Carly Sandwith of Victoria knows she has plenty of support as she looks foward to her game of a lifetime today at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
鈥淭he kids I coach at the Victoria Curling Academy sent me a message on Facebook wishing us well,鈥� said Sandwith.
鈥淭he messages and support all across sa国际传媒 have been amazing.鈥�
Sandwith is the second on former Victoria Curling Centre skip Sarah Wark鈥檚 sa国际传媒-champion rink from Abbotsford, which plays Tracy Fleury of Manitoba today in a tiebreaker, with the winner advancing to the playoffs at the 2019 Canadian women鈥檚 championship in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
Wark and Fleury finished tied for fourth place in Pool A at 4-3 behind Chelsea Carey of Alberta (7-0), three-time Scotties-champion and 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympian Rachel Homan of Ontario (5-2) and Krista McCarville of Northern Ontario (5-2). Nova Scotia, Quebec and Nunavut were eliminated out of that pool.
鈥淲e鈥檙e enjoying the stage, and the experience of being on it,鈥� said Sandwith, a graduate of Reynolds Secondary.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big game [today] but we鈥檝e been in plenty of big games to get to this point, especially in the sa国际传媒 championships [a couple of weeks ago] in Quesnel. So we鈥檙e totally fine with the pressure. A lot of it now is a mental game.鈥�
A win today and Sandwith continues on to play Friday on her 27th birthday.
鈥淚 am either going to have a celebratory birthday or the longest day ever returning home,鈥� she said.
This is Sandwith鈥檚 second trip to the Scotties after also appearing in 2014 with the Van Osch rink from Nanaimo.
鈥淢aybe there鈥檚 something in the water on the Island,鈥� she said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 great support for curling on the Island, which helps produce good players.鈥�
Wark herself was based on the Island before moving to the Fraser Valley three years ago. It was during Island time that Wark and Sandwith first met and became friends, and now rinkmates.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been loving the ice here in Sydney,鈥� said Sandwith, adding the Wark rink feels confident heading into today鈥檚 tiebreaker, which has everything riding on it for both sa国际传媒 and Manitoba.
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