but throws lead stones, are also here. The other Island rink is Nanaimo鈥檚 Kesa Van Osch, who is reunited with her sisters Marika and Kaila. Former skip Amy Gibson is the lead on the team. Marika, who graduated out of junior, is the only newcomer to the foursome this season.
The Van Osch sisters won a sa国际传媒 junior championship in 2012 at the VCC.
鈥淰ictoria has always been good to me. It鈥檚 nice not to have to travel very far,鈥� said Kesa, whose team has as good a shot as any. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a good field, there are a couple surprises that people weren鈥檛 expecting, but other than that it should be a good provincial, like it is every year.鈥�
Following today鈥檚 opening ceremonies at 5:30 p.m., teams will take to the ice for the first draw at 7 p.m. with Brown facing Donaldson, Ludwar playing Gushulak, Slattery taking on Gyles and Van Osch vs. Thompson.
Draws will run at 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday before continuing Friday at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. with tiebreakers in the evening. Page playoffs begin Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m. and the event concludes Sunday with 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. slots for the semifinal and final.
The final four draws will be televised on Shaw and live-streamed on YouTube. Single game tickets are available at the door for $5 or an event pass can be purchased for $35.
Brown and Gushulak are considered the favourites for the fact that they secured their positions for the sa国际传媒 Scotties based on their CTRS (Canadian Team Ranking System) points.
Brown won last year鈥檚 provincial junior title (for the third time) and was the 2013 Canadian junior champ. Gushulak was a runner-up at last year鈥檚 sa国际传媒 Scotties, losing to Mallett, who she won a provincial women鈥檚 crown with in 2009.
Van Osch faces Thompson and Gushulak in the first two draws, so will be tested right away. Donaldson is up against Brown in Draw 1.
鈥淵ou have to play everybody at least once during the week so it doesn鈥檛 matter what order they come at you,鈥� added van Osch. 鈥淵ou may as well start with one and just keep going.鈥�
Both Island teams will have plenty of support.
鈥淲e are so excited to be at our hometown club, Carley and I,鈥� said Jackson-Baier, whose entire team has practised at the VCC throughout the season. 鈥淲e are thrilled. We鈥檝e got hometown family, hometown ice, hometown sponsors and we really feel the support, and we feel comfortable, and that goes a long way into your championship mindset.鈥�
