FORMAT CHANGE COMING TO BRIER, SCOTTIES IN 2018

A major change is coming to the Canadian men’s and women’s championships next year, one that should increase the competition level considerably.

Starting next year, the field will expand to 16 teams at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and the Brier. The four-team pre-qualifying tournament will be eliminated, bringing the total to 15 teams: 14 provinces and territories, plus the defending champion, with another added through the Canadian Team Ranking System.

The team with the most CTRS points that does not win its provincial title will be added to the field. This year, that team would have been Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones on the women’s side and Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers on the men’s side.

“It makes sense,” defending Canadian women’s champion Chelsea Carey said. “I just think it has to go that way. As a traditionalist growing up watching it you want it to all be the provinces, but the game has changed so they have to adapt and evolve with it. We know that by having provincial designations as the way that we qualify, you are instantly eliminating several of your top Canadian teams on the CTRS list because lots of them are in the same province.”

The move will guarantee the top-ranked team in Canada gets into the Scotties every year, which will be a major improvement considering this year’s field features teams ranked as low as 85th, 123rd and 129th.

“I think it’s the way it has to go despite it being a little bit tough to swallow from a traditionalist standpoint,” Carey said.