Moose Jaw curling fans will once again have a host of teams to cheer for at the Viterra Scotties Tournament of Hearts next month in Tisdale.
Three rinks from the Moose Jaw Curling Centre or with direct connections to Moose Jaw earned berths into the 12-team tournament through the Canadian Team Ranking System or through the Sask Curling Team Ranking System, with the top four point-getters from each advancing to the Scotties.
Leading the way is the Saskatoon Nutana foursome of Skylar Ackerman, third Ashley Thevenot, second Taylor Stremick and lead Kaylin Skinner, who earned the second Scotties berth through the CTRS standings.
Ackerman is currently 16th overall in the Canadian rankings and behind only Saskatoon’s Nancy Martin provincially. Wins in the Moose Jaw and Saskatoon Nutana spiels provided the bulk of the Ackerman’s points provincially, while a fifth-place showing at the Pumps and Pressure Red Deer Curling Classic and third-place finish at the U25 NextGen Classic rounded out their point total.
Sherilee Orsted and her Moose Jaw Curling Centre foursome of third Candace Newkirk, second Shalon Fleming and lead Jasmine Kerr turned their solid start to the season into the fourth CRTS Scotties berth.
Currently the 28th-ranked rink in Canada, Orsted finished second at the Saskatoon Nutana spiel and third in the Great Western Brewing Bonspiel to go along with finishing fifth in the Ladies Alberta Open and Regina Highland Rocktoberfest.
Regina Highland’s Michelle Englot claimed the other CTRS berth.
Penny Barker and her two-time Viterra Scotties champion rink of third Christie Gamble, second Jenna Enge and lead Danielle Sicinski claimed the final Sask CRTS spot thanks to a third-place showing at the MCT Challenge and fifth-place finishes at the Great Western Brewing Bonspiel, S3 Group Curling Stadium Series and the Nutana spiel.
Saskatoon Nutana’s Sherry Anderson and Jessica Mitchell took the top two Sask CRTS spots, with North Battleford’s Robyn Silvernagle finishing third in the standings.
The final four teams will be decided during the Viterra Last Chance Event Dec. 15-17 in Assniboia.
The Viterra Scottiies Tournament of Hearts runs Jan 17-21 in Tisdale and will features two six-team round robin pools from which the top four will advance to the Page playoffs.
The Viterra Scotties champion advances to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Feb. 16-25 in Calgary.
