Canadian rankings to determine wild cards
Curling Canada has decided to use the national ranking system as its selection criteria for the final wild-card berths at the Hearts and Brier.
The announcement clears a path to the Calgary bubble for Manitoba’s Mackenzie Zacharias and Ontario’s Glenn Howard. Beth Peterson, also from Manitoba, saw her chances greatly improve, but the decision closed the door on Alberta’s Kelsey Rocque and Saskatchewan’s Robyn Silvernagle.
“We needed to take our time and do our due diligence on this selection process,” Curling Canada chief executive officer Katherine Henderson said Friday in a release. “In the end, it was decided that we created the Canadian Team Ranking System for exactly these purposes.
“It is a proven system with a history that we use for all of our other selection processes, and ultimately, from a consistency standpoint, it makes the most sense for this situation.”
The Scotties is set for Feb. 19-28 at the Markin MacPhail Centre and the Brier will run March 5-14.
The Canada Olympic Park venue will hold six events in all in a spectator-free setting due to the pandemic.
Curling Canada scrapped its usual play-in game for both national team championships. Instead, three wild-card entries were added to each field, creating 18-team draws.
The federation previously announced the final 2019-20 Canadian rankings would be used for the first two wild-card spots. Criteria for the third wild-card spot was listed as “to be determined,” giving some hope to slightly lower-ranked teams or rinks.
Formal wild-card team entry announcements are expected next month once all provincial and territorial playdowns end.
Howard, a four-time Brier champion, gets the third wild-card spot thanks to his No. 9 ranking. The first two wild-card spots were already clear with Mike McEwen of Manitoba at No. 5 and Kevin Koe of Alberta at No. 6.
The complete women’s wild-card picture won’t be determined until the end of the month. No. 2 Tracy Fleury of Manitoba is a lock for the first spot.