Several curling teams secure spots for Scotties, Brier

The lineup for the Canadian women's curling championship was completed Sunday with the crowning of eight champions.

A field of 18 teams will curl Feb. 14-23 in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Corryn Brown (B.C.), Kayla Skrlik (Alberta), Nancy Martin (Saskatchewan), Kate Cameron (Manitoba), Danielle Inglis (Ontario), Krista McCarville (Northern Ontario), Jane DiCarlo (Prince Edward Island) and Brooke Godsland (Newfoundland and Labrador) prevailed Sunday in their respective finals.

Rachel Homan's team was already bound for Thunder Bay's Hearts as defending champion after winning last year in Calgary.

Four-time champ Kerri Einarson, Alberta's Selena Sturmay and Manitoba's Kaitlyn Lawes pre-qualified for the Hearts based on their ranking at the end of the 2023-24 season.

Other provincial and territorial reps already qualified include Christina Black (Nova Scotia), Laurie St-Georges (Quebec), Kerry Galusha (Northwest Territories), Melissa Adams (New Brunswick), Bayly Scoffin (Yukon) and Julia Weagle (Nunavut).

The winner in Thunder Bay represents Canada at the women's world championship March 15-23 in Uijeongbu, South Korea.

Brown claimed her second B.C. women's title five years after the first with a 10-7 victory over Kayla MacMillan in Langley.

"It feels incredible. We had a really great week all week. We showed we deserved to be here and we really brought it all together in that last game," Brown told Curl BC.

McCarville's bid to represent Northern Ontario in her hometown of Thunder Bay was a battle.

The two-time Hearts finalist trailed Emma Artichuk 5-2 after five ends, but scored one in the sixth and stole single points in the seven and eighth.

The skip drew the four-foot rings in the 10th for the win and her 12th trip to the Hearts.

Cameron just needed Beth Peterson's shot stone to go away and made the hit for a 7-6 victory in Pilot Mound, Man.

Cameron skipped her team to last year's Hearts semifinal in Calgary where her rink was ousted by Jennifer Jones.

Kayla Skrlik edged Nicky Kaufman 6-5 to win Alberta and return to the Hearts after going 4-4 in her first appearance in 2023.

After losing the last two Saskatchewan finals, Martin prevailed 9-7 over Jolene Campbell in Kindersley to punch a ticket to Thunder Bay.

Inglis claimed a second straight Ontario championship by doubling Chelsea Brandwood 8-4 in Coburg.

Godsland was a 10-4 winner over Carrie Vautour in St. John's, N.L.

DiCarlo stole two points in the 10th end for an 8-7 victory over Hillary Selkirk in P.E.I.

The Hearts winner also qualifies for November's Olympic curling trials in Halifax if that team ranks in the top six at the world championship.

Homan and Einarson already have trials berths locked down. Should either team emerge victorious in Thunder Bay, the trials berth goes to the highest-ranked team in the 2024-25 national women's team rankings at the conclusion of the Players' Championship in April.

Brier taking shape

Several men's curling teams punched their tickets to the Canadian championship Sunday.

A field of 18 teams will curl Feb. 28 to March 9 in the Montana's Brier in Kelowna, B.C.

Cameron de Jong (B.C.), Rylan Kleiter (Saskatchewan), Sam Mooiebroek (Ontario), John Epping (Northern Ontario), Tyler Smith (Prince Edward Island) and Ty Di Lello (Newfoundland and Labrador) prevailed in their championship finals.

New Brunswick determines its provincial champion Feb. 2, Northwest Territories on Feb. 3, and Alberta and Manitoba on Feb. 9.

Other provincial and territorial reps already crowned were Owen Purcell (Nova Scotia), Thomas Scoffin (Yukon), Felix Asselin (Quebec) and Shane Latimer (Nunavut).

Six-time champ Brad Gushue of St. John's, N.L., has already punched his Brier ticket as defending champion.

Teams skipped by Brad Jacobs, Mike McEwen and Matt Dunstone pre-qualified for Kelowna based on their rankings at the end of the 2023-24 season.

Jacobs, a Canadian, world and Olympic champion, took over as skip of Brendan Bottcher's Alberta-based team, that ranked No. 2 in Canada at the end of last season.

The victor in Kelowna represents Canada at the men's world championship March 29 to April 6 in Moose Jaw, Sask.

Epping defeated Dylan Johnston 10-2 on Sunday. Epping will skip Northern Ontario at the Brier for the first time after three appearances (2018, 2020 and 2021) for Ontario. His team is ranked No. 5 in Canada.

Kleiter downed Steve Laycock 8-5 in Kindersley, Sask. De Jong was a 10-8 winner over Glenn Venance in Langley, B.C.

Mooiebroek defeated Scott Howard 7-4 in Coburg, Ont.

Tyler Smith will skip P.E.I. a second straight year after going 5-3 last year in Regina. His team was an 8-6 winner Sunday over Darren Higgins.

Ty Di Lello's team stole two in the ninth and one in the 10th to defeat Andrew Symonds 6-5 in St. John's.

This year's Brier winner can claim a berth in November's Olympic trials as long as the team ranks in the top six at world championships.

Defending Brier champion Gushue and Jacobs are already bound for trials.

Should Gushue or Jacobs prevail in Kelowna, the trials berth goes to the highest ranked team at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season following the Players' Championship in April.