Few curlers will be sad to see end of qualifier

ST. CATHARINES, ONT.— Kerry Galusha shed tears of happiness as she, and others not so fortunate, bid good riddance to the qualifier to keep playing in the Canadian women’s curling championship.

Galusha’s Northwest Territories rink downed New Brunswick’s Melissa Adams 5-3 in Saturday’s opening draw to secure the final berth in the12-team field at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Adams, Yukon’s Sarah Koltun and Nunavut’s Geneva Chislett are going home early in the final year of the unloved play-in of the four lowestseeded provinces and territories.

The three-year experiment with it is over with Curling Canada introducing 16-team formats to next year’s men’s and women’s national championships.

The 2018 Hearts and Tim Hortons Brier will each incorporate all provinces and territories, Team Canada, Northern Ontario, and a16th team to be named later.

The qualifier wasn’t a hurdle Galusha had to clear when she skipped N.W.T. nine times at the Tournament of Hearts between 2001and 2013.

After falling a win short of the main draw the last two years, Galusha was too relieved to still be playing Saturday to heavily bash the format making its exit.

“It’s been a cruel last couple years,” Galusha said. “This feels amazing to be on the other side of it.

“Losing the last two years, I was crying because we lost. This year I’m crying because we won. The territories have not been represented the last two years. It’s huge to have a territory in it this year, for sure.”

Ontario’s Rachel Homan opened with a 7-5 extra-end win over defending champion Chelsea Carey.

Homan controlled the game early stealing a point in the second end and scoring a deuce in the fourth. But she gave up a steal of two in the seventh and led 5-4 without the hammer heading into the 10th.

Carey was held to a single point to tie it. Homan, the crowd favourite at the Meridian Centre, hit to score two for the win with her last rock of the game.