No less than six of the 12 rinks taking part are either from the local club or have players who hail from Moose Jaw taking the ice.
Leading the way is one of the pre-tournament favourites in the Penny Barker rink. With Barker sidelined due to the recent birth of her and husband Kelly’s second child, Carson, regular third Deanna Doig will take over skip duties with Christie Gamble at third, Jenna Enge at second and Danielle Sicinski at lead. They open the tournament at 5 p.m. on Friday against Regina’s Elisa Soika.
Lorraine Arguin and her perennial senior provincial-title contending squad will also be in action. Arguin, third Donda Lee Deis, second Tamara Quinton and lead Tanis Swallow will draw a tough assignment in the first round at 5:30 p.m. Friday — none other than provincial curling legend Michelle Englot.
Former provincial champion Amber Holland and her Davidson foursome of third Kim Schneider, second Karlee Korchinski and lead Deb Lozinski will also be a team to watch after a handful of solid showings early in the season. They face Weyburn’s Jade Bloor in the 5 p.m. draw.
Moose Jaw’s Skylar Ackerman and her standout junior foursome of skip Emily Haupstein, second Taylor Stremick and lead Abbey Johnson are curling out of Saskatoon Sutherland and will do battle with Regina’s Stasia Wisniewski during the 5 p.m. draw.
Regina’s Sherilee Orsted will have Moose Jaw’s Candace Newkirk at third, along with second Shalon Fleming and lead Jasmine Kerr. They’ll take on Regina’s Stephanie Schmidt at 5:30 p.m. Friday. Schmidt, as you may recall, was the fifth for Saskatchewan’s Robyn Silvernagle at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts this past spring.
Rounding out crews with local connections is Regina’s Lorraine Schneider, who played second for Barker’s 2017 Viterra Scotties championship-winning foursome. She’ll take the ice with third Larisa Murray, second Ashley Williamson and lead Jill de Gooijer and will face Regina’s Kyla Thies 5:30 pm. Friday.
Teams will be broken into two pools of six, with the top three from the conclusion of the round robin advancing to the playoff round Sunday morning. The championship final is set for 4 p.m.
As was the case with the Sask Curling Tour men’s stop this past weekend, plenty of COVID-19 regulations are in place, with only curlers allowed in the lobby area and 30 fans allowed in the upstairs lounge.
For the full draw, you can click right here.
