The team led by Kaitlyn Lawes from Winnipeg secured the last position in the 18-team lineup for the upcoming Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Lawes, along with Selena Njegovan, Jocelyn Peterman, and Kristin Gordon, clinched the final spot as the top-ranked team not previously qualified through provincial or territorial competitions, as announced by Curling Canada. The opportunity arose when Kerri Einarson’s pre-qualified team took over Rachel Homan’s spot as the Canadian representative due to Homan’s preparations for the Milan-Cortina Olympics next month.
Ranked fourth in the latest Canadian standings with 151.450 points, Lawes narrowly surpassed Alberta’s Serena Gray-Withers, who held the fifth spot with 151.225 points. Peterman will not be participating in the tournament from January 23 to February 1 at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, as she gears up to compete at the Winter Games with mixed doubles partner Brett Gallant.
Laura Walker will step in for Peterman as the second player, and Erin Pincott will act as the team’s alternate. Additionally, Kayla Skrlik from Calgary and Christina Black from Halifax also secured pre-qualification slots in the competition. Among the other qualified teams are Selena Sturmay from Alberta, Taylor Reese-Hansen from British Columbia, Melodie Forsythe from New Brunswick, Mackenzie Mitchell from Newfoundland and Labrador, Krista Scharf from Northern Ontario, Nicky Kaufman from the Northwest Territories, Taylour Stevens from Nova Scotia, Julia Weagle from Nunavut, Hailey Armstrong from Ontario, Amanda Power from Prince Edward Island, Jolianne Fortin from Quebec, Jolene Campbell from Saskatchewan, and Bayly Scoffin from Yukon.
The victorious team at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts will represent Canada at the world women’s curling championship in Calgary from March 14 to 22.