TWO-TIER SYSTEMS COULD HELP GROWTH AT LOWER LEVELS

SYDNEY, N.S. — Scotties rookie Robyn Silvernagle sees the battle over residency in high-level curling from a slightly different perspective.

The 31-year-old from Saskatchewan believes the creation of a two-tier system that would keep some elite teams out of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts could actually promote growth at the lower levels of the game.

“The people who are at the top are getting all the funding and the sponsors, so you don’t have as many people playing at the provincial level,” said Silvernagle, who curls out of North Battleford.“It’s getting harder and harder. You look at our provincials and there’s not nearly as many teams as there used to be. It used to be so great just to make it to provincials. That was a huge step in itself but it’s not the same now.”

Silvernagle believes more curlers would participate in provincial playdowns if they believed they had a better chance to win or could do so without making curling a full-time job.At the same time, higher-level curlers like herself could try to form a team with players from anywhere in Canada, and therefore have a better chance of success on cash tours and in national competitions like the Canada Cup and Olympic trials.

“I feel like it’s already going that way with the Grand Slams,” she said. “It already feels like there is definitely a shift.” — Ted Wyman