Curlers hit the ice at Scotties Tournament of Hearts

Organizers hope the tournament will sweep into the hearts of Alberta’s next generation of curlers, inspiring them to push their careers to the next level. Officials say the province’s next generation of curlers has a track record of success at the national level, with Alberta winning six under-21 national championships in the women’s divisions since 2010.

Alberta’s government says it is providing the competition with $137,500 in funding. The event, organized by Curling Canada, will feature 18 teams – Team Canada, 13 provincial/territorial champions and four Canadian team ranking system (CTRS) qualifiers – split into two pools of nine. The winner will represent Canada at the World Women’s Curling Championship in Sydney, N.S., in March.

“We’ve had a positive and productive working relationship with the Government of Alberta that has resulted in numerous world-class curling competitions being staged here, including the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Calgary,” states Nolan Thiessen, chief executive officer, Curling Canada. “We’re thankful that the Government of Alberta shares our vision for what sports events can do for a host city, and in particular that women’s sports events have the opportunity to be showcased in this way.”

Organizers say five Alberta athletes will have the home-ice advantage. Val Sweeting, a seven-time veteran of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, is vice-skip for Team Canada. Further, under the guidance of coach Ted Appelman, Team Alberta will be led by skip Selena Sturmay, accompanied by vice-skip Danielle Schmiemann, second Dezaray Hawes and lead Paige Papley. Officials say all four team members have emerged from the University of Alberta curling program, with Hawes previously attending the Scotties.

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by rdnewsNOW staff

Curlers hit the ice at Scotties Tournament of Hearts

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