We now know the six teams that have qualified for the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Calgary. The six include four teams from Manitoba, as Kate Cameron, Jennifer Jones and Kaitlyn Lawes of Winnipeg and Kerri Einarson of Gimli all advanced.
Ironically, the pool winners were not based in Manitoba. Alberta’s Sheldon Sturmay, who lives in Edmonton, won Pool A with a record of seven wins and one loss, while Ontario’s Rachel Homan of Ottawa had eight wins and zero losses.
In Pool A, Sturmay and Kerri Einarson of Manitoba (known as Team Canada as the defending champions) had identical records of seven wins and one loss, but Sturmay took first place because she beat Einarson 8-6 on Sunday. There was then a five-way tie for third place with four wins and four losses. Kaitlyn Lawes of Manitoba got through Saskatchewan, Quebec, British Columbia and northern Ontario because she had the best move on the last stone.
Lawes was thrilled to secure a playoff spot.
“It feels so good. We worked really hard on the button draw this year because we were eliminated so many times without a tiebreaker. That was a big priority for us. We knew we just had to stay tough and see what happened Happened at the end of the week. We didn’t really know how it was all going to fall apart. I’m just so proud of the girls for sticking with me and playing a really hard, tough game.”
In Pool B, Jones finished second with six wins and two losses. Cameron finished in third place with five wins and three losses and edged British Columbia’s Clancy Grandy 7-4 on Thursday night.
“Gamer. Introvert. Problem solver. Creator. Thinker. Lifelong food evangelist. Alcohol advocate.”