Excitement is building for when the top female curlers from across Manitoba arrive in Morden for the 2024 Morden Scotties Tournament of Hearts next week.
CurlManitoba executive director Craig Baker anticipates Morden will be putting on a great week for the curlers and fans alike.
“I think it’s going to be a phenomenal event down there … and it’s always exciting to see an arena transform into a curling club for a week,” said Baker.
“It looks like they’ve had some great support. It looks like the community is behind it,” he continued. “Any community we end up in down there, we get tremendous support … it shows the desire of the fans to be there.
“The biggest thing is, when we come into a community like Morden, we kind of become the show. We don’t get lost, and the community rallies behind it,” he added. “We see the community support and what they do to make it special … there’s that desire for it and there’s the support for it.”
Teams arrive a day ahead of the competition, which runs Jan. 24-28. Twelve teams will be playing in the round robin Wednesday to Friday, with three draws daily. The elimination playoff round then goes Saturday and Sunday.
Activities start Tuesday evening with a banquet for the teams and sponsors at the Access Event Centre.
Saturday evening features a social with live music for anybody who wants to attend. It’s $10 a ticket, and they will be available at the door if there’s room.
Organizing committee chairperson Ernie Epp said last week that everything was in place and there have been good ticket sales so far.
“Sales of tickets are going really well. CurlManitoba stated last month already that our sales are really good in comparison to what they normally see, so that’s thrilling for us.
“We expect to see a fair number of people, and I think part of what helps is there’s one team that’s fairly local,” Epp said in reference to the Carman foursome skipped by Shaela Hayward.
The excitement built even further Monday when the volunteers came to pick up their clothing and materials, Epp noted.
“It will the first time that about 200 of us are all together, and I was really looking forward to it. It was exciting.”
And he paid tribute to the volunteers and other supporters who have really rallied to make the championship a success.
“Morden is a community where volunteering is second nature to a pretty big percentage of the population,” Epp said. “It was a little of here’s what we need to do, and off they go, and they will make Morden look good.
“It’s important for me that we recognize all of the volunteers and how tremendous it is that there are people willing to help out,” he continued. “And the business community and what they have done for sponsorship. We’ve exceeded our target with corporate sponsorship with fundraising, so that’s been a phenomenal thing.
“There’s response still happening,” Epp added, noting the Morden Chamber of Commerce sent a notice out to its members encouraging them to decorate and help make the week special. “I’m hoping that there’s a whole bunch more businesses who are going to be sharing that excitement.”
Five of the top 20 teams on the women’s Canadian team rankings (CTRS) will compete at the Scotties.
The top seed status went to the rink skipped by Kaitlyn Lawes (Selena Njegovan, Jocelyn Peterman, Kristin MacCuish). Currently ranked CTRS #4, Lawes and her Fort Rouge team finished second in the preliminary round a year ago with a 7-1 record but lost the semi-final to Abby Ackland.
The second seed is CTRS #8 Kate Cameron (Meghan Walter, Taylor McDonald, Mackenzie Elias). Walter and Elias were half of the Ackland Scotties playoff team a year ago.
The third seed is CTRS #9 Jolene Campbell, who returns to the Manitoba Scotties after a disappointing first appearance a year ago with Chelsea Carey. She and teammate Rachel Erickson have joined forces with Abby Ackland and Sara Oliver, the other half of last year’s finalist team.
The #4 and #5 seed positions go respectively to CTRS #14 Beth Peterson (Jenna Loder, Katherine Doerksen, Melissa Kurz, Kelsey Rocque) and CTRS #20 Kristy Watling (Laura Burtnyk, Emily Deschenes, Sarah Pyke). Peterson’s Assiniboine Memorial team had a 5-3 record a year ago. Watling and her East St. Paul team won the Scotties berth bonspiel and a strong local bonspiel showing placed them at the top of the MCT rankings.
Two other Manitoba teams, also ranked in the top three of the Canadian team rankings, have already qualified for the national Scotties in Calgary in February. Kerri Einarson’s defending champions currently occupy the CTRS #3 spot, while wild card entry Jennifer Jones is currently CTRS #2.
More information can be found online at morden2024.ca, where you can purchase tickets for specific draws, certain days, or the whole event.
