CURLING: GREAT SCOTT MORE PREPARED THAN EVER
Manitoba import Sarah Wazney joins B. C.’ s top rink in bid for another provincial crown
In an ominous sign for the rest of the field at the B. C. Scotties women’s curling championship, Kelly Scott says she feels more prepared heading to provincials in Cloverdale next week than she did last year at this point.
If that translates into precision draws and perfectly executed takeouts beginning Monday, the other teams might as well put a white towel on top of their brooms and wave surrender.
With young Dailene Sivertson at third in place of veteran Jeanna Schraeder, who took last season off, all Scott, a two- time Canadian and former world champion skip, did in 2012 at the North Shore Winter Club was win her record- setting third consecutive provincial title.
Now, with Schraeder — considered one of the best thirds in the world — back in the hack, Sacha Carter at second and Manitoba import Sarah Wazney at lead replacing Jacquie Armstrong, who has stepped aside to devote more time to family and work, Scott is eyeing a sixth B. C. title and a run at the one thing that has eluded her in an otherwise illustrious career — representing Canada at the Olympics.
“Our goal this season is to try to win the province and get to the ( national) Scotties,” says the diminutive, 35- yearold mother of one from Kelowna. “That in itself is a great accomplishment and if we’re fortunate enough to get some ranking points at Scotties and get to the Olympic pre- trials in November, that would put a skip in our step.
“We’re not banking on it by any means. It’s pretty tough to get there, but if we were in the running, I think you’d see some fighters ignited amongst us.”
At the 2005 Olympic trials, Scott finished 7- 2 in the roundrobin and was leading the final 7- 5 after nine ends when Shannon Kleibrink’s Alberta foursome scored three in the 10th to steal the win. At the 2009 Olympic trials, Scott went 1- 6.
A 1995 Canadian and world junior champion, Scott won her first two B. C. titles in 2005 and 2006. She won national titles in ’ 06 and ’ 07 and world gold in ’ 07. Last season, despite a flu sweeping through the team at nationals, she made it to the Scotties final before losing to Heather Nedohin of Alberta.
Scott and Co. didn’t have a particularly good fall on the cashspiel and Grand Slam circuit, going 18- 18 overall and making the playoff round in just one of six events, losing in the semifinals in Calgary.
Given the fact ice doesn’t go in in Kelowna until early fall and allowing for their family situations — Schraeder has three young sons, Carter two and Scott one; “every time one of us gets pregnant now, we’re hoping for a girl,” says Scott — the Kelowna foursome doesn’t generally play as much as many of the top rinks from the Prairies and Ontario.
“Our fall, it was a bit of a slow start,” says Scott while noting also that incorporating a new player into the lineup is “just another part of the learning curve.”
“When you have just four on a rink and you switch one of them, it changes a lot of dynamics. We’re getting to know her tendencies and her to us.”
Scott had asked Sivertson, who moved to Kelowna from Victoria last year to replace Schraeder, to stay on as lead. But the 22- year- old decided to return to her native Saskatchewan where she has joined former Canadian champion Amber Holland’s rink.
Scott used curling websites to conduct a public search for a new lead and “weighed out a few options” before selecting Wazney, a 25- year- old who, like Scott and Carter, is a native of Winnipeg.
“To have a chance to curl with Kelly Scott, Jeanna Schraeder and Sasha Carter, that’s an opportunity you just can’t pass up,” Wazney said at the time. “They are among the top girls in Canada. The goals they have, the knowledge and the experience, the commitment they have is really second to none. It’s similar to what I want to achieve in curling, so that’s why I’m excited about this.”
Scott says they’ve found “a real gem” in Wazney.
“She’s got the youth and excitement, but you also need a maturity level and a bit of experience in the game. She’s got the perfect balance in that regard.”
The team last played competitively in late November and the four women have spent the last few weeks practising and sharpening their games.
“I feel very confident in our team’s abilities, the preparation we’ve put in and the state of readiness we’re at right now,” says Scott. “We’ll see where that leaves us at the end of the week. We’re excited to get out there and put our practising to the test. If we can play loose and have fun, sometimes that’s when your best results come.”
EXTRA END: Scott opens the 10- rink B. C. Scotties Monday morning at the Cloverdale Curling Club against Roberta Kuhn of Vernon ... Scott’s biggest challenge this year is likely to come from Langley’s Marla Mallett, who lost 6- 5 in last year’s final and who won the title in 2009.